Employee Feedback: Why Asking People What They Think Improves Retention

The simple definition of recognition means to acknowledge someone’s validity, existence, familiarity, or legality. Now think about what makes you feel validated.

Yes, all of the good and positive things you say and do deserve validation. But what about when you have an opinion or observation that may not be all that positive? 

Employees also deserve recognition when they feel something is inappropriate, insufficient, or unfair. If their concerns aren’t recognized, their ideas and suggestions are unwelcome, they will feel unsupported or disrespected. And then, they’ll be twice as likely to resign. 

Regardless of how you run or structure your recognition program, feedback is crucial. How we approach feedback (and what we do with it) has a direct impact on staff retention figures, workplace happiness, and more.

Feedback as part of successful staff retention strategies

Giving employees useful, meaningful feedback drives performance. The opposite can be true, too. Employees having the chance to offer useful feedback contributes to a high-performing organization that retains its people. 

If you’re revising your approach to collecting employee feedback, let’s start here. 

Channel choice

Here’s yet another quality successful feedback collection has with successful recognition. Layering your feedback channels and ensuring it’s not all top-down provides a wider, more honest view of what employees think. Here are our feedback opportunities:

• Onboarding
• Exit interviews
• Formal surveys
• Check-ins
• Meetings
• 360 feedback (aka multisource assessment)

Check-ins can include casual one-on-one conversations as well as frequent pulse surveys. Outside of performance, multisource assessments can shed natural light on issues since the perspectives come from every tier of the org chart.

As for frequency, set a schedule for each, and use tools to schedule and automate more formal (usually anonymous) surveys. Pulse surveys every month, more comprehensive surveys quarterly, and offers to share feedback during a check-in or meeting every week. 

Focus topics

If staff retention is a focus area you hope to improve through feedback, this influences what to ask. Before someone leaves, their engagement and overall job satisfaction usually drop. Therefore, there’s a rather broad array of categories to stay on top of.

• Leadership. Invisible or ineffective leaders hurt retention. 
• Engagement. People who don’t feel connected to their work have fewer reasons to continue filling the role. 
• Company culture. Feelings of respect, gratitude, and belonging add up to loyalty and engagement.
• DEI. Employees who feel like they will never have the same value or opportunities as others have little hope for their future at the company.
• Work-life balance. If one feels like they can never catch up or their free time isn’t truly theirs, their well-being may be at risk.
• Growth and development. Lateral moves and having the resources to build on skills can be just as valuable as promotions. 

How to improve employee retention with feedback

You’ve been distributing pulse surveys from Day One, and staff retention figures are still nothing to shout about. The most likely problem is that you’re not creating an effective employee feedback loop. You know, where the company follows through and implements feedback-based changes.

It’s like asking someone if the current temperature is okay. They respond, “It’s too hot!” while panting and sweating, and you smile complacently, not moving an inch toward the thermostat. Are they staying, or leaving? Depends on how long they can take the heat.

Review and sort all feedback.

How does the company currently sort employee feedback? Do they even review all of it? Giving it a quick review and dumping it into a box by department may not cut it. 

Consider sorting feedback into three groups. First, issues that can be handled immediately. Next, those requiring a more strategic solution. Finally, those that have a long-term impact. For example:

This way, feedback that can be addressed quickly with specific actions can be resolved; it won’t get stuck behind more complex issues.

Delegate and, if necessary, advocate.

Now action items can be delivered to the person best suited to address them. The best way to see follow-through is to: 

• Be specific
• Break it down into steps where needed
• Create sensible deadlines for resolution

If you have supporting information that can inspire more deliberate action, share it. Take the mid-range case of employee burnout. Attaching figures that note a rise in absenteeism or decreased output can be a data-driven cosign of what employees are expressing.

Complete the loop.

Transparency and follow-up are what create the loop. If feedback is going to be acted upon, convey that to employees and thank them for bringing the company’s attention to the matter. If helpful, share the timeframe you expect action will be carried out. 

If employees have concerns the company cannot act upon, it’s best to acknowledge them and explain why. Industry regulations, budget constraints, and conflicting priorities across departments are common (and acceptable) explanations for this. 

Employees don’t know what they don’t know. A patient response and transparency may be all that’s needed to shift their perspective and satisfy the concern. 

The dos and don’ts of collecting and using employee feedback

Employee feedback. You know how to collect it, what to ask about, and what to do with that. Here’s a quick review of best practices to make it the sort of success that favorably impacts retention, as well as what to avoid.

Feedback isn’t just communication–it’s recognition.

There are three keys to bumping up staff retention figures:

• Compensating people fairly
• Providing growth and development opportunities
• Creating a positive work environment

Recognition is a proven strategy for a more positive work environment. From an employee’s perspective, feeling valued and seen becomes the most gratifying part of the company’s culture. Recognition programs even offer more chances for employees to grow their skills and address professional development.

If you’re already using HeyTaco, improving how you collect and implement feedback is a natural next step. After all, what is peer recognition if not positive feedback? Let everyone know their take counts and that problems are followed by solutions (not suffering). It all comes together to create a place employees would like to stay.

Employee feedback and staff retention strategies FAQ

How does employee feedback affect retention?

Soliciting regular feedback through multiple channels makes employees feel as though their voice matters. This fosters a stronger sense of community and belonging, which can improve retention.

Further, offering employees constructive feedback tells them you’re actively invested in their success. They’re more likely to feel motivated to improve and grow. 

What is the employee feedback loop?

The employee feedback loop is when a worker provides feedback or suggestions, and leadership or management acts on it and follows up. The loop begins with the employer inviting feedback, the employee sharing it, the employer acting on it, and delivering the changes to the employee.

What are the three R’s of employee retention?

Respect, recognition, and reward are the three biggest R-words associated with staff retention. Feedback shows respect for someone’s opinion. It also helps employees feel recognized. 

What is the sandwich feedback method?

The sandwich (or really, hard-shell taco) feedback method is where one delivers criticism between two kinder sentiments. For example:

“Linda! I love the way you organized this document. It could have contained more of the information I asked for, but it seemed to go in a different direction. And these charts? Magnificent.”

Use with caution. While it’s always good to shout out the positives, this method can bury critical problems or make the positive feedback seem forced.