In the contemporary talent landscape, feedback has long been recognised as a cornerstone of employee assessment and development. Yet, there remains a persistent gap between the acknowledged (and demonstrated) value of feedback and the systematic application of feedback practices in assessment projects.
In this article, we distill insights from our recent TTS masterclass, Feedback for long-term impact as well as findings from a complementary post-webinar research study with practitioners across industries.
Together, these sources provide a a best practice perspective on what works, what still gets in the way, and where IO Psychology can shape the future of feedback practice.
Core insights
From both the webinar and follow-up research, several consistent insights were derived:
Feedback remains inconsistent. Most organizations provide assessment feedback in some form, but delivery is selective, delayed, or overly dependent on candidate seniority.
One-to-one formats dominate. While highly valued for depth and confidentiality (67% of survey respondents), one-on-one feedback is resource-intensive, limiting scalability.
Tracking is the weakest link. Fewer than one in three organizations surveyed integrate feedback into their onboarding processes, and fewer than one in five track behavioral changes linked to assessment feedback.
Onboarding is the critical juncture. Structured onboarding, enhanced by timely feedback, can markedly improve retention and productivity.
Employees value feedback long-term. Research done previously by TTS (see the full report here) showed that recipients remain motivated and confident in their ability to change for months after feedback, with many reporting sustained behavioral improvements.
The value of feedback
Feedback is not a single intervention but an adaptable practice that aligns with different stages of the employee lifecycle:
- Onboarding: Early feedback helps new hires understand expectations, align to organizational culture, and become productive faster.
- Learning and underperforming: Timely and specific feedback enables course correction before underperformance becomes entrenched.
- Development and succession: Balanced, future-oriented feedback supports skill refinement and readiness for leadership.
- Retention: Regular feedback maintains engagement, reinforces strengths, and fosters loyalty.
For IO Psychologists, these stages highlight the opportunity to design feedback processes not as isolated interventions but as systemic practices that permeate the full employee lifecycle.
Best practice principles
When assessment projects are launched, IO Practitioners are well advised to embed best practices in their delivery, especially for assessment feedback:
Prompt delivery. Best practice suggests that the time delay between assessment and feedback should be as short as practically possible.
Avoid high-stress contexts. Feedback candidates are more receptive to feedback (and gain more benefits as a result) if done during times when they are not under undue pressure or stress.
Confidentiality. Constructive feedback sessions need to be protected by confidentiality to preserve trust and ensure maximum benefit.
Make feedback ongoing. Scheduling follow-up discussions based on initial feedback sessions can foster a culture of continuous improvement and transparent development.
Balanced feedback. Both constructive criticism and positive reinforcement are needed to effect real behavioral change in feedback recipients. Over-relying on one or the other will not have positive outcomes.
Future orientation. Although much of a feedback session may focus on the current implications of results, a significant impact can be achieved by projecting results into the future and informing potential opportunities and growth.
Specific and actionable. While a certain level of abstraction is unavoidable, effective feedback focuses on specific, practical and attainable behaviors that recipients can implement in their working lives.
Feedback enablers
Despite systemic gaps, practitioners who took part in the research identified several consistent enablers of impactful feedback:
Catalyst for self-awareness. Feedback helps individuals see themselves more clearly and align their strengths to organizational demands.
A shared language for growth. Well-structured feedback creates a common vocabulary between employees, managers, and HR.
Manager involvement. When line managers are engaged, feedback communicates performance expectations and enables smoother onboarding.
Trust in one-to-one delivery. Confidential, personalized conversations are highly valued, particularly in senior or high-stakes contexts.
These factors confirm what many IO Psychologists have long argued: Feedback is not merely about information transfer, but also about enabling key talent processes such as onboarding, professional development, and manager support.
Feedback barriers
Obstacles to effective assessment feedback identified include:
Time and capacity constraints. Talent teams often lack the bandwidth for systematic feedback delivery.
Cost pressures. One-to-one sessions, while valued, are resource-heavy, leading to selective use.
Manager capability gaps. Many managers lack confidence in interpreting assessment reports or embedding insights into ongoing performance conversations.
Lack of tracking systems. Organizations rarely measure behavioural change or link feedback outcomes to performance, thus diluting the impact of feedback.
Sole focus on selection. Too often, feedback stops once hiring decisions are made, leaving both successful and unsuccessful candidates without structured insights.
Ethical and professional considerations
Feedback is not without ethical complexities. For instance, a main concern in this regard includes a need to ensure unbiased and fair feedback.
How information is used is another key ethical consideration. Candidates must be made aware of the limits of confidentiality (e.g. managers and HR professionals also have access to their assessment results), and they ought to understand how their assessment data will be used.
Feedback should also only be delivered by trained practitioners, not delegated indiscriminately. Not only does this ensure competent and ethical handling of information, but TTS’s research suggests that expert-mediated feedback carries substantial benefits to end-users that last far beyond the feedback session itself.
For IO Psychologists, maintaining these standards is not optional: It underpins the credibility of the discipline and the trust of assessment end-users.
Ideal feedback practices
The post-webinar research asked participants to define ideal feedback practices. Their responses are important to note:
- Universal access to feedback: Feedback for all assessed candidates.
- Timely delivery for best results: Before final offers or within the first month of employment.
- Structured follow-ups are vital: 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-feedback.
- Manager accountability must be maintained: Provision of handover documents and managerial responsibility for follow-up.
- System prompts are essential: Technology-enabled reminders and tracking.
- Scalable formats are important: Group feedback for high-volume recruitment, one-on-one sessions for high-stakes positions.
The strategic case for feedback
Organizations increasingly recognize that feedback is not just a nice-to-have but a strategic driver of performance, retention, and organizational culture.
TTS’s research on this topic shows that feedback enhances onboarding, accelerates productivity and reduces turnover. Indeed, recipients of expert assessment feedback remain motivated to develop their competencies months after feedback, with many reporting sustained behavioural change.
Organisations that embed feedback systematically will therefore generate tangible evidence of impact within months, not years.
For IO Psychologists, the case is clear: Feedback, when embedded, is transformed from a reactive process to a proactive lever for organizational effectiveness.
Practical recommendations
Drawing from both empirical findings and practitioner input, several actionable feedback strategies were identified:
- Shift from opt-in to opt-out. Make feedback a standard process unless explicitly declined.
- Match format to context. One-on-one for senior hires, group or hybrid formats for volume recruitment.
- Build internal capacity. Train additional psychologists or HR practitioners to support peak feedback demand.
- Leverage partnerships. Engage external providers for overflow or specialist feedback.
- Set clear timelines. Aim for feedback immediately post-offer, with structured follow-ups.
- Equip managers. Provide concise guides, embed prompts in review cycles, and offer manager training.
- Simplify tracking. Introduce lightweight HR systems that enable behaviour-change follow-ups.
- Use assessment data strategically. Align feedback with onboarding, succession planning, and retention strategies.
Final thoughts
The findings from the masterclass and research report highlighted a central theme: Most organizations value feedback, but few have yet unlocked its full potential.
Too often it is delayed, inconsistent, or untracked, leaving untapped opportunities for engagement, performance, and retention.
For IO Psychologists, this represents both a responsibility and an opportunity: To design talent approaches and systems where feedback is not an isolated event but an enduring organizational mechanism.
If you’re interested in how TTS can help you be more effective in your feedback practices, reach out to us at info@tts-talent.com.