Customer feedback is valuable but employee feedback is just as important. It is essential in improving your company’s culture, processes, and internal operations. Smart leaders know this. They know that good workplace culture and strong company culture are based upon a strong foundation of trust between the leaders and the team members. To build this trust, you first need to encourage open communication in your company. And one way of doing this is to encourage employee feedback.

On average, small companies spend $1,500 training a single employee. With that said, encouraging and welcoming regular feedback from your employees is a great way of increasing employee engagement. The higher a company’s employee engagement is, the higher its employee retention is. Employee feedback also allows you to see potential problems within your company before they occur. There are just some things that team members see that the leaders don’t. The problem is that most employees and staff are hesitant in giving honest and blunt feedback to their managers because it usually means disagreeing or criticising their immediate superiors. Without honest feedback, your business grows stagnant. So how do you encourage your employees to speak out and provide feedback?

Anonymous Employee Feedback Forms

Sending out anonymous employee feedback forms or surveys is a great way of getting honest and direct feedback from your employees. Being anonymous allows them to speak their minds without fear of retribution or criticism. Make sure to ask the right questions and make sure the survey isn’t too long. No one wants to feel like they’re taking a major exam.

Be Specific When Asking For Feedback

Don’t just ask, “What’s your feedback?” Asking this type of general question will only provide you with positive feedback. You want both the positives and negatives. Be more specific. If you and your team just completed a project, ask questions like, “What could’ve been done better?” or “How could I have led you better?” Asking these types of specific questions will give you more valuable information to become better as a leader.

Open Door Policy

Your business needs continuous feedback in order to grow and improve over time. To facilitate this, you need to support a safe environment for feedback. Have an open door policy in your company. Encourage your employees to share constructive feedback with the leadership. No need to wait for meetings in order for them to voice out their concerns. Email and work chat apps are awesome tools you can use for this purpose.