In this episode, Faith Duffy, a matron in surgical specialties, talks about how she turns team feedback into real change on the wards. Faith shares how regular conversations with staff help her understand what’s working well, what’s getting in the way, and where small tweaks can make a big difference. She talks about keeping communication open, celebrating positive feedback, and using simple tools like feedback posters to show teams how their voices shape everyday improvements.
3 Quotes to lead by...
1. SHOW YOU’RE LISTENING
‘The last staff survey feedback that we had, we collated the results and thought, how can we feed this back to the team? We created posters that showed what staff said and what we’re doing to improve, then I walked around the wards with them and fed back the results.’
Q. How do you show your team that you’re genuinely listening to their feedback, even when you can’t fix everything straight away?
2. MAKE APPRAISALS COUNT
‘A decent appraisal gives your line manager the chance to ask where you want to go, what you want to do, and where you need to improve. Feeding back to staff then gives them the opportunity to say that their leader knows exactly what they want to do.’
Q. Do your appraisals help each team member feel seen and supported in their development?
3. CELEBRATE THE POSITIVE
‘We tend to focus on the negative more than the positive, so through the patient experience dashboard and the data we’re receiving, we’re displaying it in areas for staff to feel valued and celebrate success.’
Q. How often do you highlight positive feedback or small wins to help your team feel valued?
External Resources
The Feedback Fallacy
A guide to more effective performance appraisals
Do Your Measures Make Employees Mad? Or Motivate Them?
