5 Steps for Creating a Culture of Feedback

68% of employers feel their staff can be themselves and raise concerns without fear - only 38% of employees agree

While many leaders believe that they are approachable and open to input, employees are often reluctant to share their honest opinions. When that happens, ideas for process improvements and new products go unshared, and the business loses out on new opportunities. 

Follow these steps to create a culture of feedback in your organization:

1. Adopt a learning mindset - Ask for input with a genuine desire to learn. Select a topic that others know more about than you, then let your team show off their knowledge and advance your thinking. Ask questions but resist the urge to jump in and direct the conversation.
   

2. Get humble - It can be difficult for leaders to balance our sense of authority with the humility needed to open ourselves to new ideas. It takes a conscious effort to be vulnerable in this way.
   

3. Mind your reactions - Providing feedback to the boss feels dangerous to most people. Your team will monitor every aspect of your response to determine if this is a safe space for them to share their input. Keep an open posture and positive tone. Pay attention to your facial expressions. Choose your words carefully when responding to each idea to encourage others to join the conversation. 
   

4. Gratitude first – Before saying anything else, thank your employees for their ideas. Let them know how much your appreciate their commitment to improving the company. 
   

5. Take action - I can’t count the times that employees have told us that they stopped sharing ideas because nothing ever changes anyway. If you want more suggestions in the future, move quickly to adopt at least one idea that is shared. Start with changes that can be made quickly to demonstrate that you are serious about wanting ideas from the team. For longer-term actions or actions that can’t be taken until later, schedule them and share out a specific timeline and action plan.

   
   

Creating a culture of feedback takes time and is dependent on establishing a level of trust between leaders and employees. Investing in this effort can increase employee engagement, improve retention rates, identify process improvements, and even result in new products and customer markets. Give your employees the opportunity to shine and let them take your organization to new levels.