The Importance of Feedback for You

By Jenni Tarrant

As a business owner or salon manager, do you think it’s important to hear how your team feels about you and the way you run your business? I believe it’s very important.

Putting yourself out there to see how you are perceived by your team is daunting. It can be difficult to get feedback when it’s not all sunshine and roses. So, why put yourself through it when it could be uncomfortable? When you stay in your comfort zone you don’t learn and grow - simple as that. It’s only when you allow yourself to be outside your comfort zone that you can expand your awareness and improve the way you operate.

Each year I do a 360-feedback questionnaire for everyone who works for and with me, from the salon assistant through to myself. This means that if you have 10 team members, they will each answer a questionnaire for all 10 people - including themselves.

I have created a survey with 21 statements for which there is a simple rating system. The statements cover Bond’s core values; technical skills; creativity; communication; learning; teamwork; punctuality; client care; individual effectiveness; ability to follow instructions; and more.

Each team member rates each statement with strongly disagree, disagree, N/A, agree, and strongly agree. We also give the option for any comments that might be helpful. For example: ‘She is defensive when I correct her which makes it hard to train her’ or, ‘He is such an asset to Bond’. All comments are to be constructive as opposed to ‘bitchy’ because being nasty doesn’t help anyone!

Every statement is carefully crafted so it is all work related and responses are not based on personality. How do I go about getting honest opinions from my team instead of them telling what I would like to hear? With our commitment to sustainability, we have developed an online 360-degree survey so team members can complete their ratings on one of the salon computers, an iPad, or their phone. Everyone uses the same link, so the responses are completely anonymous.

We can’t recognise handwriting or have any other way to work out who has said what. My manager takes my performance review and shares the team’s evaluation of me. She knows my commitment to improvement, so she doesn’t hold back on being honest!

From there we look at setting goals for the year ahead. Each team member and I have one on one meetings to discuss their results and identify any additional training needed to strengthen technical or soft skills that require improvement. The 360-degree feedback process is critical to the success of Bond because it reminds everyone in the team that we work together but each of us are responsible for being our best. I highly recommend it.