5 Reasons Why Feedback is Important

 

Effective feedback, both positive and negative, is very helpful. Feedback is valuable information that will be used to make important decisions. Top performing companies are top performing companies because they consistently search for ways to make their best even better.  For top performing companies ‘continuous improvement’ is not just a showy catchphrase.  It’s a true focus based on feedback from across the entire organization – employees, volunteers, participants, and stakeholders.  Top performing companies are not only good at accepting feedback, they deliberately ask for feedback.  And they know that feedback is helpful only when it highlights weaknesses as well as strengths.

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Effective feedback has benefits for the giver, the receiver, and the wider organization. Here are five reasons why feedback is so important.

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1. Feedback is always there.  If you ask someone in your organization when feedback occurs, they will typically mention an employee survey, performance appraisal, or training evaluation.  In actuality, feedback is around us all the time.  Every time we speak to a person, volunteer, participant, etc., we communicate feedback.  In actuality, it’s impossible not to give feedback.
    

2. Feedback is effective listening.  Whether the feedback is done verbally or via a feedback survey, the person providing the feedback needs to know they have been understood (or received) and they need to know that their feedback provides some value.  
    

3. Feedback can motivate.  By asking for feedback, it can actually motivate employees and volunteers to perform better. Everyone likes to feel valued and appreciate being asked to provide feedback that can help formulate business decisions.  And feedback from volunteers, participants, staff, and stakeholders can be used to motivate and build better working relations.
    

4. Feedback can improve performance.  Feedback is often mistaken for criticism.  In fact, what is viewed as negative criticism is actually constructive criticism and is the best find of feedback that can help to formulate better decisions to improve and increase performance.
    

5. Feedback is a tool for continued learning.  We are investing time in asking and learning about how others experience working with the Award.  Continued feedback is important across the entire organization in order to remain aligned to goals, deliver better programmes, improve relationships, and much more. Continued learning is the key to improving.