Results of Providing Feedback - Or Not (Part 2)

 

Let's look again at that recent Gallup poll and see just what ignoring workers (as opposed to providing some type of feedback) can do.

The category we're going to look at is the state of being actively disengaged, in other words "ready to act out from their job frustration." Workers who are actively disengaged can interfere with the proper functioning of their team. They can bring down the morale of workers around them. They can even exhibit wild unexpected behaviors. Hypothetically,  an actively disengaged flight attendant might spew obscenities, grab a couple of beers and slide down the emergency slide becoming an international sensation. Hypothetically.  (Question of the week: What's the equivalent action for a project manager?)

So how does the amount and type of feedback affect the numbers of actively disengaged workers?

• Of workers who reported receiving feedback on strengths, only 1% were actively disengaged. 
• Of workers who reported being ignored,  40% were actively disengaged!

Based on these survey results, organizations or teams where workers are not getting feedback - for whatever reason - can have four in ten workers who are just looking for a chance to do something to "get back" in some way at their supervisor or employer.

Even in workers who get feedback only on their weaknesses, the survey says there are 22% who are actively disengaged. That is far too many to complete projects successfully and obtain customer satisfaction.

No matter what other environmental or cultural problems you have surrounding your project, do what you can to make sure as many workers as possible are engaged at work. One proven strategy is to provide feedback focusing on each worker's strengths.