Case study: How we built a feedback process where leaders became the owners of feedback?

In many organizations, the feedback process follows a familiar pattern. The HR team designs the questionnaires, creates the timeline, communicates with employees, collects responses, analyzes the results, prepares reports, and reminds managers to hold feedback conversations.

Leaders participate in the process—but they rarely own it.

When designing a feedback process for one organization, our People & Culture team decided to challenge this approach by asking ourselves one simple question:

What would need to happen for leaders to become responsible for the quality of feedback, while the People & Culture team acted as a strategic partner and process facilitator?

That single question completely changed the way we designed the process.

The starting point

The organization employed just under 150 people and operated on the principle that leaders are responsible for the development of their teams.

As the People & Culture team, we didn't want to build yet another HR process that would eventually become "HR's job."

Instead, we wanted to create a solution that would:

• be easy for leaders to use,
• enable regular feedback collection,
• ensure consistency across the organization,
• provide valuable organizational insights,
• and avoid creating unnecessary administrative work.

Step 1. Defining shared principles

Before writing the very first question, we agreed on what feedback actually meant in our organization.

We weren't trying to build a performance evaluation process. Our goal was to create a framework for meaningful conversations.

Together with our leaders, we established a few core principles.

Feedback should be:

• regular,
• specific,
• based on observable behaviors,
• focused on development,
• engaging for both the person giving and receiving feedback,
• and always followed by a conversation and a development plan.

Looking back, this stage turned out to be one of the most important parts of the entire project.

Those early discussions about why we wanted feedback and what we wanted to achieve created genuine ownership among leaders long before the process officially began.

Step 2. Leaders co-created the questionnaire

Instead of presenting leaders with a ready-made survey, we invited them to help design it.

Together we discussed:

• what information would genuinely help them lead their teams,
• which challenges they encountered most often,
• and what questions encouraged meaningful conversations with employees.

As a result, the questionnaire stopped being an HR document and became a practical leadership tool.

It focused on the competencies, behaviors, and areas of work that truly mattered for each role and for the team's success.

Step 3. Collecting feedback

Each leader became responsible for communicating the process and collecting feedback within their own team.

Meanwhile, the People & Culture team coordinated the overall timeline, prepared educational materials, and supported internal communication to ensure consistency across the organization.

We stayed in the background—answering questions, resolving concerns, and providing guidance whenever needed.

Our role wasn't to execute the process for leaders. Our role was to create the conditions that allowed them to do it well.

Step 4. Analyzing the data

This was the stage where we introduced HRAI – the HR platform.

Feedback responses were imported directly into the platform, where HRAI organized both quantitative results and qualitative comments.

The platform identified recurring themes, grouped similar observations, and generated initial summaries and recommendations.

To keep the process consistent across the organization, we also provided leaders with ready-to-use prompts and feedback templates that supported both analysis and future conversations.

Instead of receiving a spreadsheet full of responses, leaders received practical insights that helped them prepare for development discussions and identify meaningful next steps.

Step 5. The conversation mattered more than the report

Although reporting played an important role in the process, generating a report was never the ultimate goal.

Based on the recommendations, each leader prepared their own report using shared guidelines. However, we deliberately encouraged them to communicate the findings in their own style, making every feedback conversation feel more authentic.

The final—and by far the most important—stage was the feedback conversation itself.

The report simply served as a starting point.

Together, the leader and the employee decided which areas deserved attention, what actions should be taken, and what topics they would revisit in future meetings.

The role of People & Culture

This project taught us something important.

People & Culture teams don't have to own every process.

They create far greater value when they design the framework, empower leaders, and safeguard the quality of the overall solution.

Shifting ownership had another significant benefit.

Feedback stopped being perceived as an HR initiative.

Instead, it became part of the everyday responsibilities of leaders.

What did we learn?

First, a successful feedback process begins long before the questionnaire is sent. Careful planning and preparation make all the difference.

Second, leaders are much more likely to embrace tools they helped create.

Third—and perhaps most importantly—feedback only creates value when it leads to meaningful conversations and concrete actions.

As one of the co-founders of HRAI, this project reinforced another important belief for me.

Using our platform was never the objective.

It was simply a tool that supported the people who build a feedback culture every single day.

Because even the best technology cannot replace a great leader. But it can make it easier for leaders to recognize that caring for their people is just as important as delivering business results.

*This article contains promotional references to the HRAI platform.

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About the Author

Klaudia Żmuda People & Culture Partner | Co-founder of HRAI

With over 12 years of experience in Human Resources, Klaudia has worked across the full employee lifecycle-from recruitment and HR process design to organizational culture development and implementing People & Culture practices in startups and technology companies.

Throughout her career, she has led numerous employee feedback and organizational research projects, helping companies turn data into meaningful action.

These experiences inspired the creation of HRAI, a platform designed to help organizations strengthen their culture through employee feedback and HR research.

HRAI's mission is not only to simplify data collection but, more importantly, to help organizations better understand their people and the impact they have on business growth.