Receiving Feedback on Your Work

We all need feedback to judge whether or not we are doing a good job. Indeed, this is how we can learn and improve, gain pride in work well done, and generally derive satisfaction from our job. So an important feature of a high quality workplace is that all workers receive regular and constructive feedback from co-workers, and most important, from their supervisor. Indeed, one indication of a good supervisor is the extent to which workers feel they receive the feedback they need to do their job well.

Getting Adequate Feedback: Two in three Employees Receive Formalized Feedback

About two thirds of employees say that their job performance is measured against standard goals and objectives. This figure is slightly higher among women than men. Younger workers are somewhat less likely to receive formal evaluations than older workers, perhaps reflecting the extent to which they’re concentrated in shorter term and casual jobs which tend to demand less skill. Formal systems of performance appraisal are one means of providing workers with feedback. Typically, job performance is appraised once a year, which makes it all the more important for supervisors to give informal, on-going feedback on performance. Performance appraisals are a tool for employers to assess an individual’s contribution to company goals, to identify training and learning needs, and to foster motivation and commitment. For employees, formal reviews provide a relative sense of ‘how they are doing’ in their job and suggests ways they could further develop and contribute. If done in a fair and constructive manner, feedback can also contribute to workplace morale.

By Size of Workplace

Employees in larger workplaces are more likely to receive a formal evaluation than employees in smaller ones, a reflection, perhaps, of the less bureaucratic nature of small firms. Written regulations and procedures, typical of larger workplaces, may be considered unnecessary in smaller work environments because employees and the employers have regular, informal face-to-face contact.

By Industry

Getting Adequate Feedback: Most Common in Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, Least Common in Primary Industries

Differences are also evident across industries. About 80 percent of employees in finance, insurance and real estate and in health care and social assistance receive some type of standard job evaluation, compared with about 60 percent of those in primary industries (e.g. agriculture, mining, and forestry) or in construction and manufacturing. Firm size accounts for some, but certainly not all, of these industry variations.

Getting Adequate Feedback: Associated With Job Performance Evaluation

There is a link between formal evaluations and the frequency of feedback received by employees, as the graph above shows. Of those employees who receive a formal evaluation, over half (54 percent) percent say that they often or very often receive the feedback they need to do their job effectively. Employees who do not receive a formal evaluation are somewhat less likely to be in this situation (42 percent).

Additional Charts and Information