How to Create an Employee Feedback System: Easy Ways to Share and Listen
Imagine your organization as a high-performance vehicle.
Just as a car relies on numerous sensors to provide real-time data for optimal operation, your company needs a mechanism to collect insights from a critical source: your employees.
Your employees are the eyes and ears of everything your company does. Gathering their feedback gives you high-quality insights into ways your company can improve.
Developing an employee feedback system helps you capture continuous feedback throughout the employee lifecycle.
In this guide, we'll cover
- What an employee feedback system is.
- How it helps your company.
- How to build one for your organization.
🔄 What is an employee feedback system?
An employee feedback system is a collection of methods and strategies for gathering data on employee experience, engagement, and performance and deriving insights to make improvements.
With well-established approaches to listening to employees, you gain an accurate picture of your team's operations. You'll notice skill gaps, retention problems, and other issues early so that you can build a collaborative solution for any obstacle.
Feedback systems vs. feedback culture
Does sharing and receiving feedback on your work feel as natural and important as your job responsibilities? If so, you just might have a feedback culture.
A positive feedback loop and culture develop when you have regular, objective communication about how the office runs and your team operates.
Feedback systems are the methods by which you manage, enable, and nurture this culture.
An employee feedback system might include:
- an online suggestion box;
- (monthly) employee pulse surveys;
- quarterly or annual performance reviews;
- regular one-on-ones with managers;
- 360 feedback cycles for all employees.
When you implement these systems effectively, you'll build good habits and positive attitudes about the usefulness of feedback at work. This is your feedback culture.
📈 Why are employee feedback systems important?
Employee feedback helps you see areas of improvement across your organization while making your employees feel heard and valued.
When you take employee feedback seriously, you'll see benefits stretching to every corner of your business.
Check out some of these benefits based on employee feedback statistics:
- Improve employee performance: Employees who feel their feedback is heard are 4.6 more likely to perform better than their counterparts who don't. Acting on employee feedback makes employees feel valued, which increases performance, initiative, and productivity. (Salesforce)\
- Increase employee retention: New hires who are asked for their feedback after recruitment are 91% more likely to stay at the company beyond the first 90 days. (The Talent Board)
- Meet employee needs: The best employee feedback systems respond to what most employees want. For example, 60% of employees like getting feedback every week or even every day (HR Dive). Also, employees who are more engaged at work tend to get feedback weekly, as noted by 43% of them (Forbes). Plus, a big majority, 80% of employees, prefer to get feedback right when it's relevant, not just during an annual review (HR Dive).
For People Ops teams, the employee feedback system is also a key source of information on the needs of your workforce. You need to understand where your employees currently are to design a plan to get them where you want them to be.
By listening to and acting on employee feedback, you develop a sense of investment in the workplace. Your workers feel they are active participants in improving the company rather than replaceable resources.
👀 Check out our deep dive investigating the importance of employee feedback.
⚙️ How to create an employee feedback system in 5 steps
Your employee feedback system should be tailored to your employee life cycle and overall experience.
Follow these steps to create your organization's custom and automated employee feedback system.
1. Identify opportunities to ask for employee feedback
You want to gather honest feedback throughout the employee lifecycle to establish an authentic feedback culture.
Reflect on the key moments and transitions each employee experiences at your organization. Identify specific occasions when gathering feedback can provide vital insights into your company's operations and culture.
Some common points to gather employee feedback include:
- at the close of recruitment and onboarding;
- during quarterly or annual performance reviews;
- on a weekly basis during one-on-ones;
- before or after company-wide changes or initiatives.
Feedback can flow in multiple directions: between employees and managers, among peers within a team, or between interdependent teams.
You can gather feedback up and down the chain of command, or ask employees to provide self-feedback ahead of a performance review.
360 feedback software like Zavvy can help you set up feedback in all directions depending on your company's unique needs.
While establishing these feedback loops and touchpoints, remember that the goal is to consistently find new ways to leverage employee feedback for better understanding your team's needs and addressing business challenges.
2. Map employee feedback methods to the right times and channels
When you ask for feedback continuously, use various methods and strategies for capturing that feedback. A variety of employee feedback tools and mechanisms not only engages your team but also ensures that the feedback collected is situationally appropriate.
For instance, compare a manager's one-on-one meeting with an employee pulse survey. While both might occur weekly, the one-on-one is ideal for more personal, detailed conversations.
In contrast, an employee pulse survey conducted through a simple online questionnaire can efficiently capture broader sentiment. Distributing these surveys via convenient platforms like Slack can boost response rates and improve employee engagement.
Better yet, push these short surveys out through Slack.
You'll have to think carefully about the goal of each type of feedback to decide on the right method. Though this strategic alignment may demand effort upfront, the investment pays off by establishing a resilient and responsive employee feedback system.
3. Create employee feedback surveys
Once you've determined the types of feedback you'll need at which times, write the questions for each employee feedback survey.
When developing employee feedback questions, choose some standardized questions to help you measure changes over time. For instance, your employee pulse survey could always rate worker satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10, giving you a long-term insight into average happiness in your office.
For 360 feedback for employees, use a mix of standard and open-ended questions no matter which way the feedback is going.
Standard questions in 360 feedback can help you measure competencies or company requirements. Open-ended questions allow qualitative feedback that might not be captured in a rating scale.
Build your employee feedback surveys in your favorite form builder. Employee enablement platforms like Zavvy include native form builders and integrations with tools like Typeform, giving you plenty of ways to customize your surveys to your needs.
Whatever tool you'll end up using, here are a few practical templates you can use right away:
📊 Pulse survey template
👥 Peer feedback template
4. Automate your employee feedback system
Since you've planned when and how to get feedback during different stages of your employees' experiences, think about making the whole feedback system automatic.
Feedback automation means sending the feedback surveys to the right people at the appropriate times. When you set it up beforehand, you can see the big picture of the feedback culture you're developing rather than trying to gather feedback on the go.
Employee development software like Zavvy allows you to automate every component of your employee feedback system, including:
- Sending pulse surveys regularly through Slack, whether they're weekly, monthly, or yearly.
- Getting feedback on onboarding and training after 30, 60, and 90 days of someone being hired.
- Conducting quarterly and annual performance evaluations.
- Doing 360 feedback for everyone involved.
You can set surveys to automatically reach employees based on their role, how long they've been at the company, or specific actions they complete.
Zavvy also lets you integrate feedback collection into ongoing employee training, helping you gather fresh insights on how well your employee development efforts work.
5. Analyze data and improve your business
Once your employee feedback system is up and running, gather your data in one place and mine it regularly for insights.
You can track your employee feedback data in a simple spreadsheet or in a reporting tool. Some tools, like 360 feedback software, allow you to develop your feedback system and analyze your results in the same application.
A good start is to use these employee feedback tools to understand how things are at the beginning. This gives you a starting point to compare against later.
For instance, if your regular employee satisfaction score from pulse surveys is usually around eight out of ten, and suddenly it drops to five or six, that's a clue something might be wrong.
Try to figure out what might have caused the dip. It could be due to recent changes in how things are done or maybe everyone's just really busy. If it's not clear what the issue is, you should ask more questions to get to the bottom of it.
🏢 2 Employee feedback system examples
Want to see an employee feedback system in action? Check out these two employee feedback system examples for inspiration.
Hotjar’s 5-part feedback tracking
Hotjar provides digital user behavior and feedback tracking software for online businesses, but they also take their employee feedback seriously.
To keep their software engineers, marketers, and other team members operating at the top of their game, Hotjar developed a five-part employee feedback system to keep employees engaged. The system includes:
- Biweekly employee pulse surveys where employees rate their experiences on a scale of one to five.
- One-on-ones where the team lead reviews the form and talks the employee through their current challenges.
- Performance reviews at regular intervals to formally plan for ongoing training and goal setting.
- Self-reflections on strengths and areas of improvement, similar to Agile retrospectives.
- Ongoing informal feedback to allow for continual improvement.
The different types of employee feedback create a robust system where there are multiple ways to be heard. Personal reflection helps employees get comfortable with critiquing their own work, opening them up to more feedback from others.
Adobe’s progressive feedback system
Back in 2012, Adobe tossed its standard performance review process in favor of a flexible feedback system called Check-In. Now primarily digital, Check-In is a feedback system made up of:
- A centralized web application to track goals and growth
- 24/7 feedback opportunities with managers and direct reports
- Quarterly check-in conversations to align on goals
Adobe's Check-In program also aligns with ongoing employee development, providing clear resources on potential growth paths for each tole.
🔍 Check out our detailed analysis of Adobe's feedback system, and ways to replicate it in your company.
P.S. Like Adobe, Zavvy's talent development software allows you to merge employee feedback with training and development in a single platform, creating a better employee experience.
➡️ Effortlessly create an employee feedback system with Zavvy
Developing an employee feedback system is crucial to successfully growing your workforce over time. Not only will you curate a feedback culture, but you'll also gain actionable insights into how to improve your employee experience and company operations.
Here’s how you can use employee enablement software like Zavvy to build an automated employee feedback system to improve your business today.
- Start with 360° feedback: Use Zavvy's feature to set up a 360° feedback system, customizing the process according to your company's needs.
- Implement performance reviews: Employ the performance reviews tool to assess and measure employee performance objectively.
- Set and align goals: Use the goals feature to establish and align individual or team goals and OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) within your organization.
- Engage with feedback templates: Explore and employ Zavvy's feedback templates to facilitate the feedback process and ensure consistency.
- Analyze and act on feedback: Analyze the feedback data collected through Zavvy's tools to identify trends, insights, and areas for improvement.
- Iterate and improve: Continuously refine your feedback process based on analytics and feedback to foster a culture of continuous improvement and development.
📅 Book a demo to see how Zavvy experts can help you set up an engaging and efective feedback system.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What is an employee feedback loop?
An employee feedback loop specifically refers to the process of providing feedback to employees regarding their performance, behavior, or contributions, and then incorporating their responses or actions to drive improvement or change. It involves regular communication channels between employees and managers, where feedback is given, received, and acted upon to enhance individual and organizational effectiveness. This loop fosters a culture of open communication, accountability, and continuous improvement within the workplace.
What is employee feedback software?
Employee feedback software is a tool that facilitates the collection, analysis, and management of employee feedback. It helps organizations gather insights on performance, engagement, and satisfaction, enabling data-driven decisions for improvement.
What is an employee feedback mechanism?
An employee feedback mechanism is a structured process or system through which employees can provide, receive, and discuss feedback. It typically includes regular reviews, surveys, and channels for ongoing feedback to support communication and development.
How do you create a feedback loop for employees?
Creating a feedback loop for employees involves establishing a systematic process for collecting, analyzing, and acting upon feedback from employees. This can be achieved through various channels such as surveys, suggestion boxes, one-on-one meetings, or performance reviews.
By encouraging open communication and actively soliciting feedback, your organization can gain valuable insights into employee satisfaction, engagement, and areas for improvement. Plus, transparently communicating how you'll use the feedback and demonstrating a commitment to addressing concerns will foster trust and engagement among your people.
What is a good example of a feedback loop?
A good example of a feedback loop for employees is the performance review process in many organizations. Employees receive feedback from their managers on their performance, goals, and areas for improvement during regular review meetings. After receiving this feedback, employees may take action to address any identified areas for development, such as attending training sessions or seeking mentorship. Subsequently, in the next review cycle, managers can assess the employee's progress and provide further feedback. This continuous feedback loop allows employees to continuously improve their performance and skills, leading to professional growth and development within the organization.
What is an effective feedback loop?
An effective feedback loop is a systematic process that enables continuous communication and exchange of information between parties to improve performance, outcomes, or relationships. In the context of organizations, it involves providing feedback, receiving responses or actions, and then using that information to adjust behaviors, strategies, or approaches.
What is a continuous feedback system?
A continuous feedback system is a method of providing feedback to employees in real-time or on an ongoing basis, rather than waiting for scheduled performance evaluations. This approach emphasizes regular communication between managers and employees, enabling timely adjustments, recognition of achievements, and course corrections as needed.
By giving feedback in the moment, employees can more effectively understand their performance, areas for development, and alignment with organizational goals. Continuous feedback also promotes a culture of learning and growth, where employees receive timely guidance and support to excel in their roles.
How do you structure employee feedback?
Structuring employee feedback involves setting clear objectives, choosing the right frequency, and ensuring feedback is specific, actionable, and balanced. It should be integrated into a regular process that promotes constructive dialogue and continuous improvement.
What are the three types of performance feedback?
The three types of performance feedback are:
- Positive feedback: Encouragement and recognition of employees' strengths and achievements to motivate and reinforce desired behaviors.
- Constructive feedback: Offers specific guidance on areas for improvement without being overly critical, helping employees grow and develop.
- Negative feedback: Highlights areas of underperformance or behavior that needs correction, requiring careful delivery to avoid demotivation.