MODERN PEOPLE
Overhaul organisational
feedback
By Georgia Murch
W
e are now seeing an
emerging trend in highperforming organisations
where all employees, not just the
leaders, are being taught how to
give great feedback and also how to
receive feedback with equal candor
and grace. Organisations that do
this are in their ‘feedback flow’. But
there are far too less that are gaining
this as their competitive edge.
Why is this and how do we fix it?
Learn to value feedback
To few organisations and
individuals understand the value
and power of giving and receiving
feedback. They don’t see it as their
lever to improve engagement and
productivity with our employees,
customers and stakeholders. Ask
your people want they want and
need through an engagement
survey. I’ve not seen a survey
to date that says “we don’t need
anymore feedback”.
Training is not enough
We send our people to a training
program in the hope they will come
back transformed and able to tackle
all issues, to create outcomes not
outbreaks. Organisations need to
develop a program to embed the
learning outside the training alone
to ensure we get the best return on
investment for people’s time and
the organisations money. When we
get clever about how to embed the
learning the change then becomes
effortless and the cultures is able
44 ModernBusiness
June 2016
to self sustain. These are the great
places to work.
Overhaul performance reviews
We set up bi-annual or yearly
performance reviews thinking that’s
enough to drive performance and
sustain people’s engagement. It’s
not enough and worse still, they
often have the opposite effect. If
you are bold enough as the many of
the ‘best places to work then drop
your performance reviews, after you
have equipped your people with the
confidence and skills to do it in the
everyday.
Give and receive
The people who are giving the
feedback and the people who receive
it do not ‘own their stuff’. That is,
they either not self aware enough to
understand the impact they create
when they deliver poor feedback or
react inappropriately. Ensure that
your training and expectations are
not just focused on those giving the
feedback but those who receive.
Ensure your program includes
focusing on individual triggers and
why we react the way we do. Giving
and receiving feedback is not about a
script. It’s more profound than this.
Georgia Murch is an expert in teaching
individuals how to have the tough
conversations and create feedback
cultures in organisations. She is the
author of ‘Fixing Feedback’ and a
highly engaging speaker. Visit www.
georgiamurch.com or email georgia@
georgiamurch.com