Employee feedback examples leaders can use to build a winning workplace culture

Employers have to rethink how they're conducting feedback conversations if they want to build a transparent workplace culture. The traditional way of sharing employee feedback with long one-on-ones taking place many months apart are no longer sufficient. Today's employees prefer fast and frequent feedback. 

• Why it matters: Positive and constructive feedback drive employee engagement and boost alignment with organizational goals as long as employers move on from outdated practices that made feedback conversations uncomfortable, time-consuming, and too far apart to be effective. 

Effective employee feedback practices are vital, but these initiatives only pay off if leaders and management share their feedback in an empathetic manner and close the loop by acting on the upward feedback collected from employees.

The importance of regular employee feedback

Here's what an effective employee feedback mechanism can achieve... 

Transparency and trust

A good employee feedback strategy creates an open dialogue between leaders, managers, and employees. When leaders and managers share feedback on how and why certain business decisions are made, it cultivates a culture of openness and trust that's vital for employee retention and engagement.

Acting on regular feedback also helps you win employee trust. Collecting it regularly and using it to inform business decisions signals to your employees that management values their input. 

Employee empowerment

Meaningful feedback directly impacts employee performance and productivity. In the Axios HQ 2025 State of Internal Communications report, 39% of employees said they'd go above and beyond for their organizations if they were better informed about how their duties bring key initiatives to life. 

• Plus, 17% of employees would go the extra mile at their workplace if they were better informed about customer and market feedback. 

Feedback gives employees clarity about leadership’s expectations and the impact of their efforts. This empowers employees, boosts their confidence, and gives them a sense of purpose and pride in their work.

Professional growth

Regular one-on-ones, check-ins, and pulse surveys where managers share both positive and constructive performance feedback help employees identify their strengths and weaknesses. 

Timely, specific feedback tied to clear business expectations motivates employees to build their strengths and address identified areas for improvement. It also allows them to see how their skills align with their current role and potential future opportunities. 

Tell employees about their career growth opportunities — 44% we surveyed for our state of internal comms report said they'd go above and beyond if they were informed about them. That can only happen through regular, meaningful employee feedback. 

Employee engagement

Consistent feedback makes employees feel seen, valued, and supported, which boosts their engagement at work. 80% of employees who received feedback on a weekly basis reported being engaged, according to a report by Gallup.

Gallup looked at how feedback frequency tied to engagement and found a direct connection between more frequent feedback (weekly) and higher employee engagement. 

Yes, but: Only 27% of employees actually reported receiving feedback on a weekly basis. 

Employee engagement's been declining since the pandemic, and one of the best ways to stop this costly trend is to invest in an effective employee feedback strategy. Frequent feedback not only boosts engagement, it impacts key business metrics like efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

8 employee feedback types and examples

Here's how leaders should run feedback conversations...

1. Constructive employee feedback

Highlights area of improvement in a positive manner so employees recognize the issue without feeling reprimanded. Constructive feedback should include a solution where managers can provide clear next-step guidance or ask employees how they’d like to be supported. 

• Constructive employee feedback example: “You’ve been missing some deadlines recently, and it's starting to impact the team’s workflow. Tell me what challenges or obstacles you're facing so we can explore ways to adjust your workload. Let’s meet again next week to get back on track. How does 11 AM Thursday sound?” 

Meaningful constructive feedback doesn't dwell on employee errors or mistakes. It only highlights the issues to offer a plan for resolution. Delivered empathetically, and this type of feedback can encourage dialogue and help employees feel supported. 

2. Positive employee feedback

This feedback recognizes contributions, achievements, and strengths. It also builds morale and motivation, and it's critical for building a thriving workforce. It shows other team members what success looks like, especially when the employee's publicly recognized for their efforts. 

• Positive employee feedback example: “Mike, I really appreciate how you streamlined the onboarding process for our new hires. Your clear documentation saved the team hours and improved their first-week experience. Great job!”

Employees remember and appreciate positive feedback and recognition from managers and the CEO or high-level leaders, but leaders shouldn't be the only source of feedback. 

• Peer recognition is also vital in making employees feel appreciated. Leaders shouldn't just share positive employee feedback and recognizing their staff — they should provide feedback channels where employees can recognize each other. 

Try this: Add a simple question in your regular pulse surveys — “Who on your team went the extra mile this week?”

3. Negative employee feedback

This shows up as criticism toward employee performance or actions that don't meet organizational standards or expectations. Unlike constructive feedback, negative employee feedback doesn't provide a solution.

• Managers should avoid negative employee feedback because it can demoralize and frustrate staff, leading to disengagement. 

Negative feedback should be timely and raised as soon as the issue occurs. Try to deliver the it in a supportive manner.

• Bad example of negative feedback: “I saw your project update yesterday, and the timeline slide is missing several key milestone dates. That caused some confusion for stakeholders and made us look bad. Figure out how to fix this before our next meeting.”
• Good example of negative feedback: “I saw your project update yesterday, and the timeline slide is missing several key milestone dates. That caused some confusion for stakeholders. Can we meet this afternoon to update the slide together and agree on a process that delivers all deadlines moving forward?”

4. Performance feedback

Feedback like performance reviews allows managers a chance to talk employee performance annually, but managers need to conduct these at least twice a year to maintain employee alignment with organizational goals and expectations. 

Managers should involve their staff in the goal-setting process so they're more accountable to them and so reviews feel fair. Employee feedback in performance reviews can be positive, average, or negative...

• Positive performance feedback: “Let's celebrate you for closing 10 new accounts this quarter. You exceeded your target by 25 percent and contributed directly to our revenue growth! Nice work. For Q3, I was thinking you focus on increasing cross‑sell opportunities. Let's set a goal of presenting two package upgrade options during each client call. Can we meet next Tuesday at 2 PM to map out best practices and the resources you’ll need?”
• Average performance feedback: “Nice job for closing five new accounts this quarter. You hit your minimum goal, which is solid, but I noticed the average deal size was below the team benchmark. I’d like to meet on Thursday at 10 AM to review your discovery questions and explore strategies for higher‑value opportunities. I think a few tweaks are all you need to boost your numbers.”
• Negative performance: “I reviewed this quarter’s metrics and noticed you closed only two new accounts. This is below our target of six, which is a little worrying. I want to understand what challenges you faced and see how we can work together to get back on track. Let’s block an hour tomorrow at 9 AM to diagnose this.”

5. Formal employee feedback

This kind of employee feedback is regularly scheduled and well-structured to assess employee performance, align with company goals and policies, and set business objectives. Annual employee performance reviews are a common example of this.  

Formal employee feedback is well-documented and contributes to things like promotions, compensation, and employee development plans.

• Formal employee feedback example: “Over the past review period, you’ve consistently met your sales targets and contributed valuable ideas during team meetings. However, we’ve identified some areas for growth, like improving your presentation skills. Let’s schedule a sit-down next Tuesday at 10 AM to set new goals and discuss training opportunities to help you develop these skills.”

Managers should conduct 360-degree performance reviews to get reliable and unbiased performance insights. Reviews like this collect data like performance metrics, peer input, and surveys. 

6. Informal employee feedback

Informal employee feedback is spontaneous, on-the-fly feedback shared by managers and leaders to employees in real time. It can be shared during random conversations and check-ins. 

This form of employee feedback usually revolves around wins or issues that just occurred. It can prevents minor issues from escalating into bigger business problems because it's corrective and immediate.

• Informal employee feedback example: “Hey Claire, I noticed how well you handled the client’s questions in today’s meeting. Great job staying calm and clear. Keep it up!”

7. Peer feedback

Peer feedback happens between employees at the same level in an organization, promoting open communication between teams and building stronger connections that can boost camaraderie, employee net promoter scores, and retention. 

Quality peer feedback can also boost employee performance by up to 14%, according to Gartner. 

• Peer feedback example: “Nice work on the presentation, Claire. Your data visuals were very clear. One small thing: could you add a brief summary bullet at the top next time? This could help readers grasp the key takeaways faster. What do you think?”

Management should lead by example and encourage respectful, constructive peer feedback. When leaders hold open conversations with their employees, it sets an example for the rest of the staff and creates a feedback culture where open dialogue is encouraged. 

8. Upward employee feedback

This feedback comes from employees to management and organizational leaders. It can include employees’ opinions and perspectives on different aspects of the business, like leadership and communication style.

• Upward employee feedback example: “I appreciate your openness during team meetings. It would help me if we could have more regular updates on project priorities so I can better align my work.”

Effective upward employee feedback builds transparency and trust, especially when leadership takes the time to listen and act on it.

• Yes, but: Most leaders aren't on the same page with their employees about feedback sharing opportunities. 72% think employees have an easy way to share feedback on the quality of the communications they receive. Just 46% of employees agreed. 

“We have no idea what's truly going on in people's lives. When they open up and share, if you really listen, I assure you it will help you be a better leader because it'll build trust with your team,” says Bob Jimenez, the former SVP Corporate Affairs for Cox Communications. 

How to collect employee feedback with Axios HQ

Axios HQ’s internal communications platform helps leaders collect and share feedback with employees with features like reader polls and write-in feedback. The polling feature supports quick but effective feedback collection to help you understand what’s working with your employees and the tweaks you need to make to maintain alignment.

This kind of qualitative feedback gives your employees a place to describe their challenges and concerns.

Plus, you can use our templates or the AI assistant to generate employee feedback questionnaires.

Go deeper: Learn more about how Axsio HQ can power your internal communications.

Tips on how to give employees feedback

Stay objective and anchor feedback around business objectives, not feelings. A few more ways management can enhance the employee feedback process... 

Be specific 

The more specific your feedback, the better the employee can understand the mistakes they’re making or what they should keep doing. Accompany all of your constructive feedback with specific, real-life examples to help employees understand what they need to do better. Two examples...

1. Nice job with the presentation yesterday. I really liked how you used clear charts to organize the Q2 sales data. Those visuals made our team discussion much more focused.
2. I noticed in your client presentation that the slide on regional sales grouped all markets together, which made it hard to see where we’re gaining versus losing ground. For next time, could you separate the data by region and include year-over-year percentage changes? That should help our stakeholders more easily spot trends and ask targeted questions. Let me know if you need help with this. 

Be empathetic

The best leaders share feedback with empathy, recognizing an employee’s feelings and perspective. Sharing constructive feedback with empathy makes the discussion less about what the employee did wrong and more about how you can work together to help them meet organizational expectations.  

• Example: Hi Lisa, I understand that balancing multiple deadlines has been stressful lately, and I appreciate all the effort you’re putting in. I noticed some tasks have been delayed. Can we discuss how we can adjust priorities or provide support to help you manage your workload better? 

Listen to the employee 

Effective feedback is a two-way conversation where managers actively listen to their employees to understand their opinions and concerns. This gives leaders more context and allows employees to voice their concerns and boost collaboration and transparency. 

Collaborate with the employee to create a solution

Involve employees in solutions to the issues they're raise. Don’t impose directives, but instead, share your suggestions and invite an open dialogue where they can contribute. This increases employee accountability and their commitment to making things right.  

Go deeper: How to improve internal communications