Receiving feedback in the workplace is a key factor in the process of employee development and optimizing organizational growth. At PPA CONTROLL Group, we recognize its importance, which is why we build a culture that supports open communication, improving working conditions, and effective leadership behavior.
In an interview with HR Director Martina Fandelová, you will learn what methods and approaches to obtaining feedback we use in PPA CONTROLL subsidiaries and which areas we consider the most important.
At PPA CONTROLL, feedback has become an integral part of the company culture. What role does it play in the overall functioning of the company?
We are interested in how our employees feel about various aspects of the work environment and the way the company is run, and whether they have everything they need to do their jobs. We are also interested in their vision for further development and performance in the company. That is why we create tools that allow us to obtain their opinions and attitudes so that we can precisely target our efforts for improvement.
In PPA CONTROLL you use the term 'trickle feedback'. What exactly does that entail?
This is a metaphorical definition of a process that we have precisely set up. We are trying to build a culture of feedback as a standard part of everyday situations. Not just once a year as part of a survey or motivational interview, but on an ongoing basis. In meetings, in resolving individual issues, and in regular work interactions. The goal is for feedback to become a natural part of our corporate culture, so that employees and managers perceive it as a tool for continuous improvement.
Is the goal being achieved?
Absolutely. Our employees at all levels understand and feel that their opinions and suggestions are a valuable source of important information for us. The most valuable feedback comes from people who are fully involved in everyday work and live the business and the effective functioning of the company.
However, coordinating the feedback process across eleven subsidiaries is challenging.
Certainly. However, a big benefit is the strong support from management. The biggest supporter of the feedback culture is our CEO, who is a role model for us. When he heard the term 'feedback culture', he was enthusiastic and immediately supported the idea of open communication in the company. His attitude is key to the development and implementation of feedback as a regular and effective tool.
What is behind the feedback collection process and what methods and procedures do you use for this purpose?
In 2023, we launched a robust employee engagement survey, where we evaluate in detail eleven main areas, such as work activities, working environment and conditions, compensation and benefits, teamwork and direct supervisor. When evaluating, we also focus on different combinations of answers to analyze the indices that hide between the lines. We focus on key indicators such as feedback on leadership, psychological safety, talent management support or development.
In addition, we have introduced motivational interviews and internal communication, where a space for suggestions and feedback has been created in the intranet environment. These serve various purposes, such as improving company processes or the ability to write an e-mail directly to the CEO. We strive to support transparent communication and provide employees with a space to express themselves.
You list leadership as the main area of assessment. How do you implement this?
We create a work environment in which employees can express themselves openly, including criticism, without fear of retribution and in multiple ways.
1. Motivational interviews. The employee has the opportunity to give feedback to their leader and receive feedback on themselves, thereby supporting two-way communication. The goal is to keep the relationship between manager and employee open and leadership effectively applied. We want the manager to know whether employees are being led correctly and whether leadership is working.
2. Anonymous surveys. There is significantly more openness here and we get feedback on leadership across the company. We find out if our managers are strong enough and if they can lead the team in a way that keeps the business on solid footing. A positive surprise for us is that our employees are very specific and give constructive suggestions.
3. By applying safety elements. We strive to ensure that employees are led in a humane manner, which is why we support so-called psychological safety – an environment where people do not feel stress and uncertainty from open communication.
Let's specifically mention the comfort of employees in safely expressing opinions and addressing sensitive topics.
We actively and timely address every single comment or suggestion. We analyze whether certain processes or situations can be improved and implement the correction as soon as possible. At the same time, we inform employees that their suggestions have been heard and that we have made specific improvements based on them.
Can we give examples that have been implemented in practice?
In the first employee survey, we manually processed 2 responses to open-ended questions, of which 175% contained a specific suggestion for improvement. We are pleased that the feedback works very well. Our action plans for improvements require a lot of effort, but it is still worth it! Feedback has a real impact and meaning at PPA CONTROLL.
Based on employee feedback – whether from a survey or individually – we have implemented several changes. For example, we have built the SEDUO platform on the intranet, expanded the forms of training in the form of videos from categories such as leadership, business, communication, presentation, marketing and personal development. We have introduced motivational interviews and provided employees in the field with better equipment, such as protective clothing and tools. We have analyzed the benefits system and expanded the offer.
At our subsidiary PPA ENERGO, we have upgraded both software and hardware for designers. We have also improved the working environment on projects and renovated administrative spaces that had not been modernized for a long time.
All of these steps are the result of employee feedback and continuous improvement. We are pleased that this open approach helps us create an environment in which employees feel heard, listened to, and are motivated to contribute to the improvement of the company.
An employee survey showed that up to 88% ofštheir employees are angažaboveých, and 0% non-engžaboveých, which is great news. How did you achieve this?
We are constantly striving to create an environment where our employees feel supported and valued. I believe that the leadership of our managers and senior staff in particular has a major impact on the high level of engagement. They deserve credit for that.
An important tool of corporate policy is the support and professional development of employees.
Yes. Building psychological safety is what really helps us in supporting talent management. The openness of employees allows us to identify and support their potential and communicate about the idea of a career path. In this way, we can educate experts. The education process is aimed at capturing and improving expertise. Currently, it is increasingly difficult to find high-quality and qualified experts in the technical segment. There are fewer and fewer graduates of technical disciplines for the positions we need to fill. That is why we try not only to attract our specialists, but also to retain them.
What feedback from an employee pleased you the most and left a strong impression?
When I read the comments from the 2023 survey, one of them really stood out to me. It was widely praised as the best comment, in which our employee described his hard days on a project. He talked about coming home from work tired, in his work clothes and hard hat, but with a smile on his face and content because he loves his job. We are also proud to publish this comment on our career page.
