Do employees actually care about receiving feedback from their supervisors?
Definitely yes. It is actually confirmed by the results of the research and our experience in working with different companies. According to Feedback Academy, even 65 per cent employees would like to receive feedback from their supervisors more frequently. Feedback is of great importance, no matter of generation. Expectations related to feedback, however, can be different.
For instance, Generation Y expects to always receive feedback when it is needed in a given situation, in real time, not during periodical talks, i.e. once a year. Those people actually care about ongoing feedback, to which they can refer or from which they can draw conclusions.
In the case of Generation Y, the issue of “feedback from supervisor” should be understood differently because in their case the attitude towards feedback is not closely related to a place in professional hierarchy of a person who gives it. Employees of Generation Y appreciate feedback only when it comes from people who constitute an authority, no matter of their role in a company. Thereby, feedback from co-worker on a joint project would be more important for them than feedback from a director from the other part of Poland, with whom they contact only during annual company events.
What if there is no feedback in our company?
Two factors which drive any company to growth are knowledge and information. If there is no ongoing information flow, there are no chances for growth of a company and its employees. The absence of feedback leads to many dangers such as repetition of mistakes or professional burnt-out due to the lack of praises and words of recognition. It influences the rotation too; if my employer does not listen to me, if they do not give me their feedback, even though I expect this, I simply do not want to work in such company.
Ongoing feedback is needed as oxygen, especially for younger generation. We can often observe it while working with teams during our business simulations. It is obvious that managers very seldom work on developing some skills related to sharing with feedback. We can also notice that many problems in companies can be actually avoided if managers react on time and share with their feedback in the flesh.
How often should a supervisor give feedback to their employees?
The answer is simple, yet difficult; as often as the given situation requires it. If you are a manager and you observe a behavior of your employee which requires an immediate change, do not wait until the end of the month (as, for instance, you have already planned some summing-up conversations). React immediately! Ongoing response is even more important when we talk about praising and giving the words of recognition. Effective feedback has to be given au courant – not after a half of a year.