Employee feedback is crucial for modern businesses of all sizes. In addition to the valuable insights that managers and executives can’t get elsewhere, employee feedback surveys will make your staff happier and ultimately perform better.
Whether you’re trying to improve your current employee feedback process or you’re starting a new employee feedback program from scratch, this guide has everything you need to succeed.
Anyone in a managerial or executive role can implement these tactics, as they hold true for small teams of five through departments of 50 and company-wide implementation for 5,000+ employees.
Why Employee Feedback Matters
Asking your employees for honest feedback makes them feel valued and helps define your company culture. You’ll be a better manager and team leader if you truly understand how your employees feel—which is nearly impossible without a defined system for collecting and analyzing employee feedback on a regular basis.
This simple initiative can help increase employee retention, improve team productivity, and reduce costs associated with churn and quiet quitting. Recent data supports all of this:
- 74% of employees who feel “heard at work” are more engaged and effective.
- 41% of workers have quit their jobs because they weren’t being listened to.
- Companies that collect employee feedback reduce turnover rates by 14.9%.
- 48% of employees say they care more about their work when feedback is regularly exchanged.
- Employees who are actively asked for feedback are 4.6x more likely to excel in their performance.
- Managers who collect feedback are 8.9% more profitable compared to those who don’t.
At the end of the day, your employees are the driving force behind the success of your business.
Failing to ask their opinions is an expensive mistake—not only in the direct costs from churn and disengagement but also from the opportunity cost that’s holding them back from reaching their full potential.
You want to be heard at work, right? Well, your employees feel the same way.
11 Most Effective Ways to Collect Employee Feedback
There are several different ways that employee feedback can be collected. The best option for you and your team depends on your management style and goals. But most managers can use some combination of these employee feedback methods for different scenarios.
1. Anonymous Feedback
Providing your employees with a safe place to submit anonymous feedback is the only way you’re going to get honest answers from most of your staff.
In fact, 90% of employees are more likely to share honest opinions about the workplace if they can submit them anonymously.
The best way to approach this is through a digital form or feedback survey that doesn’t track submissions by user. Otherwise, your employees may be afraid that their feedback could have repercussions and put their jobs in jeopardy. This would be the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve, so it’s important that you make your staff feel comfortable and assure them all responses are truly anonymous.
2. Employee Satisfaction Surveys
The primary goal of an employee satisfaction survey is to identify areas for improvement within your department or organization.
These surveys tend to focus on relationships with supervisors, company culture, work-life balance, and internal growth opportunities.
Essentially, you’re trying to figure out if your employees are happy at work. If not, what specifically can be done to improve their happiness?
3. “Open Door” Policy
With the shift to remote and hybrid work, I realize that a traditional open-door policy won’t always apply to every business. Many managers are working in different locations from their employees, making it impossible for anyone to drop by unannounced.
That said, you can still apply this same concept by implementing a virtual open-door policy. All this means is making yourself approachable and accessible.
Employees should be able to send you an email or drop you a message on Slack at any point without feeling like they’re stepping out of line or burdening you.
For managers and executives who still work in a traditional office setting—keep your door open!
4. Performance Reviews
Monthly, quarterly, or annual performance reviews are an excellent time to solicit employee feedback because it’s a natural part of the conversation. Since you’ll be providing them with feedback related to their performance, they’ll be more receptive to sharing feedback with you as part of a two-way exchange.
This can happen in person, virtually, or as part of an automated follow-up after a performance review.
You may decide to increase the frequency of performance reviews to establish a better rapport with your staff. The more often you hold these meetings and ask for feedback, the greater chance they’ll have of opening up and being honest.
5. One-on-One Meetings
Consider holding weekly or monthly 1:1 check-ins with employees that aren’t necessarily tied to their specific performance. Instead, use these meetings to focus on what they’re doing well or what they can improve upon.
65% of employees want more feedback from their employers, and 75% of them believe regular feedback is important for their work.
So by giving them what they want (more feedback), there’s a good chance they’ll also provide you with what you want (also feedback).
Holding 1:1 meetings regularly also ensures that the feedback you’re getting is relevant and topical. For example, if you’re waiting until December to hold an annual performance review, your employees may not remember or bring up an issue they were having back in February or March.
6. Skip-Level Feedback
Skip-level feedback comes directly from senior managers or executives who employees don’t normally report to. These are really important for organizations with lots of middle managers for several reasons.
First, it makes employees feel important and valued if people holding top-tier positions make time for them. This also helps higher-ups determine if middle managers are accurately reporting on how their employees are feeling at work.
But most importantly, it gives your staff the option to share any potential feedback about their direct manager that they may otherwise feel uncomfortable sharing directly with that person.
7. Automated Surveys
You can set up an automatic feedback system that’s triggered based on time, actions, or a combination of the two.
For example, you may send all employees an automated survey after a company event or conference they attended. Or maybe you send automated surveys for feedback immediately after someone completes an employee training module.
Automation makes it easier to collect employee feedback at scale without disrupting your bandwidth. You set up automated surveys from an employee app and then view a consolidated report of the results on your time—all without any scheduled calls or face-to-face meetings with your staff.
8. New Employee Questionnaires
New employee questionnaires are crucial because they help set the foundation for your management style on day one. They help show new hires that you care about their opinions and experience, and really help establish a good rapport early on.
Since these employees won’t have lots of company-related work experience just yet, focus on the hiring, training, and onboarding process.
You can also solicit feedback to get a sense of their expectations in the new position. How long of a learning curve are they expecting? Do they have any questions about your SOPs and processes?
These types of questions will help keep your newest employees highly engaged and well-motivated from the jump.
9. Exit Interviews
Exit interviews may be your most valuable way to collect employee feedback that nobody else will tell you.
While it may be too late to salvage the company’s relationship with the employee who is leaving, you can use the information from this interview to avoid the same mistakes with other employees.
First and foremost, find out why they are leaving. But you can also get deeper into the weeds with questions about what they would do differently if they were in charge and ask about the biggest points of failure within their department.
If these employees quit on their own terms or already have another job lined up, they’re far more likely to be blunt and honest—offering details your current team might be afraid to speak up about.
10. Suggestion Boxes
As the name implies, a suggestion box is a 24/7/365 method for employees to drop suggestions unsolicited.
This is important because it gives employees a chance to submit feedback in between scheduled meetings or automated surveys.
Expect a wide range of suggestions here. It could be anything from wanting more snacks in the break room to new product extension suggestions. And while you don’t necessarily implement every suggestion that’s dropped, you still need to take them seriously.
For modern businesses, setting up a virtual suggestion box is the best option. Your employees can submit feedback from anywhere, and they can decide whether to make it anonymous or attach their names to it. Setting this up through a workforce mobile app makes sense for most companies.
11. Third-Party Feedback Systems
Some companies choose to hire third-party consultants or companies to handle their entire employee feedback process.
This approach is commonly used if employers don’t think their staff will honestly share information with them, and they’d be more likely to offer that feedback to a neutral third party. Other companies use this method if they don’t have internal systems in place to effectively collect feedback themselves.
I personally don’t like this method because it undermines what you’re trying to achieve by making your employees feel heard and valued. It’s much harder to build rapport with your staff if you’re outsourcing their opinions to someone else.
However, the same concept can be achieved by leveraging modern technology.
Rather than using a third-party consultant to manage interactions with your employees, you can create a basic internal employee app that automates feedback collection on your behalf.
Employee Feedback Questions and Examples
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of potential questions you can ask your employees when collecting feedback and running employee feedback surveys.
If you’re stuck, you can always start with an employee feedback template and use these example questions as a resource:
Job Satisfaction Questions
- How satisfied are you with your current role on a scale of 1-10?
- What tasks or responsibilities would you like to add or remove from your current role?
- If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
- Do you see a clear path for career advancement within our organization?
- What additional training or resources would help support your job?
Company Culture Questions
- How would you describe our company culture?
- Do you feel that our company values align with your personal values?
- What types of company events or activities would you like to see more of?
- What is your favorite part about working here?
- What is your least favorite part about working here?
Management and Leadership Questions
- Do you feel supported by your direct supervisor?
- How often do you receive recognition for your work?
- Is the feedback you receive from management helpful for your growth?
- Do you feel that our leadership clearly communities our company goals?
- What can your manager do better to support you?
Work-Life Balance Questions
- How would you rate your work-life balance on a scale of 1-10?
- Do our company policies support your schedule?
- Have you experienced burnout in your current role? If so, what contributed to it?
- Do you feel comfortable requesting time off when needed?
- What resources or support would help improve your work-life balance?
Workplace Environment and Productivity Questions
- Do you have the tools and resources required to perform your job effectively?
- How would you describe the communication between departments?
- On a scale of 1-10, how productive are your meetings?
- What changes to your physical or virtual workspace would improve your productivity?
- How can we improve internal communication within our company?
Common Pitfalls to Avoid When You’re Gathering Employee Feedback
There are a handful of mistakes that managers make when they’re soliciting feedback from employees. Even if you have the right intentions, these mistakes can really set back your overall strategy and potentially give you bad data.
Here’s what you need to avoid:
Asking “Leading” Questions
Sometimes this is done unintentionally, but the way you frame questions can potentially suggest a particular response from your staff—which isn’t good for your data, and it can neglect potential concerns.
For example, the question, “Do you feel happy at work?” leads your employees to respond based on their happiness level.
But maybe they feel confused, stressed, motivated, excited, or undervalued. You won’t get those responses unless the question is a bit more broad, like “How do you feel at work?”
Not Embracing Negative Feedback
Managers can get discouraged and sometimes defensive when they hear negative feedback. Don’t fall into this trap.
Negative feedback is a sign that your feedback system is working well. It means your employees are actually being honest and sharing what’s on their minds.
If they sense that you’re getting upset, they may fear repercussions and think twice before submitting negative comments in the future.
Failing to Implement Employee Feedback
Collecting employee feedback is really only half the battle. You need to take this to the next level and actually take those comments into consideration.
I’m not saying you have to implement every single suggestion. But you definitely need to make sure you’re acknowledging concerns and addressing all of the most common friction points.
37% of employees have quit because their feedback wasn’t taken seriously, and an additional 20% have considered leaving their jobs for the exact same reason.
Asking Too Many Questions
Providing feedback shouldn’t feel like a chore for your employees. Aim for 25 questions at the absolute max, and make sure they can complete surveys in less than 15 minutes.
If you’re looking for long-form responses, consider cutting those surveys down to just five or ten questions.
Otherwise, your staff may rush through the surveys or ignore them altogether.
Not Having a Clear Purpose
Asking your employees for feedback shouldn’t be just another action item to check off your to-do list. Each survey should have a clear intention and goal.
For example, maybe you’re thinking of changing your department’s hybrid work policy. Before doing so, you can ask questions directly related to how productive your team feels when working at home compared to the office.
Keep each survey focused on one or two goals at most. Trying to do more than this will just dilute the questions that matter most.
How to Measure Success With Employee Feedback
There are two categories of metrics that you need to track when you’re collecting employee feedback. First, focus on the participation and engagement of your surveys. Then worry about the actual responses.
Participation and Engagement KPIs
- Response Rate — Percentage of employees who participate in surveys. Aim for 70% or higher.
- Completion Rate — Percentage of employees who fully complete a survey. If your staff is abandoning your surveys after starting, it’s a sign that they’re too long or confusing.
- Time to Complete — How long it takes employees to finish a survey from start to finish. If this number is super short, it could be a sign they’re rushing.
- Frequency of Voluntary Feedback — How often employees provide unprompted feedback through your suggestion box or open door policy.
Impact and Results KPIs
- Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) — Measures how likely your employees are to recommend your company as a place to work on a 0-10 rating scale.
- Employee Satisfaction Score — Average rating across all satisfaction-based questions, typically measured on 1-5 or 1-10 rating scales.
- Employee Turnover Rate — Track if your turnover rates increase or decrease after implementing feedback-based changes.
- Productivity Metrics — Measure if specific departments or teams increase output after feedback has been addressed.
Major changes won’t happen overnight. So it’s important to wait at least three or six months before you can expect to see anything significant happening.
You also need to make sure that you aren’t wasting tons of time trying to aggregate data manually and decipher responses. If you’re using a mobile app to deliver surveys, then all of these metrics and KPIs can be reported automatically.
Quick Implementation Checklist
- Select Your Core Feedback Methods — Choose two or three of the methods from the list that best fit your company culture and team structure. You can always add more over time.
- Use Digital Tools to Streamline the Process — Mobile apps are the best way to automate your feedback process. With tools like Buildfire, any business can create an internal employee app to facilitate this.
- Set Up a Regular Feedback Cadence — Establish a consistent schedule for when you’re soliciting feedback from your staff. Monthly or quarterly are two logical places to start.
- Enable 24/7 Feedback Submissions — Make sure your staff can also submit feedback unprompted 24/7. Having this feature in your employee mobile app makes the most sense.
- Create a Feedback Loop — Employee feedback should be a two-way street. If you provide more feedback to them, they’ll be more willing to share honest feedback with you.
- Track and Measure Results — Set up a scalable system that measures survey engagement and responses. Having your own app lets you automate 90% of this, so you can focus on reading reports and making decisions instead of trying to organize raw data.
- Keep it Simple — Focus on quality over quantity. You’re better off having a quarterly survey to address your most important questions instead of sending a weekly survey that’s half-hearted and doesn’t serve a real purpose.
Final Thoughts
The ability to collect, analyze, and implement employee feedback is what separates top-performing teams from average businesses. It’s the perfect way to keep your employees happy while simultaneously making them more productive.
There are plenty of different tools on the web that you can use to facilitate this process, but having your mobile app is the best approach for most businesses.
Mobile apps make it easy to send out employee feedback surveys that can be accessed from anywhere on a preferred device. You can send out push notification reminders and automate the entire collection process while having real-time access to your top metrics and KPIs on the backend.
With no-code app builders like Buildfire, collecting employee feedback is just one of the dozens of features you can have in your custom workforce app. Sign up for a 30-day free trial to get started, or request a demo to learn more.
