Professional feedback refers to the process of providing information, guidance, and evaluation to employees about their performance, behaviors, and actions.
It involves sharing observations, opinions, and suggestions aimed at helping employees understand their strengths, areas for improvement, and how their work aligns with organizational goals and expectations.
Professional Feedback is Vastly Underutilized
For ample evidence take a step back and think of 3 ways feedback is overlooked and and underappreciated in your work interactions.
- Lack of improvement or progress in employee performance despite ongoing attempts.
- Low employee engagement and motivation levels, reflected in reduced low productivity and the lack of enthusiasm.
- Resistance to change and a reluctance to embrace new ideas or suggestions.
- Increased frequency of conflicts or unresolved issues within teams. Ignoring these types of issues is never a solution.
- High employee turnover rates and difficulties in retaining top talent. Fresh eyes can see problems that tenured leaders have become desensitized to over time.
- Reduced collaboration and teamwork, with individuals working in silos rather than supporting each other.
- Lack of initiative and innovation among employees, resulting in missed opportunities for growth and improvement.
- Poor communication and misalignment of expectations between managers and team members.
- Negative or toxic work culture, characterized by blame, mistrust, and fear of providing or receiving feedback.
- Ineffective performance reviews that fail to provide meaningful insights or drive employee development.
- Lack of clarity and understanding regarding performance expectations, resulting in confusion and ambiguity for employees.
- Reduced employee satisfaction and morale, leading to decreased job satisfaction and higher absenteeism rates. Having a department Zoom call where everyone says something like “Good job!” is a low-impact and possible counter-productive way of recognizing and/or appreciating performance.
- Limited opportunities for skill development and career advancement, as feedback is not utilized to identify growth areas and provide targeted support.
- Inconsistent or biased feedback practices, leading to perceptions of favoritism or unfairness. Managers often don’t learn of these issues until exit interviews. Ouch!
Here are findings from articles also calling for help with upskilling feedback in order to improve retention, performance, and value delivery.
- According to Gallup, only 26% of employees strongly agree that the feedback they receive helps them improve their work.
- A study by HBR found that effective feedback can improve employee performance by as much as 39%.
- Research shows that employees who receive regular feedback have lower turnover rates, resulting in cost savings for organizations.
- A survey conducted by Adobe found that 72% of employees believed their performance would improve with more frequent feedback.
- Studies have shown that employees who receive feedback on their strengths have a higher level of engagement and are more likely to excel in their roles.
- A research report by McKinsey & Company highlights the importance of continuous feedback for fostering a culture of learning and development.
- A study by Officevibe revealed that 98% of employees fail to engage when managers give little to no feedback.
- Research conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) indicates that employees who receive regular feedback are more likely to feel valued and satisfied in their roles.
- A report by Dale Carnegie Training found that organizations with a strong feedback culture have 14.9% lower turnover rates than those without.
- According to a survey by TinyPulse, 64% of employees feel that their supervisors don’t give enough praise and recognition.
- Research suggests that effective feedback can lead to a 12.5% increase in employee productivity.
- A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that feedback interventions had a positive impact on employee performance and motivation.
- The Corporate Leadership Council discovered that employees who receive accurate and consistent feedback have a 43% higher level of performance.
- According to a survey by Globoforce, 78% of employees said that being recognized motivates them to work harder.
- A Gallup poll revealed that employees who strongly agree that their manager focuses on their strengths are 50% more likely to work in a thriving team.
- The International Coaching Federation (ICF) reported that 70% of individuals who received feedback from a professional coach saw improvements in their work performance.
- Studies have shown that organizations with a strong feedback culture experience higher levels of innovation and creativity among their employees.
- The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) highlights that feedback is crucial for employee development, job satisfaction, and overall organizational effectiveness.
- Research conducted by Globoforce and SHRM found that companies with effective feedback processes outperform their peers by 14.9% in revenue growth.
- According to a survey by TINYpulse, 80% of employees value immediate feedback, considering it essential for their work performance and growth.
Unlocking the Superpowers of Feedback

When people managers or others who rely on the ability to influence, engage, and enroll others inside and outside your organization use feedback effectively, they gain access to additional superpowers.
Effective Feedback Allows
- Course Correction: Professional feedback for people managers involves providing guidance and redirection to team members when their actions deviate from desired outcomes, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with organizational goals.
- Skill Development: Through professional feedback, people managers help individuals and teams identify areas for growth, provide constructive guidance, and create development plans that enhance their skills, capabilities, and overall performance.
- Conflict Resolution: Professional feedback enables people managers to address conflicts within teams by facilitating open communication, understanding different perspectives, and finding mutually beneficial solutions, fostering a harmonious work environment.
- Future Proofing: Professional feedback helps people managers prepare individuals and teams for future challenges by identifying potential skill gaps, encouraging continuous learning, and equipping them with the necessary knowledge and capabilities to adapt and thrive in a changing business landscape.
- Strategic Alignment: Professional feedback ensures that actions, efforts, and resources are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives, enabling people managers to communicate expectations, track performance, and drive accountability to achieve collective goals and organizational success.
When you give effective feedback, everyone thinks:
- The feedback content must be timely, specific, constructive, and balanced. However, there are times when you increase the impact of your feedback by not making it conform to these guidelines.
- It focuses on observable behaviors and results. However, the relationship you have with the person you are engaging in feedback makes all the difference in how quickly the person acts on your suggestions and how they are able to generalize your feedback to other areas of their professional and personal lives.
- It provides actionable suggestions. However, don’t forget that at different stages of a work relationship, your work relationship with your colleague might benefit from feedback that contains NO concrete, actionable suggestions.
- It is delivered in a respectful and supportive manner. However – and read carefully – sometimes you have to adjust the tone, content, and intensity of your feedback in careful calibration to what the situation calls for because if the feedback you’ve given before hasn’t resulted in the behavior changes desired by you, your colleague, and your organization, you’ve got to vary your approach.
- It is aligned with the business goals of your organization, often including continuous improvement, growth, and engagement within the team or organization. This part always holds true for effective feedback.
Poor, Weak, Ineffective Feedback is Costly
When poorly articulated or delivered, ineffective feedback acts like giant holes in the relationship tank, draining goodwill rather than creating a reserve.
