Step by step guide: How to respond to negative employee feedback

HR leaders are trusted with the responsibility of nurturing a positive and productive work environment. However, no matter how well you strive to lead, negative employee feedback is inevitable.

Instead of dreading these moments, we can choose to see them as opportunities for growth and improvement. When handled with empathy and a genuine willingness to listen, negative feedback can pave the way for stronger relationships and a happier team.

In this article, we’ll explore actionable strategies on how to respond to negative employee feedback effectively. By understanding the importance employee voice, constructive dialogue and taking a proactive approach, you can transform moments of critique into catalysts for positive change.

Step by step: How to respond to negative feedback

• Listen attentively
  Pay close attention to your employee’s concerns, whether it’s in person, written feedback or anonymously submitted. Show that you genuinely care about their perspective by actively listening.
• Stay calm and composed
  There’s absolutely no need to rush to react – take a deep breath and remind yourself that there’s a solution to everything. Responding with a level-head demonstrates emotional intelligence and helps de-escalate any tense situations.
• Express gratitude
  We’ve heard it time and time again – feedback is a gift! So, remind yourself to treat feedback as a treasure and thank the employee for sharing their thoughts and feelings. Let them know you appreciate their openness, which will encourage honest communication again in the future.
• Acknowledge feelings
  A big part of active listening and constructive communication is validating emotions. Let them know you understand how they feel and that their experience and emotions are important.
• Avoid defensiveness
  This point seems obvious enough – but often it’s in our nature to have a knee-jerk reaction to unpleasant situations. Take a deep breath and do your best to stop yourself from being defensive or making excuses. Instead, focus on understanding the issues at hand.
• Seek further clarification
  If the feedback is unclear or ambiguous, ask clarifying questions to ensure you grasp the full context. If you jump to the bottom of this article, we’ve given you 21 questions to ask in a feedback follow-up pulse survey! 
• Take ownership
  This is big. You’ll need to accept responsibility for any mistakes or shortcomings on your part or that of the organisation. Accountability goes an incredibly long way in building trust and rapport with employees, and they will be able to spot it from a mile away if the organisation is being insincere.
• Commit to action
  Outline the steps you will take to address the concerns raised and share this action plan with the affected employees. Be specific about the actions you’ll implement and the timeline for their resolution.
• Involve employees in the solution
  If appropriate, seek the employee’s input on how to improve the situation. Involving employees is decision-making is an empowering approach and signals to teams that their input is valued.
• Encourage ongoing feedback
  Let employees know that their feedback is valuable and welcome at any time. What’s also really important is, after addressing the issues, check in with the employee to ensure the changes have had a positive impact. This shows you are invested in their well-being and are open to hearing any further feedback they might have about how the situation was handled. 

Negative feedback follow-up questions to ask employees

When responding to negative feedback, asking follow-up questions is going to help you hugely in gaining deeper insights and work collaboratively towards resolving the issues have that risen. Using a pulse survey to structure and collect your team’s follow-up feedback; here’s our top follow-up questions to ask to delve deeper. 

• What specific incident or situation triggered this feedback? 
• How did this situation make you feel?
• Can you provide examples or details to help us better understand?
• Were there any contributing factors that you think we should consider?
• Have you experienced this issue before, or is it an isolated incident?
• Did you attempt to address the problem with anyone else before sharing it with us?
• How do you think this issue is affecting your work or overall experience at work?
• Are there any potential solutions you’ve thought about that you’d like to share?
• What would an ideal resolution to this problem look like to you?
• Have you observed similar issues affecting other team members?
• Are there any patterns or recurring problems you’ve noticed?
• Can you provide feedback on how we, as an organisation, could prevent such issues in the future?
• Is there anything we, as leaders, can do to better support you and your team?
• Have you seen other organisations handle similar issues effectively? What did they do?
• How can we improve communication and ensure your concerns are heard in the future?
• Are there any underlying issues that you feel are not being addressed?
• What specific changes would you like to see happen?
• How do you envision this issue being resolved, step-by-step?
• Are there any resources or training opportunities that could help improve the situation?
• How can we measure or assess the effectiveness of the changes we implement? 
• Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Remember, the goal of asking these follow-up questions is to actively listen, show empathy, and collaborate with the employee in finding solutions. As leaders you should approach these conversations with an open mind and a sincere desire to address the concerns raised.

Good or bad – feedback should be treated as a tool to help move an organisation forward! At Stribe we’re passionate about making teams the happiest they can be. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your employee engagement and feedback strategies.

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