feedback

In my travels as a human resources and business management coach, it seems that there are a few things that your employees are dying to say, but just haven’t found the way to tell you. Good for you, they don’t mind telling me!

Here is some feedback that I’ve collected recently and thought you might appreciate, even if just as a reminder:

  • I am more than just your employee. I am a whole person and would appreciate it if you took at least a little interest in getting to know me. Find out about my hobbies and my family; and let’s not talk politics or religion. That’s awkward. I’d also like to learn about you. Let’s have coffee sometime.
  • Oh, and I need my space. Monitoring my every move makes me nervous and makes me doubt my own abilities. I am under the impression you hired me to do this job because you felt that I’d be a good fit for the role. Please give me some space to do my work. I promise I’m open to feedback.
  • I want feedback. If you do notice that I am doing something wrong, tell me right away. I do want to do my work correctly. Please don’t wait until a “performance review” to tell me I’m off track.

Performance reviews document my achievement over a specific timeframe, but they are in no way motivating me to do better work.

  • I am ready to learn. Training me to do my best work yet is a benefit to both of us. I will give you 110% if you invest in my continual development. After all, isn’t continual improvement the name of the game?
  • Talk big picture to me. I may have just started with your company. I may have been here for 10 years. Either way, I work harder and with more enthusiasm if you tell me what that big picture looks like. What is the organization’s mission? What are our goals?
  • Explain how I fit in. Now that I know about the mission and goals, tell me what my role in success is! What should I be doing every day that will help our company reach new heights?
  • Please don’t ignore me. I am seeking something when I communicate with you. If I send you a message, call or stop by and ask a question, please get back to me, even if you can’t respond fully, immediately. Don’t let my questions, requests or ideas fall by the wayside. Respond timely, and I’ll do the same.

Your interest in me, my work and my ideas translates directly to the amount of effort that I’ll be putting in every single day.

Final Thoughts

Collecting employee feedback is critical to the success of your business, regardless of your industry or geography. If you’re not already engaging in a formal process to do so, it’s time to consider it. Seriously. The hard part is what to do next!

The best workplaces, the ones where employees are showing up to kick butt every day, are continually gathering information from their employees about what they like about their job, what they struggle with, and what they need to do a better job. Collecting this valuable information can be made easy.

Successful employers provide summaries to employees regarding the feedback they received, and what they intend to do with it.  Even if not every idea or suggestion can be acted upon, acknowledging employees’ willingness to share will ensure that employees will keep sharing their feedback.

 


 

About the author: Niki Ramirez , founder of HRAnswers.org, is a seasoned professional consultant, speaker and coach with a knack for engaging business leaders and employees. She has a successful track record partnering with a wide variety of businesses to analyze human resources and business operations with the objective of collaborating to design cost-effective training, employee relations programs, develop employment policies and procedures, and help business leaders exceed their goals.

Maybe most importantly, Niki is the proud momma to three strikingly gorgeous, intelligent kids. She loves to horseback ride and get outside to hike and explore the world every spare minute that she has.