This holds true equally for individuals and organizations, irrespective of their level, size, or industry. If you want feedback, ask for it! And if you’re wondering whether it’s worth the effort, take a look at some of the benefits of creating opportunities for regular feedback from your customers, users, employers, and employees.
It’s a mirror
Feedback, when given in the right spirit can show people or organizations the true picture of how they are perceived. In the absence of high-quality and regular feedback, one runs the risk of being either too self-congratulatory, or too self-deprecating. Both these situations can hinder progress and growth. Good feedback can be a mirror or a point of taking stock, from where a path for improvement can be charted.
It’s a “map”
When structured correctly, feedback can provide a clear roadmap for improvement. It can tell you where you are, and give you an effective path to get to where you need to go.
It has the power to motivate and energize
Feedback is strongly linked to employee satisfaction and productivity. According to author, researcher and public speaker, Tom Rath, “Employees who report receiving recognition and praise within the last seven days show increased productivity, get higher scores from customers, and have better safety records. They’re just more engaged at work.”
It improves performance
The best performers – individual leaders in organizations, or leading organizations across industries have this in common: they are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve, even when they’re already at the top. This trait or habit of keeping their antennae up for feedback from their environment and using that to fuel improvement is what has probably taken them to the top in the first place. Here’s what Elon Musk had to say about feedback: “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
It’s doesn’t cost much
For all the benefits that feedback provides, it’s an incredibly cost effective tool! Setting up regular and efficient feedback mechanisms in the organization, both amongst employees and customers, is really a question of priority, and not cost. A good feedback management system that can help gather, track, analyze and action large amounts of regular feedback can provide an excellent ROI, especially in today’s digital environment.
Undoubtedly, feedback is one of the most valuable tools organizations can employ to help them create better products, better services, and more engaged workforces. So, if you haven’t been giving priority to creating a feedback culture in your organization, this is a great time to start!
