Why Every Organization Should Practice Continuous Feedback

Continuous feedback is not very different from other kinds of feedback systems. It is simply the act of sharing feedback on a regular basis, so that the recipient receives regular guidance from the feedback giver. There are various benefits of this. It is simply feedback that is intended to help and refine, as opposed to just giving an opinion. 

The continuous feedback model can help your organization enhance performance levels in tandem with engagement.

Also read: Want To Measure Your Employee Engagement? Here’s How

Enhances engagement

Straight away, one of the biggest improvements that can be seen with a culture of continuous feedback is an increase in the engagement levels. There are plenty of studies that showcase how employees are unhappy with the amount of feedback they are receiving. And when they do receive valuable feedback, they agree that it helps them work better.

Here are some statistics that will give you better insights with regards to feedback:

• 27% strongly agree that the feedback they receive helps them perform better.
• Gallup found that only 21% of millennials and 18% of non-millennials meet with their manager on a weekly basis. The majority of employees (56% of millennials and 53% of non-millennials) say they meet with their manager as infrequently as less than once a month. Source

Everyone likes to be valued at work. Meaningful and continuous feedback fulfils that desire. Employees believe the work they are doing aligns with the organization or, they will ensure their work aligns with the organization’s end goals and objectives.

Constructive feedback benefits all

Continuous feedback isn’t meant only for certain employees. Constructive feedback is for everyone. It can help struggling employees improve, good employees become better and it might even help struggling employees figure out they are suited for different job roles.

The idea behind continuous feedback is to consistently suggest improvements and refinements that help the employee. They need not  be criticisms or praise. They just need to offer the employee food for thought as they continue working on their project. The work we do is most often dynamic, so there’s always some room for feedback. Though this principle cannot be applied to all kinds of work. For example, automatic machine work has already been refined to the highest level possible.

Also read: Here’s How You Can Boost Employee Engagement in Your Organization

Increases retention

When employees receive little to no feedback, what happens? They leave. A lack of constructive feedback is reason enough for employees to change their job. It is also important to note the difference between feedback, and constructive feedback. Feedback can mean anything, even noise. On the other hand, constructive feedback not only takes into account the person who is receiving the feedback, but also their skills, competency and the work.

Higher level of productivity

When there’s consistent feedback to rely on, there’s always room for improvement. It fans the desire to improve on performance and productivity. Continuous feedback motivates us in more than one ways. Sometimes, feedback is the push most of us need to try a new approach or to keep going on a difficult path. It eases the way because then employees are secure in the knowledge that their manager is paying attention to their work and is invested in what they do.

Enhanced accuracy 

Do you know what can have a marked impact on performance reviews? Documented feedback. Continuous feedback that has been documented can show a trajectory of performance. That is, it provides a representation of an employee’s work over a period of time. It is possible to see where an employee faltered, or where they improved or alternatively, where they stagnated, thereby needing a new challenge. Continous feedback makes the performance review process a whole lot easier. Even if you were to only have an annual review, continuous feedback makes it easy to make performance-related decisions.

Also read: Awkward Post Review Conversations? We Have Your Back

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.