I once had a boss who said, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions. You need it every day to grow and strengthen your leadership.” Many of my clients are anticipating the results of their employee engagement surveys right now. I’m reminding them (and you!) that no matter the scores and whether or not you agree with them, acting on employee feedback is critical because it boosts engagement and is good for business, too. A Harvard Business Review study found companies that frequently use employee engagement surveys and act on the feedback achieve 21% higher profitability, 17% higher productivity, and 10% higher customer ratings.

Conversely, when leaders ask for feedback but fail to act on it, this strategy backfires—creating not just disengagement but resentment, too. Here’s how to make sure your request for employee feedback boosts (vs. busts) morale:

1. Share the results (good and bad) with all employees. 

2. Share strategies you plan to implement for positive changes moving forward. My advice is to focus on one improvable at a time while keeping the things that scored highest, high. And don’t call it a change program. Call it a new initiative!

3. Ask for feedback and buy-in.

4. Create some metrics and keep the initiative visible.