As people, we all like to know when we are doing well. It's not so fun to hear about the things you did poorly, however. There is good news, though. In the business world it's important to know how you are doing regardless. It's also crucial to go about the right ways of receiving performance feedback. First and foremost, you want your peers, your employees, and your customers to be completely and utterly honest. If they are not, what good does that do? So the number one rule of thumb would be to provide a place where people feel they can truly state their own opinions. Here are four ways to do just that.
1. Conduct an employee satisfaction survey.
Create a survey that your employees can complete online and anoymously. It's common knowledge that people are more honet behind a computer screen and in this case there is nothing you want more than your employee's honesty. Keep it short and direct or else your employees may get lazy with their answers. Provide a variety of questions that allow for a thorough and in depth review.
2. Join a peer group.
Create a peer group consisting of people from different green industry businesses. It will allow for healthy competition as well as healthy conversation. A peer group enables you to receive advice and benchmark yourself against other green industry businesses. Not only will the peer group benefit you but it will be benefitting your peers as well.
3. Attend industry trade shows.
Trade shows are great places to receive tried and true advice and to check out some more competition. There will be a lot of people at any one you choose to attend. Make sure you make the most of it and make your way around the whole show. You can never learn too much. Try and get your whole team to go to a few. This way, you all can really get a better sense of the industry while also bonding with each other.
4. Conduct a customer satisfaction survey.
Follow the same sort of process as you did with your employee satisfaction survey. Make sure that your customers feel that they can be completely honest - so have it be online and anonymous. Under this circumstance, the customer is always right. Listen to them. If your customers are not satisfied the fault most likely lies within your green industry business. Don't take these surveys lightly. Read them. Consider them. Implement them into the strategy of your business. They will pay off, I promise.
Think about it this way: if your green industry business is doing a good job, it will feel good to know it. If you're doing a poor job, it won't feel as good at first, but it will later. Don't cut corners when it comes to receiving performance feedback because your employees, your peers, and your customers will be able to tell. You want everyone to know that you value them, no matter who or what they are to your business.
For more tips on how to improve your green industry business, download our free ebook today!
