Upward feedback: how to collect it, with example questions

Upward feedback is feedback that employees give to their manager about how that manager leads them day to day. It is usually collected through a short, confidential questionnaire about observable manager behaviors, such as how clearly they set expectations, how fairly they treat people and how well they support development. The results are combined into a report the manager uses to improve.

Done well, upward feedback gives managers a view they rarely get any other way: what it is actually like to work for them. This guide explains how upward feedback differs from 360-degree feedback, offers a question bank you can adapt, and shows how to introduce it safely in hierarchical workplaces and help managers act on what they hear.

What is upward feedback?

Upward feedback, sometimes called upward appraisal or a manager effectiveness survey, reverses the usual direction of performance conversations. Instead of a manager assessing their team, the team assesses the manager. Direct reports answer the same set of questions about their manager, their answers are grouped so no individual can be identified, and the manager receives a summary of ratings and comments.

The idea rests on a simple observation. Direct reports see parts of a manager's work that senior leaders do not: how meetings are run, how decisions are explained, how mistakes are handled and whether credit is shared. A manager's own manager mostly sees results. The team sees the behavior that produces them.

Research supports the practice when it is followed through. In a study of 238 managers, Smither and colleagues (1995) found that managers whose initial upward ratings were moderate or low improved over the following six months, and the improvement could not be explained by regression to the mean alone. Atwater, Roush and Fischthal (1995) found that followers' ratings of leaders improved after the leaders received upward feedback, and that leaders' self-ratings moved closer to their followers' views.

Upward feedback is useful for:

• Manager development. It shows each manager specific behaviors to keep and to change.
• Leadership programs. Aggregated results show which management skills need attention across a department or level.
• Culture signals. Asking employees for their view of leadership shows that the organization values their voice.

It is less suited to being the only basis for decisions about a manager's pay or promotion, a point covered below.

Upward feedback vs 360-degree feedback

Upward feedback is often confused with 360-degree feedback. They are related but not the same. A 360 collects views from several directions at once: self, manager, peers, direct reports and sometimes other stakeholders. Upward feedback collects views from one direction only: the people who report to the manager.

In practice, upward feedback is often a first step. An organization new to multi-rater feedback may start with a focused upward survey for managers, then move to a full 360 once people trust the process. Inside a 360, direct reports are simply one rater group. If you are planning the wider process, the complete guide to 360-degree feedback covers rater groups, cycles and reports in detail.

Upward feedback questions for managers

Good upward feedback questions describe one behavior a direct report can observe. They avoid personality labels ("Is a good leader") and focus on what the manager does. Use a five-point frequency scale, such as "rarely" to "almost always", with a "not able to observe" option.

These questions are examples to adapt, not a validated instrument.

Setting direction and expectations

• My manager explains how our team's work connects to wider goals.
• My manager makes clear what good work looks like before I start a task.
• My manager tells me early when priorities change.

Communication and listening

• My manager listens to my point of view before responding.
• My manager explains the reasons behind decisions that affect me.
• My manager shares information I need to do my work in good time.

Support and removing obstacles

• My manager helps remove obstacles that slow my work.
• My manager is available when I need guidance on something important.
• My manager supports a reasonable balance between workload and available time.

Feedback and development

• My manager gives me specific feedback on what I did well.
• My manager tells me what I could improve in a respectful way.
• My manager talks with me about my development and career goals.

Fairness and trust

• My manager treats team members fairly when assigning work and opportunities.
• My manager gives credit to the people who did the work.
• My manager keeps commitments made to the team.
• I feel able to raise a concern or disagree with my manager without negative consequences.

Open questions

Add two or three open questions so managers understand the reasons behind the numbers:

• What should your manager keep doing?
• What one change would most help you do your best work?
• Is there anything else you would like your manager to know?

For a broader bank that covers peers, self-assessment and other competencies, see these 360 feedback questions.

How to introduce upward feedback safely

The main barrier to upward feedback is rarely the questionnaire. It is whether employees believe it is safe to be honest. Detert and Edmondson (2011) described "implicit voice theories": taken-for-granted beliefs that speaking up to people above you is risky, which lead employees to censor themselves even when nobody has told them to stay silent. In hierarchical workplaces, including many in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, respect for seniority can make rating a manager feel uncomfortable or even disrespectful. A careful launch addresses these concerns directly.

Explain the purpose before the first survey

State in writing why you are running upward feedback, who will see the results and how they will be used. A developmental purpose, where results help managers grow and are not tied directly to their pay, usually builds trust faster. Present it as a way to help managers support their teams better, not as a way to judge them.

Set and explain anonymity thresholds

Anonymity is what makes candid upward feedback possible. Agree a minimum number of responses before a manager sees any results, and tell employees what it is. Many organizations use a minimum of three to five responses, but this is common practice rather than a fixed rule. If a team is too small, you can combine it with a related team, report only at a higher level, or postpone the manager's report until the team grows.

Also tell employees that open comments may be shown word for word, so they should avoid details that identify them, such as a specific meeting only they attended.

Prepare managers before results arrive

Managers who know what to expect react better. Before launch, brief them on:

• The purpose and the anonymity rules, including that they must not try to identify who said what.
• What the report will look like and how to read averages and comments.
• How to respond to difficult feedback: pause, look for themes, and ask for help interpreting it.
• What they will be expected to do afterwards, such as sharing themes and one or two actions with the team.

Let senior leaders go first

When senior leaders take part, receive their own feedback and talk openly about what they are changing, other managers and employees see that the process is genuine. This matters more in workplaces where people take cues from the top.

A launch checklist

1. Agree the purpose (developmental or evaluative) and write it down.
2. Choose 10 to 20 questions and test them with a few employees for clarity, in every language you will use.
3. Set the anonymity threshold and decide what happens with small teams.
4. Brief managers on the process, the report and their follow-up role.
5. Announce the survey to employees, covering purpose, anonymity and timing.
6. Keep the survey open for a defined period, for example one to two weeks, and send reminders based on overall response rates, not individuals.
7. Release reports only to managers whose teams meet the threshold.
8. Schedule follow-up conversations and a date for the next cycle.