My advice to employers who want to more actively utilize employee feedback to make continuous improvement is to give employees multiple ways to provide feedback to you. For example, we use a 3-pronged approach: 1. Yearly employee pulse surveys that aim to collect feedback from the entire team 2. Periodic one-on-ones between managers and their reports, where managers provide feedback to the employees and also ask if they have any feedback or suggestions for the manager or the company as a whole 3. An open feedback system where employees can share ideas, suggestions, issues, or other thoughts with leadership. This system also has the option to make this feedback anonymous By giving employees multiple ways to provide their input, you’re more likely to get a wider array of honest feedback from team members. Some people will feel comfortable sharing their thoughts with their manager, for instance, while others will prefer anonymous reporting, especially if they are criticizing the actions of a superior. One area where I’ve found employee feedback can be particularly helpful is in refining the use of new systems or programs that you’ve recently implemented. For instance, we recently switched to an ATS with more AI-driven sourcing and screening capabilities. The implementation seemed to have gone smoothly from the leadership perspective, but we didn’t realize that the training data we’d used had introduced some biases into the process. Luckily, a few of our recruiters noticed this when they began to use the new system and shared their concerns with the leadership team. This allowed us to quickly make adjustments to eliminate that introduced bias before it impacted our work for clients. If we didn’t have an open and easy feedback system for employees, we likely would have taken much longer to realize there even was a problem, much less to fix it.
During my tenure as an HRIS manager, I once spearheaded the rollout of a new software system intended to streamline our HR processes. After implementation, I received feedback from the team indicating that some felt overwhelmed by the complexity of features and unclear about how to integrate these into their daily routines. Responding to this, I organized a series of training sessions tailored to different department needs, simplifying the approach and focusing on practical applications rather than just capabilities. Feedback, in my view, is crucial for professional growth and departmental success. I approach it with openness and use it as a tool to refine strategies and outputs. Each piece of feedback is an opportunity to look at projects and processes from a new perspective and improve them accordingly. Ultimately, embracing feedback not only enhances our systems but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.
Receiving feedback on diversity and inclusion efforts is vital for creating an equitable workplace. One company learned through employee surveys that while many appreciated its initiatives, many felt they lacked visibility and engagement. In response, the company held focus groups to explore employee experiences and expectations, leading to actionable steps such as regular workshops and training on unconscious bias and cultural awareness.