Feedback and Business Improvement.

 

Feedback and Business Improvement.

 

And why business improvement champions ever stand still.

 

Feedback is the food (breakfast) of champions, according to Ken Blanchard. Feedback fuels personal and business growth, it sharpens performance, develops culture and strengthens relationships. Yet, in too many organisations, feedback is missing, mishandled, irregular or ignored all together. The cost of this silence is staggering, and shows up as lost productivity, wasted time, frustration, poor decisions and disengaged people.

 

At the Business Improvement Network, we believe that feedback isn’t a cliché, a nice to have or an HR initiative for this quarter. Feedback is a business critical lever (MIT Sloan) for improving performance, productivity and profitability. In today’s tough market, where margins are squeezed, change is changing, and competition is fierce, standing still is not an option. Businesses that fail to build cultures of feedback risk falling behind and losing relevance.

 

The real cost of no feedback

 

Let’s define and understand the problem because studies consistently show that employees crave feedback, but most say they aren’t getting enough. The starting point is to be aware and accept this uncomfortable gap. Gallup research highlights that only about one in three workers strongly agree they’ve received meaningful feedback in the past week. That means the majority are operating in the dark, second guessing whether they’re on track, or as McConnon writes ‘walking backwards into the their future’.

 

The cost of this is not abstract, it’s very real. It’s consistently noted that lack of feedback leads directly to frustration, feeling undervalued and disengagement. Disengaged employees are, on average, 18% less productive and 37% more absent. Multiply that across your workforce and you are looking at millions lost in wasted time, missed opportunities and such like. It may know show up as a column on your balance sheet, but if it did, it would get the attention it deserves.

 

Even more worrying perhaps is that silence from leaders or managers is often interpreted as negative feedback. When people don’t hear from you, they assume the worst and default to ‘I’m not doing well,’ and ‘they don’t care’ or ‘my work doesn’t matter.’ This eats away at motivation, engagement, belief, discretionary effort and trust. Ghosting – which this is a form of - in the workplace isn’t just rude, it’s destructive to business performance and productivity.

 

The power of good feedback

 

And now for the good news! Because when feedback is done well, honestly and regularly, the results are extraordinary. Research from Zenger Folkman shows that employees who receive strengths based feedback are 12.5% more productive than those who don’t. Regular high quality feedback is likely to make people feel more valued, clearer on expectations, more connected and motivated to improve.

 

Feedback is also key to driving a culture of learning and development. In a world where business change is constant, the ability to adapt, adjust and improve quickly is a competitive advantage.

Champions — whether in business, sport or the arts — seek out feedback. They know that without challenge and reflection, their improvement and growth is likely to stall.

 

You wouldn’t expect an athlete to perform at their best without a coach, analysis and guided critique. Yet many organisations expect people (particularly the squeezed or critical middle) to thrive without the same , or sometimes any, level of guidance. Its bonkers when you think about it.

 

Business Improvement through feedback

 

So how does this connect to Business Improvement?

 

Feedback is one of the most practical and powerful tools for driving improvement across four key areas, namely people, performance, culture and productivity.

 

• Feedback helps individuals understand their strengths, what they are doing well, why their role matters and where they can grow. It boosts confidence, capability and resilience.
• With clear and constructive feedback, teams work smarter, they tend to reduce errors, improve problem solving and achieve more, more easily.
• An open feedback culture builds key criteria such as relationships, engagement,  trust, collaboration and innovation.
• Feedback helps clear blockages and misunderstanding, it challenges unhelpful habits and is likely to accelerate progress and productivity.

 

It’s important to understand and agree that this isn’t just about junior staff, for example. Middle managers who are the critical link between strategy and delivery, often get the least feedback and support, yet they shape culture and performance more than anyone else in the business. Investing in their improvement and development pays back many times over.

 

Feedback matters in this market

 

In today’s economic climate, with businesses fighting for survival and growth, feedback is not optional. Feedback is a lever leaders can pull right now to improve results without extra cost. You don’t need to invest millions in technology or hire new teams, you (just) need to improve the conversations already happening inside your business, and improve the number of them.

 

At Business Improvement Network, we see feedback as part of a wider improvement mindset. Feedback is about challenging the status quo, solving problems, investing in people, improving and strengthening relationships. It’s about ensuring leaders at every level step up and improve the everyday behaviours that bring the best out of people.

 

The marketplace punishes complacency and businesses that stand still or fail to remain relevant will fail or get overtaken (example Nokia). Those that commit to continuous improvement in mindset, in middle management capability and in how they build trust and tackle problems are the ones that are more likely to thrive.

 

Practical steps to build feedback into business improvement

 

1. Make feedback normal, daily, easily, usual… not an event. Waiting for annual appraisals is too little, too late by far. Build feedback into weekly conversations.
2. Balance positive and constructive elements. Recognition motivates people, challenge helps to develop them and both are essential.
3. Train managers and leaders in how to give and receive feedback. Most managers aren’t born knowing how to do this and it’s a skill (muscle building) that can be learned and needs practise.
4. Create safe environments (culture and psych safety) for feedback. People need to feel safe and able to give upward feedback without fear of consequences.
5. Linking feedback to business outcomes and purpose can be very empowering. Feedback isn’t fluffy, it’s about improving results, productivity and performance.

 

Champions never stand still

 

Feedback isn’t always easy, we know that. It takes courage to give feedback and humility and openness to receive. But its worth noting that the organisations who embrace it are the ones that improve faster, build stronger teams, are more to lead change and they outperform competitors.

 

At Business Improvement Network, we see feedback as a central ingredient in building better businesses for good. It’s the food (breakfast) of champions, and champions never stand still.

 

So here’s the challenge and opportunity, how are you using feedback in your business?

 

Are you leaving people in the dark or are you giving them the fuel – the information and insights - they need to grow, perform, develop and deliver?

 

In this market, you can’t afford silence and avoidance, its simply too costly in the wider sense of the word. You can’t afford to stand still or hope for the best.

 

Business improvement starts with feedback and the best time to start is now.

 

 

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If you want help at the individual, team or organisational level, please ask. We have a variety of consultants, coaches and facilitators who can support you, including delivering sessions to develop the skills, undrstanding and practical application of asking for, giving and receiving feedback. That includes me, PJ Stevens, with over 20 years of experience improving business performance and people development. Whether it’s sharpening feedback, building stronger middle managers and leaders or driving culture change, we can help you turn feedback into fuel for growth.