How do you measure the impact of feedback on new hires' performance and engagement?

1 Define your feedback goals

Before you start giving feedback to new hires, you need to define what you want to achieve with your feedback. What are the specific skills, behaviors, or outcomes that you want them to learn or improve? How do they align with your organizational goals and values? How will you know if they have achieved them? By setting clear and measurable feedback goals, you can provide more focused and relevant feedback, and also track the progress and impact of your feedback over time.

2 Choose your feedback metrics

Once you have identified your feedback objectives, you must decide how to measure them. There are various types of feedback metrics that you can use, depending on your feedback goals and the nature of your feedback. Quantitative metrics, such as sales, productivity, quality, or customer satisfaction, are numerical indicators of performance that are easy to measure and compare, yet may not provide a comprehensive view of performance or feedback effectiveness. Qualitative metrics, such as feedback comments, ratings, or testimonials, are more subjective and intricate, yet can offer more insight into the strengths and weaknesses of performance or feedback. Lastly, behavioral metrics, which are indicators of how feedback affects the actions or attitudes of new hires, such as engagement, motivation, retention, or collaboration, are more difficult to measure and attribute, but can demonstrate the long-term effect of feedback on new hires' growth and culture fit.

3 Collect and analyze your feedback data

After you have chosen your feedback metrics, you need to collect and analyze your feedback data. You can use different methods and tools to collect and analyze your feedback data, such as surveys, interviews, observations, tests, or analytics software. The method and tool you choose should match your feedback goals and metrics, and also suit your feedback frequency and format. For example, if you give feedback to new hires daily, you may want to use a simple and quick survey or rating system to collect their feedback reactions. If you give feedback to new hires quarterly, you may want to use a more comprehensive and in-depth interview or test to collect their feedback outcomes. When you analyze your feedback data, you should look for patterns, trends, gaps, or anomalies that can help you evaluate the impact of your feedback on new hires' performance and engagement.

4 Use your feedback data to improve your feedback strategy

Analyzing your feedback data is the last step in optimizing your feedback strategy. With this data, you can determine which elements of your feedback are successful and which need to be improved. Additionally, you can compare your feedback data to your feedback goals to see if you are meeting them. As a result, you can make changes to your feedback strategy, such as altering the frequency, timing, or format of your feedback, modifying the content, tone, or style, providing more actionable, positive feedback, offering more support, recognition, or incentives for new hires, and seeking more feedback from new hires or other sources. By using your feedback data to refine your feedback strategy, you can ensure that your feedback is effective, relevant, and impactful for your new hires, and that it contributes to their performance and engagement in the long run.