6 Ways to Ask for Feedback in a Remote Workplace

You’ve landed a work-from-home or remote position and maybe you’ve been working in the role for some time now. As a remote worker, you’re often left to your own devices to maintain your schedule and achieve your work goals. But maybe you’re the type of employee that needs regular feedback to ensure you’re meeting your company’s expectations. As an employee, there are specific steps you can take to ask for feedback in a remote workplace.

Here are some tips to ask for feedback in a remote workplace:

1. Request a check-in meeting with your manager as soon as possible.

Open dialogue and strong communication with your supervisor will be critical to your success in a remote role. Use your first check-in meeting as the baseline for future meetings with your supervisor.

Take notes and request a written list of items discussed and feedback given as well as action points for future tasks to complete or areas of improvement needed.

2. Then request regular monthly or quarterly meetings with your manager.

The first check-in meeting is a crucial step to receiving important feedback about your performance and your manager’s expectations, but regular meetings will be required to keep the lines of communication open and to continue your course for improvement and advancement.

Ask for specific examples of what you’re doing right and where you need to improve. Express your desire to become a highly efficient employee.

3. Prepare for each meeting.

Spend adequate time preparing for each interaction with your supervisor. Jot notes about your recent projects and progress, make a list of questions that are relevant to the meeting, and compile a list of your accomplishments and improvements to share.

Each interaction with your supervisor is an opportunity to be viewed as a reliable, hardworking employee and will leave an impression. Make it a good one!

4. Attend all remote team meetings.

An effective remote manager will schedule regular meetings with the team. These meetings offer you an opportunity to learn about current initiatives and any changes to policies or procedures. Listen carefully to what your more experienced coworkers are sharing and how they convey the information.

This can be a useful way for a new remote worker to learn about the company dynamic. Be sure to prep in advance for team meetings to get the most you can from this opportunity. Make notes about your current workload, including updates you can share with the team should the opportunity arise.

Also, make a list of questions that you have in the event there’s an open Q&A dialogue at the end of the meeting.

5. Mix it up.

Attempt to shake up the routine of how you meet with your manager now and again so new information will naturally come to light. Change the meeting format, agenda, or way to connect to keep the meetings from getting stale.

For example, if you typically meet with your supervisor by phone, request to meet face-to-face through Google Hangouts or other similar tech instead to ask for feedback. Face-to-face dialogue can lend itself to getting more in-depth information and will help build your relationship with your manager.

6. All roads lead to the annual review.

Each meeting or interaction you have with your supervisor is one step closer to having a successful annual review. Keep this goal in mind and always keep your exchanges positive, honest, and heartfelt.

The regular check-in meetings will be used to review your performance over the year, so it’s critical that you remain consistently prepared, professional, and proactive when asking for feedback in a remote workplace.

Photo Credit: bigstockphoto.com

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By Christine Bernier Lienke | Categories: Work Remotely

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