Developing a culture of Feedback in Remote Teams
Something about collaboration is always so complicated yet so wholesome. Being a team player is not only a skill today, it is a necessity. And, with the work from home culture on a flourish, it is even more essential to master it.
When it comes to organizations and work environments, a team project usually is the deciding toss to determine the flow of the employees. Sure, dividing work and delegating authority seems like a very organized way to go about a team project but the most tricky part of working in a team is the time when everyone comes together to offer an assessment on the progress.
This is a thin line to walk because let’s be honest it can get real ugly real soon if one isn’t coy or respectable when offering feedback. And, this is why it is important to have a feedback culture well established, so that team harmony isn’t jeopardized.
Here are effective ways you can develop a culture of constructive feedback for remote teams in organizations effectively:
- Structuring the feedback
is a lot of room for miscommunications and misunderstandings when it comes to online interactions. Especially in remote teams where mostly the communication is text-based, it becomes paramount that the team knows how to structure their words in a way that they are understood for what they mean and nothing else. Clarity of expression is a must when engaging through texts and emails and the HR should try to make sure that the whole team knows that.
The moment passive-aggressive comments and interactions make their way into the team chats, there is a lot of bad blood that arises. Because it’s just the small things. So try to keep the communications as to-the-point and precise in expression as possible to ensure a healthy team community.
Offer feedback examples for both good and bad interactions, provide the space to enquire about the feedback, and give the employees the chance to understand their expectations and requirements. And offer video presentations that could signify the nature of feedback that should be maintained in the team interactions.
- Incorporating a growth mindset
The main reason to provide feedback is so that improvement can take place in employee performance. When employees approach their tasks and responsibilities with a growth mindset, they will welcome feedback with an open mindset and try to bring those changes willingly. When employees are focused on learning and development they will look at feedback as a great opportunity to learn.
Companies can offer development and training programs that can help build a learning environment. There are various online learning methods that companies can incorporate that help makes online training and courses very easy and smooth. For example, Mindflash is a very efficient cloud-based learning management system and Mindflash pricing comes at a very affordable option as well, which makes Mindflash easy to incorporate and afford.
Such programs help show the employees that the organization cares for their growth and wants to bring them opportunities to improve.
- Schedule periodic one-on-ones
Making something a strategic part of a team culture helps bring better control to the organization. Tracking the progress of members, having periodic sessions, and having periodic discussions not only helps bring the team closer but also opens up avenues for informal chats and easier communication.
Bringing the guided conversation to the team interactions opens up subtle avenues for mentioning other shortcomings or evaluations. The meetings need not be formal, nor do they need to help every day. Just a scheduled and consistent meet-up that can be relied upon to always happen. This way the whole team knows that there is always an opportunity where they can share and interact.
- Offer Positive Feedback
This is not to say that only positive feedback should be provided. That would completely beat the purpose of having feedbacks in the first place. This simply refers to affirmative feedback Positive feedback helps motivate teams and bring enthusiasm to the work. When employees feel appreciated they approach work with a more positive and driven attitude.
Sure, constructive feedback is also necessary and there’s no need to sugar-coat it for the sake of it. Because we already mentioned that would only really make feedback pointless. Just that giving positive affirmations to the members on the things they get right and a job-well-done makes for a more positive environment.
When a team acknowledges hard work and dedication, a habit of sharing praise develops that in turn motivates the members to do better and improve.
- Track progress and keep the teams aligned
Remote teams especially need a complete collective understanding of team progress, project updates, and reports that everyone is on board with. This will not only help keep track of the members’ contributions but also bring a collaborative approach to work.
Weekly tracking can also be a great way to provide feedback on the progress of the members by offering better approaches that they could be taking towards tasks and complimenting their right choices. Knowing how a member works brings understanding and an employee also feels safer and more confident in the working.
Conclusion:
In the end, it really just comes down to mutual respect after a constructive feedback culture is developed. If the employees can respect each other, understand that the feedback is not a pretentious attempt at showing authority and that it will bring development and growth to their skills; they will be more open to suggestions and comments. Rather than thinking of it as some judgment day.
