Building an Employee Feedback Loop That Actually Works

Building an Employee Feedback Loop That Actually Works

Employee feedback is one of the most powerful tools an organisation has to understand what makes a workplace effective. Xref's 2024 Employee Voice Report, based on feedback compiled from more than 17,000 workers across Australian and New Zealand workplaces , captures what employees love about their jobs and, more importantly, what changes they would like to see.

A recurrent theme in our analysis is the need for improved Communication, which employees consistently identified as the biggest area for improvement in organisations. This finding clearly underscores that establishing a truly effective feedback loop is the number one challenge for many organisations.

Why Feedback Loops Often Fail (The Communication Breakdown)

The feedback loop frequently breaks down at the communication phase, particularly in hybrid and complex workplaces.The main issues reported by employees, with 28% of staff overall reporting challenges with efficient and effective information sharing:

• Inter-Team Disconnect: Employees tell us that in many hybrid workplaces they are yet to find effective ways to collaborate effectively between teams.
• Poor Change Communication: The rapid pace of change in workplaces is creating challenges for communication about changes that impact teams and individuals.
• Lack of Actionable Closure: Even telling staff you have no further information to give is better than not communicating at all.

Communication was ranked consistently as the number one issue across most workforce demographic groups and types of organisations. For instance, a notable 32% of employees in the Health industry specifically highlighted communication as their biggest priority for improvement.

Steps to Build Truly Impactful Feedback Loops

To move beyond simply collecting data to actually delivering change, focus on strategic communication and follow-through.

Prioritise Cross-Team Collaboration

• Leaders must support cooperation and alignment between teams. Use systems and practices like creating cross-functional teams and instant communication channels to facilitate this.

Consult and Communicate Process

• Train staff in change management processes, such as a RACI matrix. Always communicate about the process and the intended use of staff input, not just the final outcomes.

Address Resourcing and Workload

• Employees called out needing more resources and staffing to meet work demands. Address problems with staffing levels and excessive time pressures, as these are seen as a psychological work, health, and safety hazard. This involves helping workers manage achievable performance expectations through regular conversations about workloads and backfilling roles when workers are on leave.

The Role of Surveys in Actionable Insights

While in-depth Employee Engagement Surveys uncover clear data and insights for actionable results , shorter Pulse Surveys offer a rapid way to check and remeasure employee sentiment. This frequent, fast feedback is key for tracking organisational improvement over time. After implementing new protocols, a Pulse Survey can quickly check employee perception of its success, allowing for real-time adjustments.

Insights from the Voice Report: Building on Strengths

Workplaces have significant strengths to build upon. The top strengths identified focused heavily on human connection and purpose:

1. Community and Customer Focus: The top-ranked positive was purposeful and meaningful work, with 25% of workers feeling their company is committed to serving customers and the community. Employees were more likely to see this as a strength in Not-For-Profit organisations (31%) and the Public Sector (25%), compared to the Private Sector (10%).

2. Teamwork and Collaboration: This was the second biggest theme, with 24% of employees reporting their teams work together towards common goals and support each other.

3. Workplace Flexibility: 18% of employees highly value the hybrid work arrangements that support work-life balance. This appreciation for trust and respect is seen as a defining feature of their workplace culture.

By communicating and celebrating these existing strengths, organisations can build confidence and goodwill to tackle the more difficult area of improving overall communication. A feedback loop that starts with recognition and ends with clear action is one that employees will trust and actively participate in.

Ready to Close Your Communication Gap?

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