Dive Brief:

• Employees and employers agree that continuous coaching is necessary, especially in the new work environment, according to the results of a recent Reflektive survey.
• The amount of HR and business leaders who expect managers to offer daily feedback has increased 170% since 2018, Reflektive said. The survey of 445 HR and business leaders and 622 employees also revealed an 89% increase in employees who want formal performance conversations on at least a monthly basis.
• But a quarter of employee respondents said they don't know how to ask for feedback, while 85% of managers said they believe employees are clear on feedback request processes. Ensuring that employees are empowered to initiate feedback conversations is crucial in helping them grow and develop, the organization concluded. 

Dive Insight:

It's no secret that employees are eager to get more time and feedback from managers. An October 2019 study from Betteworks found that HR professionals whose organizations used continuous performance management programs were 50% more satisfied with the process. As employees increasingly seek individualized development opportunities, frequent manager feedback can be part of the solution.

Any changes to the performance management process may require training for front-line managers to understand and uphold new standards. Direct, useful feedback is not always easy to deliver, sources say; it requires a healthy culture of honesty and continuous improvement. "To truly engage employees in a way that won't overload them, a culture of constructive, helpful, and enabling feedback is necessary," Niamh Graham, vice president of global HR at Workhuman, previously told HR Dive. "This starts at the top of the organization."

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many employees and managers are now experiencing these conversations remotely. Managing remote employees can involve many changes, including rethinking hours, timing and structure of team meetings, and communication methods and frequency. All signs point to a need for managers to be more assertive and proactive in outreach and instruction for direct reports.