When you’ve just completed something, it’s nice to have feedback to let us know how we’re going. It’s nice to know that what you’re doing is on the right track of what you’re supposed to be doing. Even better, it’s nice to know that you could be steered towards a different direction to achieve greater things. This positive feedback that we anticipate majority of the time, is what really motivates us to do more.
Think about it…
That EVP (Employee Value Proposition) you’ve just finalised not only to have senior management approve of it but to let you know the ideas you’ve made are useful. You feel nourished. Important. Fulfilled.
Employees are looking for words of advice and encouragement as they make their way through learning on the job. It’s an important thing to keep in mind to continually invest in your employees this way. When I mean invest, I really mean taking time out to pull them aside and letting them know of how they can improve or what’s been done really well. Where we focus on improvement and recognition of one’s achievements to voice back, it is called positive feedback – and it’s something we need to make distinct with negative feedback. The importance in doing so is that it generates this fuel inside your employee. This fuel is what really gets them pumping up for more. More what? More energy into the work they do to continue doing quality work or striving to produce quality work. This quality work is what you’re after isn’t it? It’s what keeps your company going and the consistency of it aligns aside your objectives and goals.
More on why you should take time to give positive feedback:
Apart from the energy you help fuel up, feedback generates many other things within your employee. If anything, you providing feedback to them will actually allow them to give you feedback in return. Remember, their perspectives are important if heard correctly. Moreover, if done correctly where you centralise around positive feedback, you could facilitate:
1. Development of Skills/Abilities
While you’re guiding your employee in the right direction by letting them know how to improve, you’re assisting with their development. By giving the right information they seek to master it by learning new skills. Essentially, they build their skill base.
2. Promote further employee engagement
Letting them know that you care about what they do at work really pushes them to engage further in you and your organisation. You allow them to feel a sense of willingness to achieve what they know they can achieve.
3. You foster an engaged culture
This is beneficial for the whole company in many ways. For starters, it’ll positively impact your current employees to understand that what they’re contributing to is something that promotes further engagement. Secondly, it’s in the eye of your stakeholders. Exhibiting what is of attraction will definitely see them being lured towards your organisation.
4. You learn more about your employee
You start focusing on their abilities and keeping track of their work. You understand how they work and get a deeper insight into what really motivates them to push for more.
5. You build the company
By focusing on your employees and their development, you help them add more value to your organisation. You help build their performance that aligns well with goals and objectives you’ve set for the organisation to achieve.
What we can gather from the purpose in positive feedback is that it promotes for further employee engagement. We already know that helps facilitate many positive behaviours. These behaviours are linked with productivity that will significantly tie in with your organisations’ goals and objectives.
A common problem with most leaders is that they choose to implement ongoing feedback in the wrong way. A couple of things done include giving negative feedback or not knowing when to give it. An example of the wrong timing is giving it when emotions are running high. When emotions are running high on either your end or your employees’, it could lead to a disastrous response – one that most likely will end up in tears. Another issue is not getting feedback from your employees’ yourself. Their perspectives and opinions is what shapes your company. Without letting that happen, how else are you going to keep building it?
Giving positive feedback starts with these four simple steps:
With these problems, you can avoid them but understanding how you should promote positive feedback in your workplace environment properly…
1. Acknowledge contributions
It could be as simple as that small summary report they’ve finished a day ago. Acknowledging their efforts into the work they produce for you speaks a lot. Let them know that they are of big help and use to your organisation as it’s a way to boost their can-do attitude!
2. Think forward
What I mean by this is envision what you want to see in the future and share that with your employees. Help them see the same importance in this envision and how they can help you and your company go forth in this direction. Their opinions spark and their feedback to you is of value when you can use it to assess the direction.
3. Encourage a feedback circle
This feedback circle is amongst your employees. Encourage them to provide feedback for one another. It’s one way of learning when someone is right by your side on your journey of doing so. Not just that, but as a bonus you actually promote a workplace with positive feedback.
4. Understand your employee’s needs
When you do, you realise what you can do to make sure their efforts are backed by encouragement through positive feedback.
As you may have realised now, feedback can happen on both ends. These ends being yours and your employee’s. If projected positively, you enable yourself to bask in new insights and perspectives that can be used to your advantage. Likewise, your employee will understand how to progress further personally and professionally. You could say it’s a win-win situation!