Being conscious of your development is something that more and more employees are finding important these days. Continuous feedback is a frequently mentioned topic in this regard. There are even companies that see the continuous solicitation of feedback as a rock-solid condition for the successful development of an organization. Because if employees are consciously working on their own development, it is important to continuously know what others think of him/her. People who work with that person on a daily basis. However, practice shows that giving and receiving feedback is really not always easy and this 'trend' gets watered down after a while. We often hear back that employees are very enthusiastic as soon as feedback is introduced. But as time passes, this becomes less and less. Why is that? And how can you make feedback part of your daily work? In other words: how do you ensure that feedback becomes a continuous process? We give you 9 tips from practice.
Trend!
We start at the beginning: why is it that employees are very enthusiastic at the beginning, but that enthusiasm diminishes over time? Actually it is very simple, because don't you know that feeling that something is super cool when you do it for the first time, but the more often you do it, the less fun it becomes? This is often how it works with feedback. As soon as an organization starts implementing (a) feedback (tool) a lot of attention is paid to it, employees are curious and want to try it right away to see how it works. However, you have to keep investing energy to get something out of it that is actually useful. And that energy is where it often goes wrong.
So basically, feedback should become a habit in your daily work. So somehow you have to make sure that giving feedback becomes a continuous process. Unfortunately, this often takes a lot of effort. For example, we ourselves (at Treams) do this with quarterly meetings. At the end of each quarter, we sit together in teams to evaluate our goals. Prior to this meeting, everyone asks for feedback from at least 4 colleagues. We all know that this is a time for us to reflect on our development. And that's what we teach clients: make sure employees recognize that feedback is going to help with their own development. To give you a little more guidance, we have listed 9 practical examples for continuous feedback:
1. Make it a habit
One of our clients wanted giving feedback to be something everyday. Airy and part of the work. Through weekly meetings, they tried to encourage everyone. However, after several weeks it became clear that no concrete action was being taken. No time was set aside for it. Until they started looking for an action that was done daily by (almost) everyone. A moment when employees were briefly distracted from the busyness of their work anyway. 'Giving feedback while eating your banana' was born. At some point, eating a banana became automatically associated with giving feedback and it became a habit for the employees within this organization . Don't like bananas? Don't panic, it can also be done with an apple, prior to a meeting or after the conclusion of a project.
2. Start with the managers
A good example follows. So does feedback. So start with the managers. Train them in how to ask for feedback and then instruct them to ask for feedback from their team. And then not so much on performance as a manager, but more on content. If as a manager you allow yourself to be open and vulnerable, the ball will start rolling automatically. For example, I recently spoke with Geri van Winssen, MT member of Royal Dekker. He has been asking for feedback on his performance from his direct colleagues and external people he works with for years. Geri explains, "I can think I'm doing a good job, but if no one ever tells me I'm not, I'll keep thinking I'm doing a good job and keep doing what I'm doing." By opening himself up to the feedback of others, he wants to show that there is still an opportunity for further development in everyone. Geri also explained that colleagues often find it difficult to give feedback to their supervisors. "Through a good conversation, you can remove those barriers very well."
3. Treaaaams to survive, Treeeeaaams makes your wish come true....
You probably know it: 2 brothers on the 4th floor - Dreams. One of our clients substituted "dreams" for "Treams" in this song. How fun! Now you may be thinking, 'so? What does this have to do with continuous feedback?' Well, this song is one that sticks in your head all day long. Even we, as Treams employees, couldn't get it out of our heads. Basically, this song makes you think about Treams and giving feedback over and over again. Can't you stop singing now either?
4. Feedback magazine
Many people find giving feedback difficult. And it is! So give your employees some pointers. You don't have to tell them exactly when to ask for feedback and what to ask for, but it is good to get them started. Could you use some tips as well? We have developed a magazine for that purpose. It contains free tips, tricks and inspiration, all related to feedback.
5. The power of repetition
You probably know the above statement, but it actually seems to work. Several studies have been done that claim to know how long it takes a person to learn a habit. No matter how many days this may take in reality, the power of repetition is always important here. How to do this with feedback? Hang posters with tips or inspirational quotes in different places where people frequent. By the coffee machine or on the toilet. This will remind them several times a day and make it easier to continuously ask for feedback.
6. Feedback Week
How cool is that? An entire week dedicated to feedback. To activate employees, one of our clients organized a feedback week a few weeks ago. This week was opened by the compliment girls. They walked around, observed and wrote sincere compliments for employees. Put those in your pocket! Or as the Compliments Girls themselves put it, "On a handwritten card, the best in a person is carefully and lovingly highlighted. You could see real-life what a compliment can do to someone. How motivating is that?
7. Employees are your very best ambassadors!
Which employees are pro at providing continuous feedback? Use these employees as ambassadors of feedback. The other day we heard an employee say, "I can't live without feedback, I see my own development getting better but also get so much satisfaction out of it when I see my team grow. Let them tell the story. Emphasize especially what feedback brings to them.
8. Start small and build it big.
When implementing a change, you're bound to encounter resistance. And that's healthy. After all, it means people are wary. So it's important to start small so you can build it up big later. For example, start by giving compliments and then build it up to asking for feedback and eventually to holding 360° questionnaires.
9. Connect!
There are often plenty of other projects running within your team or organization. Take advantage of this and link feedback to these projects. Consider, for example, the introduction of core values or a new way of working. Stimulate these processes by asking for and giving feedback.
And always remember that feedback is meant to make each other better. How wonderful to see someone else take the time to help you grow and develop. That's really what feedback is all about. Ultimately, of course, employees are responsible for this themselves, but to encourage this process, management and HR can certainly lend a hand. Do you have any other tips that help for continuous feedback? We'd love to hear them!
Feedback, A hot topic. Whether it's digital or physical, more and more companies are adopting it. The ideal picture is of continuous feedback. Did you know that feedback nowadays is often even seen as the way to improve teamwork and allow individuals to grow and develop optimally? Do you also want to get started with feedback? In this magazine we give you inspiration, tools and tips & tricks to make you a feedback pro too.