The Rural City of Wangaratta has dug deep to create a healthy feedback culture within the organisation. I recently went on a road trip to Wangaratta and met with Bek Nash-Webster (Grit & Resilience Project) and Melissa Gonzalez (Economic Development & Tourism) to hear about their unique approach to promoting feedback conversations in their workplace.
In 2021, Gallup Survey results identified that feedback was an area for improvement within Council. In response, they set up a working group of people from across the organisation to investigate how more feedback conversations could be encouraged. Bek shares, ‘The working group was backed by our Corporate Management Team and sponsored by our CEO, Brendan McGrath. He was and still is supportive of our work and progress. Over the four years we updated him on a regular basis. He trusted us, barracked for us, for which we are incredibly grateful’.
They found that for their organisation to have courageous feedback conversations that drive positive performance, there were three vital learnings:
Trust is key.
Relationships are crucial.
Connections are important.
In response, the Know Your Neighbour program was developed. Launched in September 2024 Know Your Neighbour is an internal SharePoint site aimed at fostering staff connections through curated activities and events that enhance workplace culture.
The site lists activities that any staff member can join and provides resources to improve feedback skills. It also encourages staff to initiate and promote their own connection activities. It highlights the organisation’s commitment to nurturing relationships and recognises the value of taking time for connection activities.
The four-year project was a huge success – resulting in the working group receiving the inaugural, internal Outstanding Team award for the Know Your Neighbour initiative.
(L-R) Debbie Summerfield, Bek Nash-Webster, Crystal Speakman, Melissa Gonzalez, Faye Smart