Forget Employee Feedback, 'Feedforward' Is the Latest Workplace Trend — If You're Not Doing It, You Might Be Irrelevant Already Stop dreading your yearly performance reviews and start becoming irreplaceable.
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- "Feedback" stresses the past and present, while "feedforward" prioritizes the future without looking back.
- It's also the foundation of a soft skill that many executives consider the most important for employees.
The traditional performance review, where managers drill down on areas of improvement for employees, is getting a makeover.
That "feedback" model is being swapped for a "feedforward" approach: Although the former focuses on the past and the present, the latter hones in on the future without looking back, Fox Business reported.
Related: 4 Unconscious Biases That Distort Performance Reviews
"Feedfoward" serves as the "constructive, forward-facing" counterpart to "feedback," giving employees a chance to truly grow, Karen Leal, a performance specialist with Insperity in Houston, Texas, told the outlet.
What's more, in a LinkedIn post exploring the benefits of "feedforward," Rebekah Martin, SVP of reward, inclusion and talent acquisition at AstraZeneca, emphasizes how the practice eliminates the "yearly dread" of critical performance reviews and starts a productive conversation. "Feedforward coaching opens up a constant dialogue full of learning opportunities," she says.
Of course, "feedfoward" isn't a brand new concept, Leal told Fox — and some managers might already incorporate it into their leadership.
That's a good thing, considering the ideal performance exchange helps employees understand their strengths and offers the "encouragement and guidance" necessary to build on them, per Harvard Business Review.
Related: Do This to Unlock Your Potential, Says Psychologist Carol Dweck
Additionally, "feedforward" just might be the foundation for the soft skills some executives consider the most relevant. It's not "creative dealmaking" or extreme confidence — it's having that willingness to learn and get better, also known as a growth mindset, Goldman Sachs executive Shekhinah Bass told CNBC.
