Know How To Make Your Feedback Work

In a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, 72% of employees agreed that their performance would improve if they receive feedback from their managers.

Feedback, although not always easy to share, is one of the most powerful tools in the managerial toolbox. Whether positive or negative, it arms employees with a guide that helps them to focus, shape, and direct their actions towards success. Employee feedback has numerous benefits, so if done right, it has a positive impact on the employee and the organization.

As a manager, you need to not only share feedback but also need to know how to share it. But before learning about tips on how to share feedback, let us look at some of the benefits.

Also Read: Tips To Manage Stress Of Your Remote Team

The Benefits of Sharing Feedback

  • Helps in improving employee engagement 
  • Feedback motivates employees
  • It is a tool for continuous improvement and learning
  • Feedback improves performance
  • Increases retention of employees
  • Helps in increasing self-awareness

It goes without saying that giving feedback to your employees is very important. So it becomes crucial that feedback is shared correctly and is useful to them. Here are some pointers for you to keep in mind while sharing feedback.

Avoid The ‘Sandwich’ Approach

Feedback, whether positive or constructive criticism, should be relevant and shared clearly with the employee. Often, ‘compliment sandwiches’ are used while delivering criticism so that the employee doesn’t feel overwhelmed. This strategy involves fitting constructive criticism between positive praises and compliments. But doing so not only undermines the value of the actual feedback but also leaves the employees confused.

Also Read: Now More Than Ever: The Need For Staff Appreciation

Focus on Behaviour

While sharing feedback, the focus should be on the behaviour of the employee or what they do instead of emphasizing their character. Identify behaviours or actions that you wish to reinforce throughout the organization that also resonates with your company culture. Elucidate its importance to your employee and what effect it will have on the team and the organization.

The Secret to Giving Constructive Criticism highlights two examples of sharing feedback.

Example 1: When you interrupt me in front of a client, it causes a problem.

Example 2: Your arrogance is causing a problem.

The first example is more impactful and acceptable to the employees as it focuses on the behavior and highlights the problem instead of personality.

Also Read: Know The Benefits Of 360 Degree Feedback For Educators

Share It Often

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection”- Mark Twain.

Make feedback a regular activity at your organization for it to work effectively. Managers and leaders often treat feedback as a formal process and do it at the time of performance reviews. Feedback works best when it is given at the moment and as close to the event as possible. The fresher the feedback, the more impactful it is. While frequent feedback will help you praise good work, at the same time, it will help you guide those who need it.

Be Specific and Concise

As mentioned above, feedback should not only be shared often and on time, but it should also be specific and concise for it to be effective. When feedback is specific, it helps employees to understand what they should keep on doing and what they should avoid for the success of the organization. Specific and concise feedback is a lot more helpful to the employees when they receive constructive criticism or negative feedback from their managers.

Example 1: Manager: “Jack, your presentation could have been in more detail.”

In the above example, Jack’s manager expresses concern but is not clear about what the presentation lacked or what he could have done to improve it.

Example 2: Manager: “Jack, your presentation was incomplete. You could have included the marketing leads received from SQLs and MQLs and added graphs to make it more insightful.”

The example above clearly outlines how Jack could have improved the presentation. It is specific and concise.

Also Read: Employee Rewards and Recognition For An Engaged Workforce

Don’t Miss to Follow Up

Following up with your employees is one of the crucial steps for the feedback to be effective. Being a manager, you are not only responsible for sharing feedback but also instrumental in making sure that your employees work on it. From time to time, connect with your employees to understand how they are progressing and whether they need any help. It will help to appreciate those who have achieved success and help those who need it. It will motivate employees and encourage them to work harder.

Also Read: Employee Performance Management During COVID-19


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Feedback? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Employee Engagement Practices During COVID19

“Clients do not come first.  Employees come first.  If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” – Sir Richard Branson, Owner Virgin Group.

Employee engagement has been the topic of discussion, both pre-COVID and amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Engaged employees are motivated, happy, satisfied, and find fulfillment in their job. It results in higher productivity of the employees and the success of the organization. But employee engagement is not a one-time activity and needs to be worked upon. Before diving into the ways to improve employee engagement, let’s take a look at its definition and importance.

What is Employee Engagement?

When you would search for the term ‘Employee Engagement’ you would probably get multiple definitions for it, but Forbes defines it very simply and precisely. As per Forbes, employee engagement is the emotional commitment that an employee has towards the organization and its goals.

But often, employee engagement is ignored and not given enough priority by organizations. A recent study by Gallup(a global analytics and organization consulting firm, providing solutions to problems of the organization) highlights some significant statistics on employee engagement which reflects its importance and shows why it shouldn’t be ignored.

  • Their studies depict that 85% of employees are not actively engaged at work. These figures are a worldwide count
  • 70% of engaged employees understand better how to meet customer needs while only 17% of non-engaged employees feel the same
  • Almost 90% of employers think that employees leave for a better salary, but only 12% of employees actually do so

Also Read: The Importance Of Employee Engagement In Healthcare

It is crucial to keep your employees engaged and motivated now more than ever for the obvious reasons. Here are five key employee engagement practices or strategies that can be followed, not only during this pandemic but also once employees are back to work.

Employee Well-Being

According to Harvard Business Review, employers who invested in the well being of their employees saw three times the return of their money spent.

One factor which continues to be a high priority for all organizations is employee well-being. Not only physical health but mental health also needs to be given equal importance when employee well-being is in conversation. With the pandemic being around for almost a year, it can be pretty usual for everyone to feel stressed and anxious. When organizations care for the well-being of their employees, it results in improved employee engagement and increased productivity. It is because when employees are mentally and physically healthy, they remain motivated and there is reduced absenteeism.

Also Read: Work Stress? 5 Easy Ways To Tackle It

Frequent Feedback

Feedback drives employee engagement and helps in their continuous improvement. Both positive and constructive feedback are known to help them grow and keep them motivated. Encourage frequent check-ins and share regular feedback by connecting with your employees over an email or a video call.

Also, encourage your employees to share any feedback or concerns which they might be facing while working remotely.

More Emphasis on Recognition

As mentioned earlier in the article, it has been quite some time now that everyone is working from home. But not everyone has still adjusted to this, and with multiple distractions at home, employees are likely to get disengaged. One of the best ways to keep them motivated and improve employee engagement is by rewarding and recognizing your remote employees for their wins. It will show the employees that you not only care for them when they are working from office but also when they aren’t. Moreover, any form of recognition is said to have a long-lasting effect on the employees and improve manager-employee relationships.

Also Read: Employee Rewards and Recognition For An Engaged Workforce

Focus on Employee Development 

As per LinkedIn 2020 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay with a company if they invested in their training and development. 

Apart from employee recognition and feedback, professional development and career training have a significant impact on employee engagement. With the economy not being so stable currently, it would be a sign of relief when they see that organizations are investing in their development. Employees will appreciate the efforts and will stay with the organization for a longer time.

Flexible Working

“We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” Arianna Huffington, co-founder of Huffington Post.

Organizations are no longer focussing on strict 9 – 5 working hours; instead, they have started providing flexible working hours to their employees. Flexible working hours give employees a sense of control by choosing when, how, and where to work. It improves their work-life balance and gives them a chance to attend to personal commitments in between work.

Although some of the customer-centric job roles are finding it hard to have flexible working hours, it has already become the new normal for others and is there to stay.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Engagement? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Employee Engagement Software to Help Enhance Productivity

Given the current global scenario, most organizations are frantically trying to figure out how to hold and uplift employee engagement. Now that almost everything has gone virtual, working remotely while being cooped up at home is not a very pleasant experience for most employees. As a result, many have been losing motivation, dropping in engagement levels and conflicted on the edge of frustration and burnout. As an employer, how many times have you thought about your employees’ happiness and actually did something to make them happy?

You can say that you have had employee engagement activities and conducted employee satisfaction surveys to ensure employee happiness. But do you think these initiatives are enough to help your employees tackle a situation they have never faced before? No, its not. To top this, different people have different perceptions of happiness as well.

Also Read: Performance Appraisal Mistakes To Avoid As A Manager

Employee happiness is not just feeling happy all the time. It is feeling positive about work, being willing to fix problems rather than complaining, and accepting constructive criticism and constantly trying to improve oneself without feeling pressured. According to Sonja Lyubomirsky’s ‘The How Of Happiness’, 50% of happiness is genetically predetermined, while 10% is because of circumstances in life (Family, health etc.) and 40% is the result of your outlook.

As an employer, you cannot do anything about the first two but the last 40% of happiness is something you can help your employees with. Analyzing what makes employees happy is quite difficult, but changing the structure of your daily work pattern and prioritising employee happiness is more difficult.

We all know that improving employee satisfaction leads to a better work atmosphere and makes teamwork effortless. But it is not easy for an employer to suddenly change their perspective and work towards individual employee happiness. So instead, here’s a list of things that you  can do easily with the help of an employee engagement software and drive employee happiness and productivity.

Also read: Guide to Setting Employee Goals Through Engagedly

Be open to listening

Even before COVID-19, many employees struggled to be heard. Now that the world has gone virtual, most employees feel dissatisfied with their jobs because their opinions are often not valued. This behaviour leads to the disengagement of employees, eventually leading to dissatisfaction with work. Give your employees a chance to express what they feel and allow them to contribute their ideas at work.

Using employee engagement software allows employees to bring out their ideas and express their feelings on a common platform easily. This drives engagement and improves productivity in turn.

Recognize their efforts

Appreciation is the key to keeping employees motivated and engaged, especially when they are not getting the opportunity to be present in an office environment. They are losing out on many impromptu chances at receiving verbal recognition. Recognize the efforts of your employees and reward them. Reward doesn’t always mean money, because money is a short-term motivator. Many other things can be used as rewards to recognize good work.

Using an employee engagement software like Engagedly, which allows you to add features like employee recognition and rewards, allows users to recognize and reward their employees for their accomplishments.

Continuous learning

Training employees and providing them with the necessary resources makes them feel that their company is invested in them. The employees who receive training are usually better satisfied and are motivated than their counterparts who do not receive frequent training.

Continuous training or learning directly affects the organizational growth because of the changing economy. There are many employee engagement software which also include learning and development for employee benefit. Engagedly’s learning management system allows you to create, assign and take courses in various formats and reward them accordingly.

Also Read: OKR Examples For Your Finance Team To Balance Growth, Cost And Efficiency

Consistent priorities

Employees need to have direction and consistency when they are working. Does the line “drop everything and do this right now” sound familiar? Bad managers use it very often and it is quite annoying for their employees to understand why the task is so important that it disrupts their daily work pattern. If you want employees to prioritize certain tasks over others, then you need to communicate why. It is easier to disrupt your routine or shift priorities when you know why exactly you need to do so.

Having an effective employee engagement system for monitoring and prioritizing works could be a solution. With Engagedly’s OKRs and Ongoing Check-ins, it is easier to understand your employee priorities and assign them work accordingly.

Seamless communication system

We all know how the pandemic has affected our level of communication. When managers cannot communicate with their staff, it leads to a whole host of problems. Imagine an employer not being able to communicate company goals with their employees properly. The first ones to be affected by this behaviour are the employees. Employees feel happy and motivated to work only if their goals and responsibilities are clearly communicated to them. And this is just a small example. A lack of communication can seriously affect engagement, and productivity, and kill morale.

Communication does not always come easy. But it is something that becomes easier to do, over time. All managers need to do is start the conversation. Using employee engagement software allows employees to smoothly and easily engage in conversations with their colleagues and managers.

It is important to remember, that at the end of the day, managers cannot magically make employees happy. Happiness is a very individual concept and managers cannot fix all problems. Managers can try to make employees happy and lead the way, but ultimately, it is not the responsibility of the manager and the entire burden of employee happiness should not rest on their shoulders.

free e10 Survey

Employee Rewards and Recognition For An Engaged Workforce

With the current pandemic situation, globally organizations have changed the way they work. Not only the existing employees are working from home, but new employees are also getting on-boarded virtually. Though employees have been working from home for many months, it is nevertheless common for them to get distracted. So now more than ever, it has become crucial for organizations to keep employees engaged and motivated at all times.

If you are wondering how to do so during these times, it’s not a difficult task. Nothing works better than rewards and recognition when it comes to motivating and engaging your employees.

Here are eight simple ways that you can follow; not only during the time of crisis but also once the employees are back to work.

A Handwritten Note

Yes! A handwritten note does make the difference and has a significant impact on an employee. A personalized note, which says things like, “Thank You” or “You Make a Difference” can work wonders in boosting your employee’s performance. Keep them handy to praise your employees whenever they deserve reward or recognition for their work.

In the current scenario, where everyone is still working remotely, you can send the handwritten notes directly to their homes.

Also Read: How Important is Feedback In Today’s World?

Make It Big

As per a report by Gallup, 24% of employees feel that the most memorable recognition comes from the CEO.

Let everyone in the organization know that an employee in your team has achieved something great, which needs to be rewarded or recognized. Announce it on the company website, send emails to the management and other team members so that everyone in the organization is aware of the employee’s success. If possible, have your senior management congratulate your employee, highlighting how their contribution has made a big difference to the organization and the client. This will do a great job in keeping your employees engaged and improving their confidence.

Social Recognition

Why not make the recognition even bigger and announce it on the social media channels of the organization? Yes, you read it right! Praise and recognize your employees on the organization’s social media channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook detailing the achievements of the employee.

Add details on how the employee handled job responsibilities exceedingly well with changing job roles. Also, mention how valuable they are to the organization and how their contribution made a difference to the organization.

This will bring the employee into the spotlight and make them feel important. Since most employees are working virtually, giving them a social shoutout will motivate them to deliver better. Not only this, it will make prospective employees eager to join your organization.

Also Read: Club Reviews With Social Recognition To Enhance Engagement

Create An Example

Everyone does good work, but to make your employee feel special who has put in extra effort, make their work an example.

For instance, if a team member has used a new approach to solve client tickets, and achieved better ticket closure percentage, share it as an example in your next meeting.

Be sure not to demotivate your other employees because they might feel underappreciated in the hindsight. To avoid this, in your next virtual meeting, you can say something like, “In today’s meeting, I will share something which Mr. John has done, by which we can all benefit as a team.”

Also Read: Be A Better Manager And Avoid These 5 Mistakes

Lunch in Honour 

If it had been a few months ago, we would have surely suggested taking your employees for after-office dinners, team-lunches, or outings to acknowledge their efforts. It not only made the employees feel special, but also helped them take their mind off from work. But considering the current scenario, where there are strict norms for social distancing in many countries, it would be wise not to do so. Instead, you could get lunches delivered and could have it together over a virtual meeting.

Also Read: Employee Performance Management During COVID-19

Continuous Development Opportunities

Not all employees will go above and beyond their job roles and description at their workplace. But those who do, offer more opportunities to them for their personal and professional growth. It will not only make the one who is being recognized feel special but also will inspire others to work hard. Connect with your employees to learn about their personal and professional goals and aspirations. Give them access to learning platforms such as Coursera, Udemy and edX. If needed, organize for skill-oriented specialized training for your employees.

This will make your employees feel that you value your employees’ growth and development. On the other hand, when the employee sees that the organization is investing in their growth and development they tend to stay for a longer time with the organization.

This not only improves the employee retention rate but also helps in improving employee engagement.

Paid Time Off

A survey conducted by the American Psychological Association concluded that 89% of employees are more likely to recommend their organization as a good place to work if the organization is committed to their well-being.

What most organizations and HRs don’t consider as a reward is to give their employees some official time off from their work, but employees love it. COVID-19 has impacted the working hours of many employees. With the absence of any physical office and no strict time restrictions, employees tend to extend their work hours, which reduces the time that they spend with their families.

A day off will not only give a break to the employee from staring at the screen but will also give them time to spend with their families. Moreover, it is a good way to highlight that you not only care for the work they do but also care for their mental and physical health. It will also resonate with your organization’s culture and values.

Also Read: Work Stress? 5 Easy Ways To Tackle It

Gift Cards

Did you know gift cards can be one of the best things to reward your employees with? It saves organizations from the efforts of a gift-buying process. Moreover, gift cards allow employees to redeem it anytime to buy whatever they want. Apart from rewarding your employees with gift cards for their work, surprise them by rewarding them with gift cards on their birthdays and anniversaries too.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Rewards and Recognition? Then request us for a live demo

Request A Demo

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Here’s Why Your Employee Rewards & Recognition Fails

“People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards” — Dale Carnegie, Leadership Training Guru and Author.

Everyone loves to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts, be it at work, among friends, or at home. It gives them an affirmation that what they do is acknowledged and valued. Studies reveal that rewards and recognition programs work wonders for employees when it comes to boosting their motivation and improving employee engagement. When employees are motivated and engaged, they put in more effort into the work they do. It results in increased productivity of the employee and the organization, and helps in achieving short-term and long-term goals.

Also Read: Employee Recognition & Rewards During COVID-19

But often, employee rewards and recognition programs fail to create any sustainable impact on the employees. The programs are not rightly structured and unknowingly harm the organization. Here are five key reasons why your employee rewards and recognition program is proving to be ineffective.

Employees Work Only For The Reward

Employees are engaged and highly motivated to work when they know they will be rewarded or recognized for it. But once they are rewarded, the level of excitement falls. Moreover, once when an employee receives recognition or reward, it affects the motivation of other employees too. If organizations are not careful, then employee reward and recognition programs will condition employees to work only for getting rewarded.

Recognizing and rewarding your employees do bring the best out of them, as it keeps them motivated. But this shouldn’t be the only yardstick for them to give their best, instead, they should consistently focus on improving their performance without the presence of any external reward.

Also Read: Club Reviews With Social Recognition To Enhance Engagement

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Organizations often assume that they know what is best for their employees. But this is not the case when it comes to rewarding their employees. Even the rewards which appear to be most desirable do not work for everyone.

Here are some examples:

  • Many organizations offer leaves as incentives to their employees. But it will only be useful to those who need to take leaves or who have exhausted their leaves. It will be of no use to those who already have many leaves
  • Organizations often offer promotions as a reward. But many employees tend to avoid it when it involves shifting to a different location or giving up overtime hours

Irrelevant employee rewards and recognition results in employees putting in less effort. To avoid this, it is advisable to include employee suggestions and opinions to design your reward and recognition program.

Also Read: Is Employee Recognition Only About Employee Perks?

Late Recognition Doesn’t Count

Many organizations miss out on the fact that a delayed employee reward or recognition program does no good to improve the motivation of the employees. Recognizing employees half-yearly, annually, or even monthly reduces the consistency and enthusiasm to work, whereas a timely reward or recognition has a positive impact on their work. Using tools like Engagedly, you can reward and recognize your employees instantly by giving them public praise and awarding them points for their work.

Not Everything Should Be About the Numbers

Does your organization still reward only those who are fetching the numbers? Then we would suggest this is the correct time to change your approach towards your employee rewards and recognition process. In many organizations, rewards and recognition programs focus on specific narrow goals. A good example will be of car dealerships, where salespeople with the highest sales get monthly incentives. Such incentives or rewards result in unhealthy cutthroat competition among team members. Moreover, other important aspects of work, such as teamwork, integrity, company principles, etc. are ignored. As a consequence, the quality of work gets affected over time.

Also Read: Planning To Set OKRs For Your Sales Team?

Your Employees Aren’t Creative or Risk Takers Anymore

When it is concerned with getting recognized or rewarded, most employees take the tried and tested route to achieve the end results. The fear of failure prevents them from trying out new or innovative approaches at work. If they fail or lose, it affects their motivation and causes disengagement. Consequently, it curbs innovation, creativity and risk-taking among employees.

Plan and design your employee rewards and recognition activities in such a way that it not only focuses on end-results but also takes into consideration innovation and risk-taking by employees.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Rewards and Recognition? Then request us for a live demo

Request A Demo

Want to Know Why Your 360 Degree Feedback Failed?

We all know this by now that 360 degree feedback programs can be very useful if they function seamlessly and  provide rounded perspectives on employees. However, often than not, 360 degree feedback programs fail because of a few glaring oversights on part of the people who drive them. And because of these simple oversights and misses, organizations might think 360 degree feedback programs do not offer enough payoff for the effort involved. When in reality, it is the process that needs to be tweaked, and not the program itself that needs to be junked.

Wondering what these lapses are? here are four common reasons why 360 degree feedback programs fail:

Also read:Here’s Why Your Employee Rewards & Recognition Fails

Unclear purpose:

Honestly, there are very few endeavours that pan out well if there is no set purpose or intention to it. One of the biggest mistakes that most people make with respect to 360 degree programs is not setting a clear purpose. Organizations tend to carry out 360 degree programs because it fetches a macro perspective of performances or because every other organization is conducting it. They fail to see that if it is conducted with a purpose, it can fetch very useful insights that can help drive company growth.

Most often, 360 degree programs are carried out once a year. Typically, they collect feedback about an employee from a variety of sources, which reduces the incidence of bias and can provide relevant insights into how well the employee works. It is prudent to figure out the purpose first and then implement the 360 feedback program. It becomes easier when you know what you want to do with the resulting information.

Meagre communication:

Communication is the key to success” – we have heard this a million times!

Lack of communication can colossally mess up many undertakings, especially things like feedback programs. If a 360 feedback program is upcoming in the wings, then employees should be informed of it well in advance. You should arrange for short training sessions to make them understand how it will help them, how they should participate in it, etc. And most importantly, once the 360 feedback program is done, employees need to know that action will be taken.

Confidentiality matters!

No, we are not talking about the anonymity aspect here. Confidentiality is not the same as anonymity. If participants of a 360 degree program are not sure of how confidential their feedback is going to be or have previously been subjected to a breach of confidentiality, then naturally the results of the program will be skewed.

If you wish for a 360 degree program to run smoothly, then you need to ensure that the participants’ feedback remains confidential. And most importantly, communicate this fact to them. If they are not sure about how confidential the information is going to remain, that will affect the results of the program as well.

Also read:Club Reviews with Social Recognition to Enhance Engagement

No follow-up action:

When employees hear that a 360 degree feedback is going to be conducted, they are often eager to see some changes post program. Moreover, participants of the program also expect the same. There is no point in carrying out a 360 degree program if there will be no follow-up action plan after the program. Before the program, assure everyone that action will be taken. And once the program is done, take action. The action could be in many forms. For instance, some employees might receive additional responsibilities, or feedback they have shared about changing processes can be implemented.

Whatever plan of action is undertaken, the end result is that the change should be visible to employees or at the very least, communicated to them.

Now that you know where you might have been lacking in conducting an effective 360 degree feedback, let us know how many of these points you have implemented and what are the changes you see in the process. If you want to know how Engagedly can help you with 360 degree feedback, check out our module here.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with seamless Performance Evaluation? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Know What Features To Look For In A 360 Feedback Software

360 degree feedback, also popularly known as multirater feedback, is one of the modern methods of employee feedback in which sharing of feedback is limited not only to the managers but also involves a wide range of other stakeholders. These stakeholders may include managers, team leaders, management, peers, direct reports, vendors, and customers. When 360 degree feedback is implemented correctly, it helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the employee and designing developmental plans. Moreover, it aids in self-development and uncovering useful employee insights. Continue reading “Know What Features To Look For In A 360 Feedback Software”

Now More Than Ever: The Need For Staff Appreciation

At the very core of our humanity is our care for one another. Heartfelt appreciation provides sustenance for another day, especially in turbulent times.

– Dana Ullom-Vucelich, CHRO, health care & senior services

Surviving and thriving through this pandemic, is not an easy task. We all know that by now. So now more than ever, businesses have got to understand how important it is to keep their employees happily engaged. To drive employee experience successfully, you need to transform your rewards and recognition culture into a virtual appreciation culture.

How do you do that? It’s not too difficult. Here are some easy and effective ideas for staff appreciation that you can cultivate in your organization:

Also read: Using OKRs In Startups To Measure Success

Make Rewards and Recognition exciting

An article in O.C.Tanner on Appreciation suggests the SAIL method, in order to understand how we can personalise recognition as per individual employees. In their words,

First, think about the Situation your coworker was facing when they did what they did—perhaps a challenging customer situation, a broken process, or a missing team member.

Next think about the Action they took. What specifically did your team member do that turned things around—such as staying with a patient, rescheduling a stuck traveler, filling in for a sick employee?

Next think about the Impact this team member had, the difference they made. Was it saving a customer relationship? Developing a faster process? Averting a crisis?

Finally, Link what they did back to the purpose of your team or organisation.

Following this method can help in sharing a personalised appreciation, that makes it a lot more impactful and powerful at the same time. You can share this praise on the company wall, organization’s social platform or on email. Either ways, it is the content of the appreciation that makes the biggest impact in today’s scenario.

Implement extended appreciation

Who would have thought we will have to convert our private spaces into professional ones! But the pandemic has led us to do so. As we get a peep into employees’ private spaces through calls and video conferences, we can get a glimpse of families and pets, among other things. This creates a sense of deeper connection, if we allow so. So why not spice up the R&R programme to better suit our remote workers?

Think of tweaking your rewards and recognition programme to include family members. They’re making many adjustments, tackling different hurdles, yet working towards giving your coworker/employee the mental and physical space to work well. It’s important to be able to return the favour.

Encourage recognition from coworkers and peers

Due to the pandemic, we have to keep in mind that the appreciation process cannot remain as it was before. It needs to scale up and we must figure out various ways in which we can share positive feedback and praises. Recently we came across ALKU’s “T-Shirt Program”. It’s an interesting take on appreciation wherein they celebrate every time an employee achieves their company’s “Business and Personnel Development Principles.” When employees successfully represent one of ALKU’s principles, they get a T-shirt with a #hashtag showcasing that principle.

In the words of Rebecca Crossley, ALKU Marketing Manager

The best thing about this program is that it is employee-driven. Employees can nominate other employees for a t-shirt that represents one of ALKU’s business goals. Examples of T-shirts are #BeAPro, #PitchYourNiche, and #FollowMyLead. These nominations are posted to the company Slack channel so that everyone can celebrate the success, no matter how big or small.

Loop in the silent workers also

It is always easy to notice and recognise those who are vocal of their accomplishments. But they are not the only ones achieving. As a people leader you should take time out to notice, how many other employees or coworkers have been ploughing silently through, without demanding any attention or accolades. But just because they are silent, it does not necessarily indicate that they don’t care for appreciations or recognition. In fact, when you take time to recognize their contribution, without them having to highlight it, makes them feel valued. This can lead to enhanced employee engagement and employee retention.

Also read: How Important is Feedback in Today’s World?

Our intention behind sharing this article is very simple. We wish for you to remain more informed about the changing trends in employee appreciation and ideas as to how you can implement it in your organization. If you have more to add to this topic, we would love to know your thoughts as well. Feel free to drop in your comments below!


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with seamless Performance Evaluation? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Know How To Implement 360 Degree Feedback in Your Startup

360 degree feedback or multirater feedback, although termed as a modern method, has been a topic of research for over 45 years. One of its first research papers was published in 1974 and was titled; “Group feedback and group contingencies in modifying behavior of fifth graders”. Globally organizations have started using 360 degree feedback as the method of sharing feedback with their employees. It is more balanced, procured from multiple sources and helps in identifying areas of improvement. Moreover, it increases self-awareness, improves working relationships, and enhances the performance of the employee. GE, IBM, Amazon, PepsiCo. and many other organizations have already made a shift in their process of sharing feedback.

Also Read: Employee Feedback Matters More Than You Think

We are in the era of the startup boom, where new startups are emerging daily. But is everyone able to make it through? No, many are closing down their operations within a few years of their start. Some others are still following the traditional employee feedback practices and have a closed culture. Implementing a 360 degree feedback will not only promote an open culture in the startup but will also keep the employees engaged, which will drive employee retention. If you have not implemented it in your startup then here are some tips.

Check The Readiness

As per a study by Smith and Walker(2001), positive 360-degree feedback ratings of bank managers were correlated with customer loyalty.

Is your organization ready for a 360 degree feedback process yet? Before implementing any new process, it is important to assess how ready the organization and its employees are, for it. It is crucial in determining the success of a 360 degree feedback process. Before starting with the process, it is important to know how open everyone is to receive feedback from others. Managers and senior leaders might be hesitant to be part of a process where they will be evaluated by their direct reports. When you implement it for the first time, senior leadership needs to be on board with the plan. Leaders should understand the process to make it easier to pilot it down throughout the organization. In the following point, we will highlight how you can get everyone on board with the idea of implementing 360 degree feedback.

Also Read: Why Should You Start Practising 360 Degree Feedback?

Communication Is Important

Effective communication is the key to organizational success, as it helps businesses around the world to function smoothly. When you are implementing a 360 degree feedback process for the first time in your startup, it is important to communicate the: Why, How, and Whatof the process to all the stakeholders involved.

Communicate and conduct informative sessions on what is 360 degree feedback and why it should be implemented. Share the purpose, objective, and a timeline to implement the process in your organization. Inform everyone about the process of how the feedback will be collected and utilized. It will result in more transparency in the process, thus making it effective.

Select The Raters

As several stakeholders are involved, rater selection is one of the most important processes in 360 degree feedback. The list of raters involves a wide spectrum of people starting from managers, team leaders, peers, direct reports, customers, and vendors. It is recommended to select at least one superior, three-five peers, and six-eight direct reports; it will ensure that there is enough number of participants to receive relevant and comprehensive feedback data. In addition to this, it is also suggested that the raters should have at least six months of working relationship with the person being reviewed.

Also Read: Competencies For A 360 Degree Feedback Form

Onboard A Coach

Many startups and multinational organizations launch the 360 degree feedback successfully, but they fail to follow the process through till the end. This makes it necessary to have a coach who will guide throughout the 360 degree feedback process. Their role will involve training the raters and employees, analyzing reports, and making developmental plans for the employees. A coach can be someone internal such as the HR, the manager, or the team leader; or someone external who is trained in the 360 degree methodology.

It is recommended to have a designated coach for a startup in the initial stages of the implementation of 360 degree feedback.

Also Read: Role Of A Coach In 360 Degree Feedback

Invest In A 360 Degree Feedback Tool

Having a 360 degree feedback tool makes it easy to implement the process. Currently, multiple tools in the market have 360 degree feedback as part of their performance management suite, but it is important to select one which is easy to use, and requires no prior training. Go for a demo version of the tool before zeroing down on the final one. The tool should support simple customizations and should be robust at the same time. Moreover, there should be a 24*7 customer support team to help with any issues.

Also Read: 7 Essential Features Of A 360 Degree Feedback Tool

Action Plan

A new process, when implemented, will reap little results until there is an action plan associated with it. Once the feedback has been shared and the reports have been generated, the action plan should be worked upon. It should focus on the blindspots and the skill gaps that have been identified in the report. Employees, HRs, and managers should collaborate and work together in designing the action plan for the employee. Follow up should be conducted from time to time to know the progress of the employee.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with your 360 degree feedback? Then request for a live demo

Request A Demo

The Importance Of Employee Engagement In Healthcare

The US boasts the biggest health industry, consisting of 784,626 companies and it spends about twice what other countries do on healthcare. The global pandemic has now led to an increase in demand for healthcare, and it has become very vital to drive employee engagement, now more than ever.

Continue reading “The Importance Of Employee Engagement In Healthcare”

Why Accountability Matters in 360 Degree Feedback

Have you been wondering why your 360 degree feedback process has not been reaping the kind of results you want it to? We have been researching on it too. And guess what we found! Accountability makes a BIG difference. We all know it by now that while 360 feedback does provide a wider picture of employee competence, it cannot replace performance appraisal. But they can definitely go hand in hand, and this collaboration can provide new insights into learning and development.

So what is this accountability aspect that we are talking about? It’s the necessity for each stakeholder involved in the process of 360 feedback to hold up their side of the responsibility.

According to an article published by Cambridge Core, they mention three main needs to establish accountability:

  1. Ratee accountability to use results
  2. Rater accountability for accuracy and usefulness
  3. Organizational accountability for providing the resources that support behavioral change

You see, without each of these stakeholders taking up their roles seriously and playing out the part required, a 360 feedback process cannot fetch you the right results. Let us look into each point a little more closely.

Also read: Tips To Improve Productivity As A Remote Worker

Ratees accountability:

Receiving feedback is not always a nice experience, as its not always positive. But if we are not going to be open about it, we will not know where we lack and what we can improve in ourselves. As a result, we will become stagnant and less valuable to any organization. The main purpose of 360 degree feedback is development – both individual and organizational.

Knowing this scenario, all ratees should receive a training session so that they know how to receive feedback and inculcate them in their work life. If ratees are not going to take action on the results, there is no use of conducting such a process, and it will not yield any long or short-term growth. Ratees should be made privy to how they will benefit from utilising results in a healthy and productive manner.

Raters accountability:

The accountability factor does not just lie with the ratees only. Since time immemorial, we are aware of how raters’ perceptions and ratings are greatly affected by the work environment, work life politics, leniency, fear of repercussions, and other such factors. Most rating systems still suffer from the same political and psychometric forces.

For this very same reason, raters need to go through training sessions as well. They will automatically feel more accountable if they are aware that their inputs are greatly valued by the ratees as well as the company. As mentioned by Cambridge Core,

the raters should be made aware that,

“Feedback is an investment” – an investment whose quality will affect the rater because he/she will continue to work with the ratee, and the development of the ratee will benefit the rater, the team, and the organization. In that way, the investor can expect a return on his/her investment.

Also read: What Is Social Performance Management?

Organizational accountability:

Organizations, of course, have a much bigger role to play here. Starting from training each segment of stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities, investing in the software and setting up a seamless 360 degree feedback process, critical all-round communication and staffing, to keeping a track of how well the process is being utilised and is reaping results, organizational accountability plays the major role here.

So if you were thinking, just setting up a 360 degree feedback process is good enough, we have given you enough reasons to think it through again. For the feedback process to get you the right kind of results, these above mentioned factors cannot be overlooked. If you have thoughts to share on the same lines, feel free to comment below.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with your performance management strategy? Then request for a live demo

Request A Demo

Is Employee Recognition Only About Employee Perks?

Does your organization give you good employee perks like free lunches, paid maternity leaves, unlimited vacation days etc. ? We do understand that these can be really good motivators but do these perks go a long way towards keeping employees motivated and retaining them?

A personal touch, a human connection, empathy, however you want to call it, it is what motivates employees to continue working for an organization. If you do not know how to personalize employee perks, you can actually lose your really valuable employees. Here are a few tips for you to start recognizing and motivating employees in the right way!

Acknowledge

Matty worked so hard over the quarter to reach her goals. She even went beyond what is expected of her and accomplished her goals that directly contributed to the organizational success. Matty put in a lot of efforts to contribute to the organizational goals. Matty’s manager however, gave Matty a five star rating and left it at that. Do you think Matty is motivated anymore to put the same level of energy and efforts like before?

Well, the answer is no. Sometimes, it is really important for managers to acknowledge employee efforts. Though she received a five star rating from her manager, Matty might not be motivated to put the same efforts once again. It is important for her manager to acknowledge the effort she put and reward her or recognize her accomplishment. This practice motivates employees and improves their productivity.

Also read: Employee Recognition And Rewards During COVID-19

Though you always can’t publicly your employee accomplishments, it is important for you, as a manager to at least have a word with them where you can thank them, praise them or just give specific feedback on their ‘Good work’.

Find Out What Motivates Them

Understand that motivation works differently for everybody and adapt your techniques to suit your employees. Some employees like being praised publicly, some might be mortified at the very thought. As a manager, it is your job to recognize that motivation works differently for different employees.

Praise the ones who like public recognition, and quietly congratulate the ones who prefer to stay out of the spotlight. And this is just one way of customizing the way you motivate employees. For instances, some employees might appreciate a day off, as a reward for good work, while others might appreciate a small gift card or coupon.

Perks That Promote Work-life Balance

Dan was so excited when his company started offering travel stipend but his excitement didn’t last longer because he did not have time to utilize it. That sounds depressing, doesn’t it? At the end of the day, employees have life outside of work. Don’t forget that.

It is important to remember to employees have a life outside of work. A few organizations have been to recognize that employees are happier and work better when they have absorbing interests outside of work. Employees perks are of absolutely no use when employees have no way to use them or enjoy them.

Give them exciting perks and don’t forget to give them time to utilize and enjoy those perks.

Retain Them By Nurturing

Perks alone cannot keep employees motivated, especially if managers/CEO’s think that employees are dispensable. Think of your employees as a long-term investment and nurture them

When you show employees that you are willing to make a commitment to them, to help them grow as professionals and nurture, perks don’t become the most attractive thing about the job. They become the icing on the cake. At Engagedly, employees are given opportunity to enrol themselves into a learning and development program to up their skills. Moreover, employees have mentors in the same organization who help them at every step of their career progression.

Employee motivation is not for the benefit of the employee. A good employee motivation strategy also benefits the manager and the organization.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you be the organization that everyone wants to work for? Then request for a live demo

Request A Demo

A Guide To Effective Employee Feedback

“Feedback is the breakfast of champions” – Ken Blanchard – American author, and speaker.

With employees working from home for months now, it can be quite taxing to work with numerous distractions. In this current scenario, it is possible for employees to be disengaged at times. Employee feedback proves to be one of the most effective tools to tackle the issue of employee engagement. It not only helps  increase employee engagement but also decreases employee turnover. Moreover, feedback helps in professional development, boosts morale and increases job performance of an employee. To know why employee feedback matters more than you think, read our previous article on feedback.

How you share feedback with your employees makes a big difference. While sharing timely feedback is important, it’s also significant to know how you should do it.

Interested to know how you can give effective feedback to your employees as managers? Here are some guidelines that will help you.

On Time

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection”- Mark Twain.

As mentioned above, whether positive feedback or constructive criticism, a well-timed feedback is always more helpful than a delayed one. Timely feedback helps employees to correlate the feedback with their actions. Managers often commit the mistake of not sharing feedback immediately and reserving it for the half-yearly or annual performance review. Consequently, employees don’t get a clear idea of what they are doing right or wrong until the reviews are conducted.

As a manager, put in place a continuous and ongoing feedback process for your team. Regular feedback will not only allow you to recognize your top-performing employees frequently, but also, will help you  give constructive feedback on time.

Also Read: Wondering How To Give Constructive Feedback? Here’s How

Be Specific

A feedback should not only be correctly timed, but it should also be specific. When employees receive feedback which is specific to their actions, they get a better understanding of what they did right and what they need to change.

Instead of saying: “Jack, you have done a great job.”

Try saying: “Jack, you have provided timely resolution for all our client issues. As a result, they have renewed their contract for another 5 years. You have done a great job!”

Being specific becomes even more important while giving negative or constructive feedback.

Also Read: How Engagedly Can Help You Enhance Employee Engagement

Go In Prepared

Feedback helps in the professional and personal development of employees. It boosts employee engagement and facilitates two-way communication between the employee and their manager. Looking at the importance of feedback, it becomes essential for managers to go into a feedback session prepared. Preparing for the session with facts, examples and statistics will make the feedback process effective for your employees.

Make It Interactive

Often the feedback process becomes a one-way discussion, which ends once the managers and leaders share their feedback or opinion. Instead, make it a two-way process by making it interactive and requesting your employee for inputs. Give opportunities to the employees to share their concerns and opinions. Create a feedback loop by asking questions like, “Are you satisfied with your performance?”. A two-way communication not only helps in building trust between the manager and the employee but also helps in getting valuable insights.

Also Read: Employee Performance Reviews: A Guide For New Managers

Focus on Positives

When giving constructive or negative feedback to your employees, be careful not to overshadow the positives. A study in the Harvard Business Reviewsuggests that negative feedback damages the employee engagement of the organization. While giving feedback highlight the positives and accomplishments first before pointing out the negatives. When employees get appreciated for their work, they feel that their work is valued, and they avidly work on areas that need improvement. This not only increases productivity but also improves employee engagement.

Open Culture

Promote an open culture in your organization, where as a manager, you not only share feedback, but also ask for feedback about yourself from your employees. It promotes a sense of an open organization culture and a healthy and transparent workplace.

Employees might be hesitant to speak up in a direct interaction with their managers because of various reasons. Using anonymous multirater feedback or anonymous surveys can fix this situation.

Also Read: Be The Organization That Everyone Wants To Work For – Remote Work Edition

Follow Up

Sharing feedback is not a one-time process, it should be continuous and ongoing. Once the feedback has been shared, follow up with the recipient to check the progress made after the previous feedback session. It gives managers a chance to track the progress of their employees. Not only this, with an ongoing feedback process managers get to appreciate their employees on time.

If you are looking for a Performance Management Software with a Real Time Feedback module for your organization, request for a free demo with us.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit. 

Customize 360 Feedback Survey Questions According to Departments

360 feedback is now a hotshot topic in the HR industry. Most of the organizations all over the globe have started instating the process or are already running it successfully. Given the need for constant streamlining, no amount of information about it is too much at the moment. So here we are to answer a vital question on it – why you need to customize your 360 Feedback Survey Questions according to different departments?

While creating the questions for 360 feedback or the multirater, it might be less work for the HR department to create a generalized questionnaire and circulate it. But that’s not going to fetch you the result you are truly looking for. Each department runs on starkly different skill sets and work ethic.

For example – While in the coding department, attention to detail might be a priority skill required, in the sales department, it will not be the same. It will be the art of communication. So, if you ask the question, “Rate the employee’s level of attention to detail” to everyone, its relevant for certain departments, but not for all. It fails to add much value for others. 

In such a case, their work schedules, way of handling tasks, way of communication, various such aspects will differ, and the survey will not fetch relevant results. So the best way to tackle this is to create your own 360 competency model, wherein you can pick up the core skills required for each department and then frame the questions around those skill sets. By skill sets, we don’t mean only practical competencies. It should also include questions on leadership, ease of collaboration, being a team player, etc.

Also read: These Features Can Make A Big Difference In A Goal Setting Software

Here are some quick steps to creating customised questions for 360 feedback:

  1. Choose one or multiple established questionnaires
  2. From these questionnaires, pick a couple of questions that would remain consistent across all departments
  3. Then, make a list of each department’s core competencies
  4. Pick the questions that are relevant for each department
  5. If the questionnaires don’t cover certain skill sets and areas, create your own

People at different levels have different competencies as well:

When employees move up the company ladder, the skills required to succeed in each level changes. The same skills that worked perfectly at one level, would not get you far once you are promoted to the next level. So if you are developing a 360 feedback questionnaire that will be used to evaluate employees of multiple levels, it is necessary to look at the different levels in terms of success and then develop the questions. Here are certain areas you can look into:

Team building and connectivity – The evaluation of the C-suite and the upper level employees should include questions on team building, emotional intelligence, relationship building and connectivity, as it is one of the core competencies required. They are required to connect with different departments for strategic collaborations. For lower level employees on the other hand, individual contributors and non-managers, the evaluation should be based on being a team player and supporting team endeavours, interpersonal skills, and so on.

Motivation and strategy – The people leaders have a big role to play in these areas. It is a part of their role to strategise, set goals around the company vision and mission, and to keep their employees motivated. 360 feedback questions should cover these competencies. Individual contributors and non-managers should not have many questions in this area. These are not the core competencies for them.

Management of tasks – There can be lesser questions for the C-suite and the upper level employees in this area. The leaders would not have become leaders if they were not competent in basic task management, when they were at the lower levels. The individual contributors and non-managers on the other hand, need to be evaluated on their basic skills of task management, reliability, and performance.

Also read: 6 Must Have Features of A Performance Management Software

Given all the above points, we understand that it can be a challenging task to customize your 360 Feedback Survey Questions according to different departments and levels, but once you create the framework the first time, it becomes easier from the second time onwards. You would already know the process and the competencies. Editing them to suit the current scenario won’t take you much time. Engagedly’s multirater allows for customized 360 feedback surveys, that can ease out the whole process for you.

If you are looking for a demo, click here.


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit. 

Employee Feedback Matters More Than You Think

Employee feedback is a precious and valuable resource that every organization should encash on. You know why? Because it’s an impactful business driver. It also indicates that an employee trusts you enough to share what they are feeling.

And yet, most often than not, employee feedback gets ignored or is simply swept under the rug. In fact, there seems to be a tremendous disconnect between what managers and leaders think, and what employees think. Only three in ten U.S. employees strongly agree that at work their opinions seem to count. Even at many organizations where leaders specify that employee voices are important, employee feedback tends to get the short shrift. Alternatively, leaders might not want to listen to employee feedback because of their past experiences with it.

The reason why it is important that managers and leaders listen to employees is that they have more impact on employees than they realize. Good listening and reception skills play crucial role in leadership. Good leadership in an organization can positively affect factors such as employee job performance, job longevity, and employee morale.

There are many downsides to ignoring what employees are saying. If they are spelling it out explicitly for you, it is your job to listen and take the necessary action. Here are some of the cons of not listening to your employees.

Also read: A Guide To Manage Your Remote Employees

Employees know!

You might think, when you are being amiably present, they don’t notice. But employees do know when they are not being listened to. They take note every time they see feedback being ignored. And once they feel no one is listening, they stop sharing feedback completely. This does not bode well for managers because if employees don’t share feedback, managers will not know what problems the employee is facing, or even if there are broader issues at play. In the long run, it could bring about large, unanticipated issues.

Being ignored can lead to frustration

No one likes to be ignored. You need to put yourself in the employee shoes at times, in order to understand whether they are feeling heard or not. Employees who feel ignored or know their feedback is not being heard will act out their frustrations elsewhere. This could manifest in a variety of ways.

To site an example, they might engage in petty disputes with colleagues, be combative, disconnect from work, or even stop contributing and sharing opinions altogether.

Everybody is not the same, so different employees will express displeasure in different ways, and in the case of some high performers – who previously went above and beyond – will do just enough to ensure they finish their work. Essentially, the ramifications are far-reaching when employees feel ignored. It affects the organizations in more ways than one and even impacts overall organizational productivity.

Trust is lost

When employee feedback is ignored, they lose trust in their managers and often, in the senior leaders as well. One way conversations never last long. We all know that. When they perceive that their opinions have no value or not being heard, they are less inclined to hear the other side as well. This causes a communication gap. And when communication is affected, trust is heavily impacted. And if employees feel they cannot trust leaders in an organization, they will simply move on to other organizations.

Communication is an important aspect of organizational productivity. And it is always a two-way process. It’s important to not just share feedback, but also be open to receiving as well. That’s how you will know whether the employees of the organisation are happy to be a part, or there need to be various changes.

Also read: How to Conduct Quick Check-ins Efficiently


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit. 

Ideas To Keep Employees Motivated Through A Crisis

Wondering how you can keep your employees engaged through this crisis? In order for them to remain engaged, they need to be motivated first. But motivation is not something that employees alone need to practice. Motivation also needs to come from external forces, such as bosses and managers too.

Now during the COVID-19 times, taking employees out for lunch is not an option anymore. So we will have to make do with the other options that we have. Here are some employee motivation ideas that can work very well:

Acknowledgement:

Boost your employees’ morale by making concrete displays of appreciation like posting a thank you note, sending them free lunch or coffee, giving them small tokens of appreciation, etc. Verbal appreciation is good, but tangible displays of appreciation are even better.

Public appreciation:

Motivate your employees by offering them regular feedback. When they achieve targets, make sure that you recognize their achievements publicly. Publicly recognizing your employees lets them know that you appreciate them so much, that you want all the other people to know how much you appreciate them.

Healthy work culture:

Unhealthy work environments are terrible places to work in, as anyone who has experienced it once can attest too. In a healthy work environment, discussion, debate, and innovation are encouraged. Employees are motivated, celebrated and taught how to fix mistakes. Creating a healthy work environment might take a little work at first, but when you do get to it; your employees will thank you for it!

Amicable environment:

Fear is not a motivator. It might work for a while, but in the long run, all it is going to do is backfire spectacularly. Instead of using fear as a motivator, you need to listen to your employees. This does not just mean listening on a surface level.  You need to look beyond the surface, see what they are good at, see what they are not good at, find a way to work through that and help them become better.

Practice less hierarchy: 

Humility as a boss is an essential component of a leader in the making. There’s nothing more demoralizing than a boss who leaves their employees in the lurch. Share the good times with your employees and share the bad times too. When your employees know that you’ve got their back no matter what happens, they will willingly work for you.

Personal development matters:

Employees are not meant to stay in one organisation forever. And neither should they have too. Help your employees map out beneficial career paths and help them grow as skilled individuals who will be a credit to any organization they join. Employees are more likely to be motivated to work for you when they know that you are going to help them out in ways that do not only benefit you.

How do you motivate your employees? Share your ideas with us!


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit. 

5 Essential Managerial Tips to Create Employee Engagement

We all know that employee disengagement can be the death of great customer experience and superior business results. But in the COVID ridden world, keeping employees engaged has become the most stressful task.

In the insurance sector or otherwise, many organizations neglect this area because they focus on numbers and how to improve, increase company profit, and what helps benefit the company. All managers face a humungous task in today’s world, i.e. keeping your employees engaged. So here are some tips you can use to increase engagement among your employees.

1. Create a sharing space:

Encourage knowledge sharing by creating a sharing space, where the members of all the teams in your organization can share knowledge, new ideas and information about their project. To make this fun you can change the theme every month and ask them to share ideas according to the theme.

Also Read: Why Should You Start Practising 360 Degree Feedback?

2. Have a newsletter:

Start and circulate an employee-focused magazine or newsletter with news, featured opportunities, stories and other fun columns. It could include different learning courses up and running, quiz, wishes to employees on occasions, etc. To make it more engaging, feature the employee of the month in each edition.

3. Appreciate and recognize:

It is a part of managers’ responsibilities to create an engaging environment in the organization where employees are encouraged to get engaged by tons of exciting benefits and offers. As far as rewards go, you may want to consider giving extra time-off to employees that have done well on a project, or flexible timings for few days.

4. Know your employee’s strengths:

Employees want to be given the opportunity to shine, which means they have to have the ability to do what they do best as often as possible. The biggest mistake that a manager can make is assigning tasks to those who work under them that simply don’t match their skills. Talk to your employees and find out which task they are comfortable with and assign their work accordingly.

Also read: How Stay Interviews Can Help You Retain Top Employees

5. Think out of the box:

Small things can often have lasting impact.Try something unusual to engage your employees. For example, ask them to have colored coffee mugs at work or something more creative. Even if you slip up from time to time, your staff will appreciate the fact that you’re putting in the effort to get to know them on a more personal level.

Do not overlook this crucial area. Employee engagement is what drives an organization forward. Though some of these activities might take some time and effort, they will definitely be appreciated by your employees.

What ideas do you have to increase employee engagement? Share your ideas with us!

Find out how Engagedly can help in increasing employee engagement by requesting for a free demo!


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit. 

Why Should You Start Practising 360 Degree Feedback?

Feedback is an integral part of every organization as it facilitates communication. Increased communication not only helps in building employee engagement but also in improving employee retention. But, a very common issue in managerial or one-on-one feedback is, it is often subjective and biased and offers a limited perspective. For a more balanced and objective approach, everyone is either slowly shifting to 360 degree feedback or at some places, both are being used together for review.

What is 360 Degree Feedback?

360 degree feedback, often referred to as multirater feedback, is a process where employees receive confidential and anonymous feedback from people who work around them. Multiple stakeholders give their inputs about the employee, which includes managers, senior leadership, vendors, customers, peers, and direct reports. It evaluates employee’s performance, behavioral skills, and competency, which helps in self-development and will eventually help in team and organization growth.

Due to the comprehensive and balanced nature of the process, 360 degree feedback has been implemented by many founders and CEOs of K-12 schools, to evaluate their teachers. It not only helps in improving their knowledge and teaching capabilities but also makes them open to feedback that helps in their professional growth. If you have not implemented it till now, here are some reasons why you should.

Personal Development

A successful 360 degree feedback helps in increasing the self-awareness of an employee. It makes one conscious of their personality traits and helps them to recognize their hidden strengths and weaknesses. They understand their behavior better, which helps them realize how they work. This also helps the management to understand what prevents employees from working together.

Career Development

As per the Skills Gap Report of 2017, nearly 80% agree that there is a skills gap, and more than a third of them said it affected them personally.

A multirater feedback helps one in identifying their training needs to develop their skills. As employees are self-aware, they take up the responsibility to sharpen their existing skills and build new ones. The employer just needs to facilitate an environment for them in which their need for career development is encouraged and supported. When employees see that their growth and development needs are supported, employee engagement and retention increase.

Also Read: 4 Features of Employee Feedback Software That Simplify Managers’ Lives

Multiple Sources

In a multirater or 360 degree feedback, the employee receives feedback from multiple sources, that makes it objective. An individual gets multiple inputs for their role, performance, and ideas. Colleagues’ perception helps one to know how others perceive them and their work. It helps employees to know and analyze themselves better.  As it provides a well-balanced view of the behavior and skills, it is more acceptable to the employees.

Method Over Outcome

The 360 degree feedback focuses on the method instead of the outcome. It is more important to do things the right way, even if it does not produce an outcome. There is a higher chance of achieving success when employees focus on the process instead of the outcome.

When employees are from the teaching industry, they need to know the importance of doing things the right way and teach the same to their students.

Also Read: A 7 Step Guide To A Successful 360 Degree Feedback Process

Enhanced Working Relationships

As traditional feedback is one-sided, the employee has nothing to say from their side, and there is no sense of personal connection. But as a 360 degree feedback involves everyone in the process, it improves working relationships and communication within the team. Since one knows how they are perceived by others, it helps them work seamlessly as part of a team. 

Reduced Discrimination

As feedback is received from different sources who are at different levels, biases based on race, age, gender, etc. are significantly reduced. The “horns and halos” effect of the traditional feedback process is also minimized. The feedback which an employee receives in a 360 degree feedback is often impartial and based on their outlook towards their work.

Also Read: The Downsides of 360 Degree Feedback And How To Fix It

Open Culture

As every employee is part of the feedback process, they feel that their inputs and opinions are given importance to. It helps in promoting a sense of open culture in the organization where everyone can share the opinion without any fear of their superiors.

Find out more about Engagedly’s 360 feedback software by requesting for a free demo!


Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.


Get in touch with us to know more about the free remote working tool-kit.