Sales Director
When we began our research for this article, we were surprised at some of the statistics we found regarding workplace culture. A standout figure reported that recently, UK businesses have lost billions due to poor workplace wellbeing. While outside factors (e.g., problems at home) should be considered when examining the causes, workplace culture clearly plays a significant part. So how do we fix it?
We can start by building more inclusive working environments—workplaces where employees are encouraged and recognised for their contributions. How? By encouraging constructive feedback.
In our latest guide, we look at the benefits of constructive feedback in the workplace; exploring its impacts on employee engagement and the overall success of your business.
The workplace culture within a business is often a sign of things to come. And because your employees are essentially the beating heart of your organisation - when they don't feel valued, it can cause significant damage to your business.
It might start with drops in productivity and creativity - possibly even higher staff turnover than normal. You could apply a quick fix - like a last-minute team event or a one-off incentive - but quickly realise this isn't sustainable. Consequently, your employees see through this approach and their faith in you as an employer declines further.
Does this sound like a workplace you'd want to be part of?
Instead, zoom out. Look at the wider culture within your business and ask yourself:
With this in mind, let's look at five ways to introduce constructive feedback into your workplace culture.
In a recent study, only 21% of employees understood what their employers expected from them at work. When this happens, certain employees may avoid asking questions for fear of looking incompetent. Others may lose faith in their abilities or work longer hours to catch up, leading to high stress and burnout.
To avoid this, let's run through some ideas on setting clear expectations.
The SMART framework is a frequently used strategy for helping businesses set clear goals. It can also be helpful for clarifying expectations with employees. The framework breaks goals down into five categories (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), allowing you to define clear boundaries within each before using it to focus on the bigger picture.
The 'Relevant' element of the framework is especially useful, as it relates to your company values and vision. It's a great tool for giving your workforce a deeper insight into how their work contributes to company-wide goals.
Let's look at how the SMART framework can be used:
Hosting regular catch-ups with specific business areas or individuals is a good idea. Here, you can deliver relevant updates and give your employees a forum to express their concerns, give feedback, or ask questions.
Though you won't be able to answer every query (possibly due to sensitivity or a lack of information), remember to respond empathetically and honestly. Being open and transparent rather than elusive shows your workforce that you respect their intelligence.
Make sure to keep your remote workers in the loop, too. VoIP telephony systems like T2K's Gamma Horizon offer voice, video, and instant messaging features so that you can include everyone in your communications, regardless of location.
Regular communication isn't limited to meetings and catch-ups, either. While seeing employees' faces is great, you may also want to use regular emails or newsletters—even instant messages—to check in, show support, or deliver news.
Whatever formats you opt for, keep them consistent and valuable. This lets your staff know you welcome their input and value their time—they may even feel more engaged and, therefore, comfortable speaking up and contributing.
If you've had the experience of working for someone, or had leaders of any kind before, ask yourself the following:
Got your answers? Great! Now, ask yourself the same questions about the relationship with your workforce. Is there room for improvement?
Let's look at how effective leadership can play a big part in building a culture of feedback within your workplace.
When we deliver feedback constructively, with good intentions, our recipients can sense it. This allows conversations based on empathy and support, where instead of focusing on the negatives, we can use it as an opportunity for learning.
This doesn't particularly mean constructive criticism, either. Even positive feedback should be measured and intentional, allowing the recipient to understand how it aligns with their personal goals and those of the company.
Circling back to constructive criticism; here, you should focus on helping your employees understand the impact of their situation, while offering support and guidance to prevent future issues.
That said, leaders need to welcome feedback on their performance, too. This is another great opportunity to give your employees a voice. By asking them to be open about your strengths and weaknesses, you're giving them permission to contribute, while validating their opinions and perspectives.
By normalising two-way communication between leaders and their teams, you can encourage what's known as a growth mindset. Simply put - this is an understanding that through dedication to learning and practising what we learn, we have the potential to grow and improve.
In this context, by showing your workforce that feedback - whether given or received - is welcome, you're essentially encouraging a growth mindset of continuous learning throughout your business. Fostering this need to improve and grow their skill sets, your employees will feel more driven and are likely to be more productive, creative and willing to engage with you.
Earlier, we discussed using incentives as short-term fixes for problems.
Instead, it's better to be consistent and genuine with your recognition. You can do this by acknowledging the actions, behaviours and ideas of staff who contribute in a positive and meaningful way to their teams, and the wider business. Some examples might include:
You can also tie this into your feedback process, with formats like Employee of the Month; an approach that encourages positive feedback among teammates. You may even notice friendly competition within teams, boosting motivation as a result.
Again, regardless of your chosen format, ensure you're as fair and transparent as possible. This prevents whispers of favouritism while showing that recognition doesn't relate to an employee's rank or relationship.
What is psychological safety, exactly? The short answer is that it encapsulates everything covered in this article. It's simply when your employees feel they can contribute without fear of judgement or negative consequences.
By doing this, we encourage what's known as 'diversity of thought' - the idea that there is more than one way to think about or approach a situation.
When psychological safety isn't present in the workplace, there tends to be a lack of creativity, innovation and forward momentum. As a result, businesses often find they're unable to evolve their services or break new ground within their market.
If staff don't feel valued or that their contributions don't matter, they'll likely keep quiet. After all, why would they want to 'rock the boat' only for their feelings or ideas to be rejected? And if they don't feel comfortable bringing new perspectives to the table, new ideas simply don't get shared.
A lack of fresh perspective and employee investment is a slow road to decline. It risks a business repeating the same stagnant formulas and outdated thinking, eventually affecting its services and reputation as a leader within its industry.
In an article published by the Harvard Business Review, an employee recounts a meeting with a senior leader to discuss the failure of a project he'd chaired.
When reporting the problem, he expected her to ask, 'What went wrong?' or 'How could you have prevented this?'. Instead, she simply replied: 'What did you learn?'.
The employee recalls being surprised. However, as the conversation continued, he realised this was a fantastic example of psychological safety.
Instead of leaning into the negatives, she instead allowed him to examine how he could take his perceived failure, and use it to make better choices in the future. She also showed - in 3 simple words, that:
No grand gestures or announcements were needed. It was simply an open dialogue between two people, that encouraged continuous learning.
Constructive feedback is a tool for growth. It allows you to transform every area of your business, from workplace communication to customer service delivery.
Getting feedback from co-workers can help your employees view their skills differently. By incorporating this input, they gain new perspectives on their strengths and opportunities for development.
When staff feel comfortable giving feedback, it helps everyone grow. By speaking up when they see negative or concerning behaviours, they contribute positively to workplace culture. It's not limited to calling out bad behaviour, either. It could simply be noticing that a colleague needs extra training or support.
Gathering feedback lets you uncover insights that may have gone unnoticed. This includes fresh perspectives on internal processes, decisions, and leadership behaviours. By capturing this data responsibly, you can use it to drive continued improvements and innovation within your business.
For businesses with high call volumes, VoIP solutions like T2K's 3CX model let you record calls and analyse patterns around call time, date and topic. This data allows you to refine your processes and improve your customer journey and delivery.
Your employees work with your services daily, putting them in an excellent position to understand what is and isn't working. Your call agents talk to your customers every day, too, likely listening to priceless feedback that can be used to understand how your customers feel.
To capitalise on this, give employees an accessible way to submit and collect feedback. You could do this via a simple spreadsheet, or something more advanced like a capture form, or CRM database. Gathering and analysing this data can allow you to spot patterns and trends, stay ahead of the curve and resolve problems before they escalate.
When constructive feedback is encouraged in the workplace, it opens up a dialogue with your entire workforce. Together, you can begin building a working environment where exciting new perspectives are embraced, driving engagement, innovation and success across your business.
We hope you've found this article helpful. To learn how VoIP telephony systems can support a positive workplace culture within your business, contact T2K today.
Having worked for T2k for nearly 25 years, it's fair to say that Lee is an expert when it comes to all things telephony and business communications. Overseeing the commercial side of the business, he has helped the company evolve and grow through the decades. In recent years, and with the advent of VoIP and hosted telephony, Lee has made sure that T2k is at the forefront of technological developments. With a firm interest in helping businesses navigate the world of telecoms, Lee is responsible for the majority of the content on this website.
