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Feedback in the Workplace: Establishing a sustainable and engaging Culture

Feedback in the Workplace: Establishing a sustainable and engaging Culture

by | 7 May 2025 | feedback, HR, knowledge, Manager

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

 

Conflict management training: an underestimated lever in the workplace

Conflict management training: an underestimated lever in the workplace

by | 14 Apr 2025 | HR, Learning, workplace conflict

As work speeds accelerate, profiles diversify within organizations, and intergenerational expectations grow increasingly distinct, tensions within teams have become nearly unavoidable.

In Switzerland and beyond, HR teams report a growing wave of interpersonal conflict in organizations, clearly impacting morale, engagement, and productivity.

According to CPP Global (2008), 85% of employees have already experienced conflict at work; one in three faces it regularly. Still, few employees are truly equipped to recognize, understand, and defuse these complex situations.

 

Why is this a critical issue?

Because unmanaged conflicts lead to concrete consequences: demotivation, stress, withdrawal, high turnover, and operational inefficiency.

Often, these tensions are handled informally—or not at all—until they escalate. Yet conflict is not always destructive: when properly addressed, it can become a source of transformation, clarification, or innovation.

As highlighted by De Dreu & Gelfand (2008), conflicts might destabilize short-term team dynamics but also offer a valuable opportunity to redefine roles, reopen communication, or reevaluate practices.

 

Establishing a culture of active regulation

Companies looking to professionalize internal conflict management can activate several levers:

  • Define a clear framework for team dialogue

  • Rely on internal or external mediators

  • Implement transparent feedback rituals

  • Experiment with tools such as the Thomas-Kilmann model, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), or dialogue circles

The goal is not to eliminate disagreement—which would be unrealistic—but to develop a collective capacity to navigate it and emerge stronger.

 

Training as a foundation, not a magic fix

Skill-building in relational dynamics is essential. But training doesn’t mean resolving everything. It should instead:

  • Provide keys to understanding value, method, or role-based conflicts

  • Introduce emotional regulation and cooperative behaviors

  • Build a shared language to support daily mediation

These trainings address both managers and teams, and can be part of a broader HR-led vision of workplace climate regulation.

 

So…what role will each person play in tension prevention?

As work environments become more hybrid, multicultural, and uncertain, conflict management can no longer be a niche topic for a select few.

But then, who should remain alert? Who takes initiative? How far can a team self-regulate?

These questions encourage organizations to redefine shared responsibilities—among HR, managers, employees, and internal mediation bodies.

Maybe it’s time to collectively rethink the space of disagreement within workplace culture?

 

References:

De Dreu, C. K. W. & Gelfand, M. J. (2008). Conflict in the Workplace: Sources, Functions, and Dynamics across Multiple Levels of Analysis. Annual Review of Psychology

CPP Global (2008). Workplace Conflict and How Businesses Can Harness It to Thrive

Rosenberg, M. (1999). Nonviolent Communication, PuddleDancer Press