Creating a Feedback Culture

Feedback is a communication process between two individuals. It emphasizes the flow of dialog and creates clarity and understanding. For an organization to grow and it's employees to learn, employees must have feedback. Without it, they don't know how they are performing, what's working and what's not, and where changes need to be made. 

"Creating a culture where employees share productive feedback can become an integral part of a growing organization's development strategy towards strategic goals." Creating a Feedback Culture. Research Report. February 2008)

 

To determine if you have a Feedback Culture, ask yourself the following:

1. Is your communication minimal?
2. Is it primarily top-down?
3. Or is it open, honest, two-way communication?

A feedback culture is one in which individuals continuously receive, solicit and use formal and informal feedback to improve their job performance.  Take a moment to read the bullets below and carefully consider your answers.

• If I asked you if I could criticize you, what would your response be?
• If I asked if I could provide you with constructive feedback, what would your response be?

Feedback must come from a place of support, not a place of critique.  To be effective it must provide specific context (behaviors), not generalizations.   It's constructive, usable and based on the impact of the subjects actions rather than generalized opinions about that person. 

 

Supportive Feedback will have three specific components.  The feedback components are designed for one person only and are tailored to that specific person's behavior.  Components are NOT interchangeable from Employee A to Employee B. 

Supportive Feedback:

1. When did the behavior occur?
2. What was observed?
3. Why does it matter? 

For Constructive Feedback, there is a fourth component, the Request.  The Request will identify what needs to change. 

 

In closing, a prerequisite for a feedback culture is a respectful stance towards each and every employee, manager, and executive.  "A corporate culture is incredibly strongly linked to a leader's personality," says Peter Bregman, a corporate culture consultant and author of Point B:  A Short Guide to Leading A Big Change.   To create a feedback culture, you must start at the top and walk the talk!