How to Get More Effective Employee Feedback

When was the last time you checked in with your direct reports to proactively ask for their feedback? We all know that seeking feedback can provide valuable insights into specific opportunities for improvement, ultimately strengthening team productivity and performance. Have you considered the accompanying benefits? Through the process of actively seeking — and acting on — feedback, you can improve:

your leadership skills
your working relationships with your direct reports
team dynamics
the team culture and work environment

Step 1: Setting the Foundation

Seeking feedback from your team members is easier and more effective if you have already established a trusting and open team culture. The foundation for this is to treat each person respectfully, at all times. Then demonstrate that you are authentic and genuine. Holding regular one-on-one meetings can help you build and maintain a positive, trusting relationship with each team member and help them feel comfortable sharing feedback with you.

Step 2: Scheduling

Once you have established trust and built a positive rapport with your team members, you can leverage your one-on-one meetings to request feedback. Check with each person first, to see if they would prefer that you schedule a separate meeting. To demonstrate transparency and good communication, be sure to share in advance your planned approach for gathering feedback. As a best practice, establish a recurring frequency for seeking feedback, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

Step 3: Setting the Tone

During the feedback conversation, set the right tone by creating an environment where your employee can feel comfortable being genuine and open about their feedback, without fear of retribution. Start with a friendly greeting, and review your planned approach to seeking feedback and how you plan to use it. Remain positive, friendly, and neutral throughout the entire conversation. It is of utmost importance to focus on listening without reacting or becoming defensive. And of course, remember to thank each person for sharing their input.

Step 4: Questions

To maintain consistency, prepare a set of questions in advance and use the same questions with each team member. Keep in mind that open-ended questions are preferable, to help you receive actionable feedback. For employee feedback conversations, there are typically two approaches to asking questions that you can choose from.

General Questions

The first approach is to use the same three general questions each time:

What am I doing that you would like to see more of?
What am I doing that you would like less of?
What am I not doing that you would like me to do?

Specific Questions

The second approach is to prepare specific, topical questions that you would like feedback on, such as:

Are you currently experiencing any work frustrations, and if so, what can I do to help?
Looking back on the past week, is there anything I could have done better as your manager?
Have there been any recent team meetings or discussions where you were not able to share your thoughts, and if so, would you like to share them with me now?
Do you feel that you are receiving enough opportunities to develop your professional skills? If not, what can I do to help support that?
In your opinion, could any of our processes be more efficient, and if so, what would you suggest?

Step 5: Follow Up

Take action on employee feedback as quickly as possible. Develop a plan for action and implement necessary changes to demonstrate that you value employee input and are committed to making improvements. Sometimes it’s beneficial to work with your team members to determine the right solution and action plan. If you need to change your own behavior or leadership style, consider working with a coach and/or a mentor in addition to exploring leadership development training. And be sure to keep your team informed of your progress!

Dr. Lauren Forgacs is an organizational development psychologist and applied positive psychologist, with more than six years of service in the federal government and 20 years of private sector experience, including award-winning accomplishments with a top five management consulting firm. She provides expert guidance and customized solutions to federal leaders on organizational development and culture, change management, leadership, teambuilding, employee engagement, and psychological safety. She is an expert on human-centered leadership and recently developed a year-long, cohort-based training program to enhance enterprise-wide leadership skills, organizational effectiveness, and the employee experience. Dr. Forgacs has held several leadership positions, effectively leading and motivating remote, hybrid, and on-site teams. She is also a certified federal leadership coach and a Gallup-certified strengths coach.