60% of employees want feedback- But managers are not responding

While thinking that you are not a good employee because your manager doesn't give you good or bad feedback, Forbes has conducted research that found that 65% of the employees need more feedback with 41-60% of people to want feedback as frequently as daily or weekly. Moreover, employees who don't receive weekly recognition for their work are 2 times higher to say they would leave their job than those who do. 

60% of employees want feedback- But managers are not responding

Feedback is a pillar 

  Feedback is vital to employees' ongoing development. It clarifies expectations, builds confidence, and helps employees learn from their mistakes for better performance. Once the employee knows what is right and what isn't, he becomes able to adapt his behavior and improve it. Hence, feedback is essential for individual and team performance.  

Quote: According to Blanchard, "He explained it in sports terms. Can you imagine training for the Olympics with no one telling you how fast you ran or how high you jumped?" Ultimately, just like we need breakfast to fuel us through the day, we need feedback to help us to perform at our best. 

When feedback is scarce, … 

    Many questions pop into the employee's mind with false assumptions that render his performance, such as: 

• What can I develop to get better results? 
• To what extent I achieve the team goals?  
• Is my work worth doing?  
• What my manager thinks of me and how he values my performance? 

   Great Managers are fully aware of the employees' strengths and weaknesses, so giving them feedback help in their professional growth as well as the agency development, and in pushing their motivation to succeed. 

Focusing on feedback is vital. Ask yourself? If it's a fitness program, which is better to track the progress week by week or to track once every few months? When will you reach your goals quicker?  

Remote Working is not an excuse to ignore feedback. 

  No doubt, with the current circumstances and the spread of the Coronavirus, communications become less while adhering to " remote work" systems. Still, we can't take Coronavirus as a scapegoat for everything. It's a long-lasting problem that begins and will last after Coronavirus age if we don't find solutions. 

So, why 65% of employees crave feedback? It's a core element of management communication that is one of the successful management features, why it's lacking?  

If we ask any manager, the answer will be one of the following: 

I've no time for giving feedback- without a shadow of a doubt, most employees heard these four words one day while asking for feedback, "I don't have enough time." Everyone realizes the fact that managers are multitasking, with their own management, supervising their employees, working on their projects, and handling problems. Yet, Are these sufficient excuses? No, a manager has to offer feedback even if it's informal and personal- it will take not more than five minutes. There's always a better way to do it- find it.  

Giving feedback is stressful- It's a fact! But "No one is perfect; that's why pencils have erasers." Learn how to provide feedback; it is " a must-have skill" for managers. This position is challenging; you are responsible for people's feelings and futures- but it's a fact, and it's your job. For effective management, you have to give both positive and negative feedback.  

Management selection and training processes are fragile- Whereas companies select managers depending on their authority, experience, and technical skills with no attention to their abilities to communicate effectively, listening, or giving feedback, and neglect the importance of " training programs" with the repeated excuse of "costs," feedback gap will never end and organizations will lack professionalism and leadership. 

Feedback is a two-way process 

   Always remember! If managers seek to build effective working relationships, they have to give regular good quality feedback. It's crucial for successful planning. Give feedback to notice significant changes in your team's performance.  

Even Bill gates said: "We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve."  

    Feedback can be a two-way street; employees should give their managers feedback. Mutual feedback helps everyone to improve. You can end the week with a short survey focusing on a specific aspect of your management style.  

Conclusion  

To conclude, "Save the excuses. It's not about "having" time. It's about making time. If it matters, you will make time." You have to communicate thoughtfully and honestly with your employees.  

  Listen, ask questions, create conversations to adapt to modern agile management practices. Make a shift from the traditional feedback box to applying three types of feedback: Skill feedback, Performance Feedback, and Task feedback. Feedback will improve the employee, the manager, the whole organization's performance. Give feedback to see the growth you have expected.  

    In "Thanks for the Feedback book: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well," Sheila Heen said: "… [those who actively ask for feedback] adapt more quickly to new roles, get higher performance reviews, and show others they are committed to doing their jobs." Help your employee so that he could give due credit to your efforts and feedback when he becomes in your shoes. 

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