How and Why Feedback Can Help You Improve

How often do you proactively initiate feedback from your team members? I don’t mean the ad-hoc, daily discussions that are necessary for getting work done; I’m referring to the type of feedback that gives you direction, vision and strategic information to help you run your department effectively?

Any professional organisation will require that there is  employee feedback because it will lead to an improvement in the working conditions and in the overall improvement of efficiency and productivity of the employees. This will obviously have an effect and benefits on the company also. But what are the kind of employee feedback questions that can be used for this purpose?

An employee feedback survey becomes an essential tool and device for any organisation. It works on the simple theory that the company benefits from employee happiness. Happier employees are willing to work better and their productivity and efficiency also increases; thus the company benefits in the long run.

The other reason why feedback becomes important is because, without it, the company might not know the problems that the employees face at their specific level. When they have their feedback, they can then work on the problems and bring about solutions for a better working environment. Along with that they also get an understanding of their strengths and they can ensure that these are built upon. These feedback questions also help them find out  if the policies and other factors they have introduced are, in fact, working, and if they are not, the kind of changes that need to be brought about.

An employee feedback survey can work at finding a feedback for several issues that the company faces. For example the facilities provided, the working environment, the growth opportunities, the factors that influence the performance of the employees and many others. Here are some of the examples that you can look into while formulating the feedback questions. These focus on several aspects of the working of a company:

Each question can be marked on a scale of one to ten, or from strongly disagree to strongly agree…

This company offers you  positive environment for you to work in…

All employees are encouraged to share their ideas…

All employees are provided equal opportunities for advancement

All employees can approach the management freely…

The new policy on XXX has brought in a lot of positive change…

The training programs we run help in improving employee performance.…

Teamwork is given a lot of importance in this company…

The company does not force employees to choose between work and family…

All employees are treated equally in the organization…

You are provided several opportunities for growth and advancement

The company employs fair means for promotions and appraisals…

Appraisals are done at regular periods and there is no reason to complain about its functionality…

You are given adequate resources to complete your work…

You can approach management when you face any problem…

You are satisfied with the way the organization works in general.…

The importance of choosing the right kind of feedback questions to be included in a survey cannot be over-estimated. When chosen correctly, it leads to an effective questionnaire that will provide for correct feedback, which will help your organisation grow and become more efficient. It will give you a clear picture of examples of the kind of issues and factors that can be focused on. If you get it right, you give yourself the opportunity to find out significant information on how the team members see the big picture in your company.

Many thanks

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Training   | Image courtesy by Jeroen van Oostrom of FreeDigitalPhotos.Net