Are you a boss with a no news is good news approach to management? That is, you usually only let your employees know if something is wrong, but you hardly ever tell them when they are doing a good job? If this sounds like you, it might be time to put a little thought into giving your staff members some quality feedback. It has become increasingly clear that sort of leadership style, and a lack of feedback in the workplace, can actually be counter-productive.
For staff to be able to work to the best of their ability, they require constructive feedback, whether it is positive or negative. And, it’s not just staff members that need feedback, the business as a whole needs it too, in order to improve.
As a boss, you should be seeking customer feedback, giving employee feedback, and be receiving feedback on your own performance. Proper feedback is a key element of good leadership, so here’s a few ways to improve feedback mechanisms in your workplace.
Honesty is the best policy
It’s natural to get defensive when criticised, but all employees should have a clear idea of how they are performing against expectations. Honest appraisals, delivered in a professional, non-threatening manner, can help employees improve their performance. All feedback should be followed up with discussions on how the employee can improve. Employees should also be encouraged to examine their performance, and come up with their own ways of improving. The goal is to make employees take ownership of their performance, and be more committed to reaching their objectives.
Make it easy for customers to give feedback
It’s highly valuable to have a good idea of what customers think. You can’t just assume you are providing what they want, so it’s good business practice to actively seek their opinion. Therefore, you should make it as easy as possible for customers to give you feedback.
Surveys are a popular method of getting customer feedback. Make sure you ask simple, direct questions, and don’t make it too long. Asking people to rate different aspects of your service on a numerical scale is often an effective way to receive feedback, but you should always allow customers room to expand if they want to.
Suggestion boxes are great for customers who have only minor grievances, while asking customers directly about their experience should also be encouraged.
Have you thought about making all employees wear name badges? Name badges are an easy and practical way to receive feedback about your staff, because customers will be more easily able to identify the person who served them. There are many different types of name badges. Brisbane businesses and others around Australia can benefit in a number of ways from using badges. They are not only a great feedback tool, but they also foster networking opportunities, and help staff members feel like individuals who are valued in the workplace.
Measuring customer satisfaction
The methods you use to get customer feedback will allow you to measure customer satisfaction. It’s important to take note of complaints received in the feedback process. For every customer who makes a complaint, there are several others who were equally unhappy, but didn’t bother to complain. Keeping a log of all complaints, what they were about, and how they were resolved, is a very effective way of measuring customer satisfaction and identifying what aspects of your business need improvement.
Don’t be afraid of feedback
If you’re in a management position, you should not be immune to feedback either, as you can often benefit from it the most. You should be open to hearing feedback of your management style from peers, superiors and subordinates, and to using that feedback to improve how you manage employees.