Feedback in the Workplace: Establishing a sustainable and engaging Culture
Beyond the traditional annual evaluation, feedback is now recognized as a key tool for development, motivation, and agility. Yet, it remains insufficiently integrated into day-to-day managerial practices.
According to Gallup (2019), employees who receive regular and constructive feedback are 3.6 times more engaged than others. Conversely, the absence of concrete feedback can lead to confusion, frustration, loss of trust — and ultimately, disengagement.
Why is this relational dimension a strategic issue?
Because feedback is not just an individual reflex. It is an integral part of collective dynamics, a team’s ability to adjust quickly, and a culture of continuous improvement.
A well-formulated feedback supports three essential dimensions:
- Learning: drawing clear lessons from one’s actions,
- Motivation: feeling recognized in one’s role,
- Agility: quickly adjusting attitude, communication, and organization.
But without clear intent, a method, or structure, feedback can become clumsy or even harmful — hence the need for vigilance.
Establishing a sustainable feedback culture
Several structured approaches exist to professionalize feedback practices:
- The SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact),
- The DESC method (Describe, Express, Specify, Conclude) for managing tensions,
- 360° feedback to create a virtuous circle of reciprocal listening.
Scheduling feedback rituals (weekly, post-project, etc.), clarifying mutual expectations, and developing active listening: all are simple levers to deploy, provided they are based on the right mindset.
Training as an Anchor Point
Implementing a true feedback culture requires time and consistency. But also, at certain key moments, structured training and alignment sessions that allow:
- Acquiring a common language around feedback,
- Practicing managerial postures in various contexts (success / error / tension),
- Identifying individual or cultural barriers to regular feedback.
Well-designed training acts as a catalyst for collective evolution, provided it is followed by real implementation.
And now… Can feedback really be natural?
Is it possible, in some teams, to spontaneously foster a feedback culture without it feeling artificial or top-down?
Should the practice be standardized, or should the desire emerge naturally?
And above all: how can we learn to give feedback that is free of judgment, yet not complacent?
These are questions every organization — including HR and managers — should ask, to professionalize an act too often perceived as “intuitive.”
References:
London, M. & Smither, J.W. (2002). Feedback orientation, feedback culture, and the performance management process, Human Resource Management Review
Gallup (2019). State of the Global Workplace
