Employee feedback is an integral part of the performance management process – and your workforce is hungry for it. Gen Z and Millennials want to know where they are excelling, and more seasoned employees want input that will help them improve and advance.
In terms of performance reviews, two-way conversations involving frequent, meaningful dialogue between supervisors and workers makes the process much more effective. It also makes workers more engaged.
Employees who get weekly vs. annual feedback are more motivated and engaged.
According to Gallup, employees are 3.2 times more like to strongly agree that they are motived to do outstanding work when they receive weekly feedback. And they are 2.7 times more likely to be engaged at work.
Why should you care if your employees are engaged? Because, according to SHRM, employee engagement has emerged as a critical driver of business success in today’s competitive marketplace.
High levels of engagement promote retention of talent, foster customer loyalty and improve organizational performance and stakeholder value.
Employees are more motivated after receiving specific feedback.
Providing employees feedback that relates to a specific goal is more motivating than general feedback. For example, telling your crews they’re doing a good job is fine, but telling them they exceeded the established timeline by 15% is more effective. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, establishing employee performance expectations and goals before work begins is the key to providing tangible, objective and powerful feedback.
What’s more, make sure your feedback is constructive. Coach your employees by having conversations during the performance management process that include suggestions and advice on how to improve, instead of simply highlighting mistakes or performance shortfalls.
Employees who don’t get feedback are more likely to jump ship.
Employee feedback is so important that when workers don’t get it, they start looking elsewhere for employment. That’s a problem, especially for the construction industry which is seriously impacted by the current labor shortage. And, unfortunately, most employers don’t get it right. According to Officevibe:
- 23% of employees aren’t satisfied with the frequency of feedback they receive
- 17% of employees feel that they don’t get feedback that’s specific
- 28% of employees say feedback isn’t frequent enough to help them understand how to improve
And, retaining the employees you have is always less expensive than hiring and training new workers. So you get a positive return on the time invested when you make employee feedback a regular part of your performance review process.
Employees want feedback from someone they trust.
Providing employee feedback is a function of trust, a key to retaining employees in the construction industry. And that extends to the individual who is providing the feedback. Employees want to receive feedback from someone they respect and trust. It makes kudos more meaningful and constructive criticism less scary. A recent study by Autodesk and FMI showed the connection between trust and business success in the construction industry. While trust is important across the construction ecosystem – for example with sub-contractors and owners – it also has a tangible impact on employees. In construction companies that have a high degree of trust:
- 74% of employees would recommend their company as a great place to work.
- 49% routinely exceed what’s expected of them.
Employees who refer candidates and go above and beyond, help construction companies stay productive and competitive.
Construction employees want and need feedback.
All employees want to feel seen, heard and appreciated. They also want to understand how they can improve their skills to perform better on the job and advance.
Feedback is part of the performance management process but too often it’s overlooked. Annual performance reviews are important but they are only part of the equation.
To ensure you’re giving your employees the level and quality of feedback that will help them be their best, follow these tips:
- If you’re not already giving regular feedback and coaching, plan to increase conversations with employees to monthly or at least quarterly.
- Consider giving feedback at the end of each project.
- For annual reviews, seek input from others including co-workers for a more balanced view of performance.
- Ensure all feedback is documented in a performance management system so that all parties may refer back to it when needed and leverage it for future projects and learning plans.
To help your team understand the importance of this feedback process, share the statistics in this helpful infographic.
