Strategies to encourage a feedback-based culture.
By Debbie Bolla
With more job openings than people to fill them, today’s hiring landscape is clearly a candidate’s market. It’s more important now than ever to uncover strategies that will attract and retain employees during today’s talent shortages. One effective approach is to build a feedback-driven culture that enables employees to share their open and honest opinions. This strategy benefits both the organization and the workforce alike. Employees are empowered to help drive meaningful change while companies can help bridge the connection to organizational purpose which can be difficult to build, yet we know is so important.
“Spending the time to provide and collect direct feedback will boost employee motivation, productivity, and retention,” explains says Hannah Yardley, Chief People and Culture Officer for Achievers. 
Where should organizations begin? Pulse surveys help organizations literally keep a pulse of what’s going on within their workforce. One-on-one meetings between managers and team members are also an effective strategy. Harvard Business Review reports that 65% of employees want more feedback and that one-on-one meetings are the most important productivity tools for managers. Why? These meetings provide a safe space to share perspective, they result in better employee-manager relationships and they encourage collaborative problem-solving. Building this transparent rapport between employees and managers can increase both employee motivation and overall productivity.
A feedback-based culture will also allow HR leaders to shape policies around what their employees are looking for. “The pandemic has dramatically changed the workforce,” says Yardley. “Companies need to understand that what employees once viewed as an attractive perk before the pandemic might now be considered irrelevant in today’s work environment.”
Implementing new initiatives that cater to employee needs is more effective. Take, for example, a new initiative at Achievers -recharge days. Yardley says the remote work environment pushed her organization to reconsider what time-off really looks like for employees and to think of ways to make it most impactful. Recharge days are available to all employees and was one of the company’s solutions to ensure employees can have the time to properly disconnect during this very uncertain time.
