Finding Fulfillment: Leveraging Meaningful Feedback to Boost Worker Engagement, by Jonathan H. Westover PhD

This article explores how organizations can design more meaningful feedback practices to boost employee engagement. Drawing on academic literature linking feedback and engagement, key drivers of the connection are identified, such as fulfilling psychological needs for competence and purpose. The brief then advocates shifting feedback focus from retrospective evaluations to forward-looking development centered on learning, growth opportunities, and stronger role alignment. Practical application examples across industries including healthcare, education, technology, and manufacturing demonstrate embedding feedback within organizational purpose and contextual priorities. Additional implementation strategies are offered, such as framing managers as coaches, emphasizing continual check-ins over annual reviews, rewarding continuous learning, and soliciting worker feedback. The conclusion asserts that by reframing routine feedback interactions to stimulate motivation, skills, and purpose-driven work, companies can transform this tool into a key lever for fostering enduring employee commitment, dedication, and fulfillment.