Feedback Is the Best Tool That Every Company Could Use - Essay Example

Where is the business getting it wrong? Negative feedback could also be a blessing in disguise as it offers an organization the opportunity to improve in terms of customer satisfaction and overall productivity.

For instance, if customers are not impressed with the quality of service, this is the time to improve and appeal to the clientele (Friedrich, 2012). Feedback is critical in enhancing performance. Without feedback, it would not be easy for me to evaluate my performance. How would I know whether I am on the right path? Feedback then becomes the best platform through which I gauge my performance (Sadri & Seton, 2011). I have been criticized severally, told that what I am doing is either right or wrong. Without feedback, there is no direction for my business; there is no reference point.

I have had to change my business strategies based on the feedback I get from customers and employees. In other words, feedback is paramount for any business. A 360-degree evaluation, for instance, comes in handy in helping me to know what my seniors are thinking about my performance; what my junior is thinking about my performance; and what my peers are thinking about my services as well as leadership styles (Peepers, 2001). Such an assessment would help one to know the expectations of people and improve accordingly.

Timely and effective communication is critical in performance management. When employees are given feedback on their progress at work, they will surely improve as nobody wants to fail (Namhata, 2011). In my many years of doing business (I run a food outlet on a busy street), I have learned that feedback works best when it centers on a particular goal. To be on the safe side, I establish performance expectations of employees as well as goals. This enables me to get objective, tangible, and powerful feedback that helps to gauge future expectations. It also helps to alleviate conflicts between the workforce and me. I remember an instance when I told the workforce I work with that they had exceeded expectations. This was a way of telling them that they were effective and that they were doing such a wonderful job (Namhata, 2011).

Feedback should be timely. Employees should always know how they are doing. The earlier the feedback, the easier it will be to make corrections. I value timely feedback. I ensure that we fix pertinent issues quickly before matters run out of hand. If there is a need to improve performance, the sooner it is done the better. When employees have exceeded expectations, the sooner they know about it the better, and more rewarding the praise will be to them (Sadri & Seton, 2011). Feedback should also be given in a manner that best enhances performance. As such, feedback should be expressed positively. Whenever I think the employees are not getting it right, I express my feelings in an accurate, positive, complete and factual way. I find this approach effective, at least judging by how the employees have been able to change for the better (Withers, 2009). 

Regardless of this, feedback should be expressed in a positive and factual manner. Feedback is not saying, “You are wrong.” Rather, it means, “more can be done to improve productivity.”  In brief, feedback helps companies or businesses to improve performance.

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