How to Build an Effective Employee Engagement Feedback Model

Employee engagement is essential in the workplace. Businesses with engaged employees are 23% more profitable than organizations with less engagement. They also have less absenteeism and better employee retention.

But engagement isn’t something that just happens. It has to be cultivated and supported. One of the ways to do that is with an effective employee engagement feedback model.

At PerformYard, we offer effective performance management software. It includes employee engagement software that supports over 2,500 human resource professionals, so we know a thing or two about building an effective employee engagement feedback model.

Here's exactly what you need to know, step by step, to implement an employee engagement feedback system at your organization that actually works.

Step 1 - Establish Clear Company Goals and a Feedback Culture

Individual employee goals have to support company goals in order for them to be effective. The best way to make sure individual goals are in alignment with company goals is to create a feedback culture.

Creating a workplace culture that values feedback includes doing things like:

• Establishing shared values around giving and receiving feedback
• Providing training on how to give and receive feedback
• Creating an efficient onboarding process for new hires
• Implementing policies that reinforce a feedback culture
• Keeping lines of communication open between employees, managers, and HR

With clear company goals and an established culture of giving and receiving feedback, you lay the foundation for an effective system of employee engagement feedback that actually supports engagement and performance.

Step 2 - Use Employee Engagement Surveys to Measure Engagement Levels

Once the foundation is laid, you can start using employee engagement surveys to measure engagement levels and benchmarks. Just make sure you know exactly what you want to measure so you know what questions to ask.

For example, employee satisfaction is a good thing to measure because it can support a positive and productive workplace culture. You might ask employee satisfaction survey questions that include topics like:

• Professional development
• Communication within teams, departments, and managers
• Job satisfaction
• Work-life balance

You can then analyze the data. Using employee engagement software can make this step a lot easier. You can create visual graphs that uncover trends based on different cohorts, providing you with actionable data you can use to make changes right away.

Step 3 - Implement Pulse Surveys for Real-Time Feedback Collection

You should also conduct pulse surveys in addition to more robust surveys when creating a system of employee engagement feedback.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. A pulse survey can be just a few questions that are sent out frequently to employees to get real-time feedback on how they feel about things like their role, communication, work environment, and anything else you want to measure.

They can be sent out as frequently as once a week or as infrequently as every month. Short, weekly surveys may take just a few minutes to fill out, while less frequent surveys might take 10 or 15 minutes to complete.

Step 4 - Encourage Open-Ended Questions to Elicit Honest Feedback

There are quite a few different types of questions when you're gathering employee engagement feedback. You can use the Likert Scale of "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." You can also rate statements on a scale of one to ten, but it’s extremely important that you also include open-ended questions.

Employees are more likely to provide honest feedback, and they’re able to share how they truly feel on an anonymous survey that includes open-ended questions. It’s a great way to discover potential challenges that you wouldn’t uncover with closed-ended questions.

Step 5 - Create an Action Plan Based on Survey Responses and Feedback Loops

Figuring out what questions you’re going to ask and asking them is only the beginning. You also have to develop a plan for what you’re going to do with all that employee engagement feedback.

It’s a good idea to use continuous feedback software that allows you to create a regular, predictable feedback loop. That can include passing along feedback from peers or conducting a data analysis so you can plan a training to address issues that were uncovered.

With a plan in place, you can ensure continuous improvement. Everyone also knows to expect a follow-up, which contributes to a strong company culture centered on feedback and improvement.

Step 6 - Conduct Team Meetings to Discuss Feedback and Drive Engagement

Employee engagement feedback shouldn’t just be a report or a quick message that employees read real quick before getting back to work. Delivering constructive feedback and engaging employees in meaningful conversations about their work requires meeting face-to-face.

Add regular team meetings to your calendar and discuss the feedback they have received or any additional feedback they want to provide. Brainstorm possible solutions to challenges that pop up during the feedback process and allow them to contribute their thoughts on what’s working and what isn’t in the company culture. You’re able to make sure your employees feel heard, which drives engagement, when you invite them to contribute their thoughts throughout the feedback process.

Step 7 - Integrate Feedback Tools into Your Performance Management System

Having a system of collecting employee engagement feedback comes with a lot of data. That’s especially true if you integrate continuous feedback, manage regular feedback loops, and collect real-time feedback. You can make managing the entire process a lot easier with real-time feedback tools.

These tools give you the ability to store all feedback information on a single platform. You can collect data and track employee progress over time, creating a clearer picture of what programs, training, and processes are working—and which ones aren’t—so you can make adjustments as necessary.

Step 8 - Focus on Professional Development and Career Growth

It’s important to use employee engagement feedback to support the individual development and career goals of each employee. After all, 58% of employees in one survey said they would leave if their company didn't support their professional development or provide them with training opportunities.

If an employee shares a challenge they are facing in their current role, set up a training session or let them attend a workshop that will help them face that challenge more effectively. If your company provides tuition remission, you could help them figure out how to fit going back to school into their schedule.

When you listen to employee feedback, you can figure out how to support their development, career goals, and professional goals. It boosts job satisfaction, which reduces turnover. It increases motivation and engagement too.

Step 9 - Monitor Business Outcomes and Adjust the Feedback Model

A good employee engagement feedback strategy supports employees, but at the end of the day, it has to support business outcomes too.

Monitor business outcomes regularly and pay special attention to how engagement impacts those outcomes. That includes being mindful of any changes that are made in regards to company goals or company culture. One of the first places those changes should be reflected is in the feedback model you use, even if it means changing the current employee engagement feedback strategy you’re using.

For example, you might decide you want your workforce to use AI. A system of more frequent check-ins while everyone is learning how best to utilize AI can help make sure the process goes smoothly.

Step 10 - Review and Refine the Feedback Process Regularly

Creating an employee engagement feedback model isn’t something you set and forget. As your company evolves, so too should your feedback strategy.

You might discover you’re focusing a little too much on feedback and it’s negatively impacting business outcomes. It’s okay to adjust your feedback model during the busy season. You might decide different departments need different feedback loops, or you might decide you just need to ask fewer questions.

Listen to your employees too. If the quality of their feedback is low or they are hesitant to make changes, you might have to learn how to give more effective employee feedback. Training on giving and receiving feedback may also be needed.

Designing an Employee Engagement Feedback Model That’s Right for You

Designing an effective employee engagement feedback model takes time, but when it becomes part of your company’s culture, it has the potential to increase engagement, performance, job satisfaction, and retention.

The trick to making it easier and more effective is using performance review software. PerformYard can help you streamline your feedback process by making it easy to collect and store responses, create visual reports of collected data, and provide employees with the feedback they crave, all while saving you time.

Want to give PerformYard a try? Schedule a free demo to get started today!