How Effective Employee Feedback Helps Managers

It's not enough to be a good manager—you must continuously learn how to be better.  And that's why every manager needs feedback to thrive.

Employee feedback is often limited to everyone but managers, and that's not the best practice. When it comes to workplace communication, providing and receiving feedback is an essential form of communication. 

It means learning from the people you're managing and colleagues and managers. And it's not always easy to hear what they have to say.

But here's the thing: every manager who wants their team to grow and succeed needs that feedback. They need it because when everyone is working toward a common goal, everyone wins—so why wouldn't we all want everyone on board?

Benefits of Employee Feedback — For Companies 

1. Recognize talent. 

Employee feedback allows you to recognize and reward top performers. It can also help you spot areas where employees need additional training or development to continue growing in their careers.

2. Improve performance management.

Performance management is a hot topic these days, but it’s important to note that it’s not just about measuring how well employees perform tasks or hit sales goals.

It’s also about helping them do their jobs better by providing the right tools, processes, coaching, and feedback so they have what they need to succeed in their roles and the organization.

3. Prevent burnout & turnover.

Employee burnout is a real problem for businesses, with some studies showing that up to 75% of employees have reported feeling burnout at work. 

The cost of turnover is high: it can cost you between 50 and 200% of an employee’s salary to replace them, not to mention the time and energy required to recruit a replacement. 

However, if you can identify areas where employees are feeling frustrated or unhappy at work, you can address these issues so that they stay in your company longer.

Benefits of Employee Feedback — For Managers

1. It helps you improve your leadership style.

Feedback from employees can give you insight into how they feel about working with you and help you improve your management style based on what they say. 

This is especially important if you've been promoted into a position with an existing manager. It's easy to get caught up in day-to-day operations and forget basic management principles (like communicating regularly with your team).

2. You can identify potential problems before they become serious issues.

If an employee has a negative attitude towards something, then it's likely that it's not just a one-off thing. There may be something going on that needs addressing. 

You may be able to take action immediately or at least prevent the issue from getting bigger by asking them to explain themselves so that you can get more information on what's causing the problem.

3. It helps build trust between you and your team members. 

When employees feel like they can tell their manager what they're thinking without fear of being judged harshly or having their opinion dismissed, they'll feel more comfortable working with them. 

This can help create a strong bond between both parties and build stronger team spirit within the workplace.

4. You'll learn about your strengths and weaknesses as a manager.

Feedback from employees is valuable because it gives you insight into how others perceive your strengths and weaknesses as a boss. 

You can use this information to decide where to focus your efforts when improving your management style. You might also discover that things you thought were a strength aren't as valuable as you thought or vice versa!

5. It helps you learn about yourself as a manager.

Asking for feedback is hard, but it's essential to developing as a leader. You can ask questions like: "What could I do better?" or "What am I doing well?". You can also ask specific questions like "How can I improve my communication style?". 

You may not like the answers, but they'll give you valuable insight into what's working and what isn't in your management style.

Assembly has built a manager feedback template that makes giving and receiving structured feedback incredibly simple. Check it out here.

Why is it so important to give feedback to my manager?

Giving your manager feedback is vital because it shows that you are invested in the company and its success. A good manager will appreciate hearing about problems, so they can help solve them.

By giving feedback, you're showing that you care enough to offer your opinion, which is a great way to build trust with your manager. They'll know they can count on you to share thoughts on tough decision-making processes.

What should I write in my manager feedback?

Your manager feedback should include a summary of your productivity and the quality of your work. You should also include any concerns or suggestions for improving the team's workflow, such as ways to streamline processes or open communication channels between team members. 

Want to learn how to give effective feedback to your manager? Here are a few examples.

Positive Feedback To Manager Examples

1. “The feedback that you gave on my presentation was fantastic. I really appreciate your encouragement and help in improving my presentation skills.”
   
   
2. “I appreciate all the work you have done on this project. It has been a pleasure working with you, and I’m so grateful for all your support and guidance throughout this process.”
   
   
3. “Thank you so much for your time today. It was great getting feedback on my new ideas for the upcoming product launch! I hope we can continue to work together on future projects and improve our working relationship in the future.”
   
   
4.  “I appreciate your willingness to let me learn from my mistakes without criticism or judgment; this helps me grow as a professional and an employee of this company.”
   
   
5. "I appreciate how you allow me to participate in company events outside the office — it makes me feel like an important part of our team."
   
   
6. "I appreciate how you make sure that everyone has an opportunity to voice their opinions before making any decisions."
   
   
7. "I feel secure having my ideas discussed with you because I know we will learn from each other even if we disagree on something."

Read: How to Prepare for a One-on-One Meeting With Your Manager

Constructive Feedback To Manager Examples

1. “I know you’re busy, but I think it would really help me out if we could sit down once a week or so and talk about what’s going on in both our departments. So that we don’t derail or miss anything important happening down the line because we weren’t talking about it.”
   
   
2. “It would be helpful if you could check in with me once a week to see how things are going.”
   
   
3. “I think the new policy is great, but I noticed one small detail that wasn’t considered. So, I wanted to talk about it before the implementation so we could fix it before it becomes an issue for our clients or customers.”
   
   
4. "I'm worried about my promotion prospects because I haven't received any feedback from you on how well I'm doing in this role."
   
   
5.  "I'm overwhelmed by the number of projects I'm working on. Can we discuss how I could prioritize them?"
   
   
6. "I've noticed that you always ask me to stay late and complete work on the weekend. I really appreciate that, but it would be helpful if we could devise a plan to tackle this workload, so it doesn't become such a burden for me."
   
   
7. “I'm having trouble understanding the direction of this project and would love to get some clarification on the goals before moving forward with it."

Learn more: Employee Feedback for Managers: 7 Constructive Examples

Ultimately, you can see that employee feedback is vital to the relationship between employee and manager. 

Through feedback, a manager can establish trust, demonstrate the value of their work, and help workers understand how to grow as employees. On the other hand, feedback gives employees a sense of development and recognition for their efforts. 

Most people want to do an excellent job and be recognized for it. So, being on the receiving end of effective feedback can be motivating.

Assembly provides companies with the tools they need to become better places to work by fostering transparency, encouraging open conversations, and providing transparent management and recognition. Schedule a demo to see for yourself.