Workers are often frustrated by the feeling that their suggestions have been ignored by their boss, their friends, or their group.
As a manager and as the main point of contact for your employees and the rest of your team, knowing how to speak effectively with your staff members is essential.
However when you’re managing a rising distributed workforce, it may be difficult to dedicate sufficient time to craft an ideal response to your direct experiences.
You can learn how to respond to negative, positive, and constructive feedback at work.
You need to be able to respond to employee suggestions.
- Why you must respond to suggestions
- The best way of responding positively to optimistic suggestions
- How to handle unfavorable feedback
- The best way to respond constructively to suggestions
Why you must respond to suggestions
When someone from your team takes the time to give you helpful advice, they are invested in nurturing their relationship with you. It shows that they are not only motivated and engaged in their work, but also that they care about your well-being. People will not give feedback if they don’t feel it is important.
Collaboration and trust are key to a successful group. When you respond positively to feedback, it shows that the person’s opinion is valued and respected. So, you do not wish to miss out on this relationship-building alternative.
Managers can respond to employee suggestions immediately through the app. It’s a two-way dialog where employees can choose to remain anonymous.
Construct a loop of suggestions
You may need heard of an worker suggestions loop earlier than, and rightly so: it is a important follow to develop any high-performing staff. When co-workers present suggestions to each other repeatedly, a cycle of suggestions is created.
- Enhance your company’s efficiency
- Reaching collective goals
- How to increase employee engagement?
- Improve worker expertise
You will need to respond to constructive suggestions to make a feedback loop work. Why? Because receiving positive feedback validates the act and reinforces you intuition to continue this optimistic conduct.
The more ideas your team offers, the more individuals feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and solutions and the more they are open to receiving. Your results will improve because people are openly discussing issues as they arise.
Focus on your response when you receive suggestions
Reacting to suggestions is normal. Your response will depend on the situation. It could be:
- Accepting suggestions
- You might not agree with certain suggestions
- Want to know more? Here are some tips
It is important to first understand your reactions. Once you understand how you are reacting, it will be easier to decide on your response. Positive, negative or constructive suggestions are all acceptable. Let’s talk about how to respond to every situation.
The best way of responding positively to optimistic suggestions
It is rewarding to get positive suggestions. Constructive feedback could sound something like: “Nice work on that venture!” “I am so impressed with your management of this venture.” Or, It’s nice to feel that engagement even if you don’t know the answer.
It is important to know how to respond to positive suggestions in order to build a two-way relation between yourself and your team.
How to respond to constructive suggestions in the workplace
- Let them know that you appreciate their positive suggestions. Let them know what it means for you.
- Ask them to elaborate what they liked about you. It is important to understand what was specifically appreciated or if your performance was questioned.
For example: “Thanks for the variety e-mail. It’s nice to know that you are appreciated and that my work has influenced yours. If you’d like, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you think went well and why.
Encourage positive suggestions whenever possible. This creates an atmosphere where people regularly encourage one another. Suggestions can be perceived as unfavorable, or even intimidating. Recognition by colleagues is a powerful way to increase employee engagement.
Should you can break that affiliation by encouraging (and sharing) optimistic suggestions, individuals will not shutter as a lot when they’re given harder however important suggestions…and you will not, both.
How to respond to positive suggestions from your boss
Who does not love listening to from their boss that they’ve written an awesome report or {that a} current presentation was delivered flawlessly by their supervisor? It’s harder to get positive feedback because of the reality of remote working.
When workers are complimented, or hear from superior administration, it can be hard to know how to reply.
If you get a positive performance review or a commendation, thank your supervisor. Let him know that you understand his type words.
You can even go a step further and ask for more suggestions on what you did well to be used in future projects.
“Thanks for acknowledging my efforts!” I have worked hard to complete this project and am grateful for the recognition. I would like to continue with this performance if you could give me more information on the areas that you think I excelled at. The kind of advice is very useful for my professional development.”
Response to unfavorable feedback
Receiving unfavorable feedback is painful, and can even make us defensive. You should always respond logically and not emotionally.
Wait to respond if you are being criticized. Remind yourself to take a breath and that the criticism is not about you. Allow yourself time to process the suggestions. You don’t have to risk saying something that you might regret.
How to respond to unfavorable comments
- Ask yourself if the negative assessment is accurate. If you agree with something, thank them for mentioning it. I appreciate you taking the time to share this with me. I’ll keep your suggestions in mind.
- You can ask a probing question if you disagree or want more information in order to understand the perspective of the other person. You can say, “I want to know more about this attitude.” We could schedule a face-toface meeting to discuss this.
- Take some time to reflect on the ideas. Ask yourself: “Has anyone else brought this to my attention earlier than?” If you answered yes, it might be worth trying further.
Avoid responding to unfavorable criticism with additional unfavorable remarks. You may always say ” You are welcome to share this. Continue. You decide how many suggestions you require. Try to be grateful for the individual who shared their opinions with you.
Response to constructive suggestions
Constructive suggestions normally feels much less harsh since that particular person has not solely taken the time to level out a difficulty however desires to be part of the answer. No matter who gives it, try to see it as a chance for collaboration and learning.
Consider the following:
- Let the person you spoke to know what they told you.
- Opening the chance to work together on a solution. Depending on the scenario, you may be able to each learn from one another.
- Let the individual you’re giving suggestions to understand that you’ve taken action and closed the suggestion loop.
- Reflect on what you have heard. How will you use the suggestions now in different contexts?
For example: “Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas on how to move ahead. Would you be willing to work together on a solution? Your idea has me impressed and I have some ideas about how we can develop it. “I will start working on it following week.”
Email is the best way to respond to suggestions
Emailing your ideas can be as effective as replying in person to unfavorable and constructive criticism.
When responding to emailed suggestions, especially if the suggestion is unfavorable it is important to keep in mind:
- It is important to be able to read the tone and phrases.
- No need to leave the room for interpretation
- Give context to a situation
- Include screenshots and previous communications, such as your level.
Be sure to acknowledge the positive feedback from your employees and respond to them before the final day. Thank them for their kind words. If you want to hear from them more, book a 1-on-1 meeting to continue the dialog.
Give people a valuable suggestion and let them know that you value their opinion.
By thoughtfully responding to their suggestions, you show that you value your colleagues’ opinions. Respond to all suggestions with empathy and compassion.