Feedback in Bonusly
Use Feedback to request input, give guidance, and have productive development conversations — all in one private space.
The Feedback feature helps teams share clear, constructive input that supports growth and performance. Feedback lives in the Growth section of Bonusly and provides a simple, private way for coworkers and managers to exchange thoughtful insights.
Getting Started with Feedback
The fastest way to get started is from the main giving module at the top of your social feed.
To give or request feedback from the feed:
Click the purple feedback icon.
Choose:
Ask for feedback from anyone, or
Give feedback to your direct reports (managers only).
Type your message in the editor.
Select a coworker.
Click Send or Save as draft.
Feedback is always private. Receivers can choose to share completed feedback with their manager.
To access all your feedback in one place:
Go to your Bonusly homepage.
Click Growth at the top.
Select Feedback from the left-hand sidebar.
From here you can request feedback, respond to requests, view your history, and (if you're a manager) give proactive feedback to direct reports.
What Feedback Is (and How It’s Different from Recognition)
In Bonusly:
Recognition is public or semi-public celebration of great work.
Feedback is a private, structured conversation between two people about performance, behaviors, or development.
Key differences:
Feedback always has:
One receiver (person the feedback is about)
One main giver (person providing the insight)
Both people can follow-up messages once shared.
Feedback lives in Growth > Feedback, separate from the social feed.
Feedback is private and not points-based.
Who Can Use Feedback
All employees can:
Ask for feedback
Respond to feedback requests
View feedback they've received
Managers can also:
Give proactive feedback to direct reports
View team feedback according to visibility settings
Key Concepts and Terminology
Receiver: The person the feedback is about.
Giver: The person providing feedback.
Feedback request: The prompt you send when asking for feedback.
Messages: Entries within a feedback thread.
Feedback states
Draft: Not yet sent
Waiting for reply: Giver hasn’t responded
Published / Complete: Feedback has been shared
Expired: Due date passed with no response
How to Request Feedback About Yourself
Use this flow if you want input from a coworker.
The fastest way:
Go to the social feed.
Click the purple Feedback icon.
Select Ask for feedback from anyone.
Type your request (include a question or two about what you want feedback on).
Select the coworker you’re asking.
Click Send request or Save as draft.
You can also:
Go to Growth > Feedback.
Click Request feedback.
Choose the giver.
Write your request:
What you want feedback on
Any specific behaviors, projects, or examples
Click Send request.
Your request will appear as Waiting for reply until the giver responds.
How to Respond to a Feedback Request
You can open a request from any of these places:
Click the link in the email notification
Click Respond on the purple banner notification at the top of your Bonusly homepage
Go to Growth > Feedback > Waiting for reply
To respond:
Select the request.
Review the prompt and any attached context.
Type your response.
Click Share feedback or Save as draft.
The feedback becomes visible to the receiver immediately. Both of you can continue the conversation by adding messages to the thread.
How Managers Give Feedback
Managers can give proactive feedback at any time.
The fastest way:
Click the purple Feedback icon in the giving module.
Select Give feedback to your direct reports.
Choose the employee.
Type your insights
(Optional) Use a template or AI assist
(Optional) Use the voice memo to dictate your message, and AI to edit or improve your message.
Click Share feedback or Save as draft.
You can also:
Navigate to the direct report via Team in the global nav.
Scroll to the Feedback section.
Click Share feedback.
Write your feedback.
Click Save as draft or Share feedback.
The thread becomes visible to both you and the employee.
Using Filters: For you, From you, Waiting for reply, Draft
On the Feedback page, you can sort by:
For you – All feedback you’ve received
From you – All feedback you’ve written
Waiting for reply – Requests awaiting action
Draft – Feedback you’ve started but not sent
Using Voice Transcription and AI
Bonusly offers optional voice transcription and AI editing to help make your message clearer and more natural.
To use it:
Click the microphone icon in the message box.
Dictate your message.
When prompted, click Yes, please! to improve clarity and structure.
You can continue to edit the generated text before sending.
Understanding Feedback Visibility
Feedback is private, but visibility depends on roles and settings.
Who can see what (at a glance)
Situation | Receiver can see | Giver can see | Receiver’s Manager can see |
A peer gives you feedback (not shared with manager) | ✔ Full thread | ✔ Full thread | ✖ No |
A peer gives you feedback (you choose to share with manager) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ After feedback is shared |
Your manager gives you proactive feedback | ✔ | ✔ (manager is giver) | N/A |
Manager views their team’s feedback page | — | — | ✔ Only feedback where: • They are the giver or • The receiver chose “Share with manager” |
Below are the same rules explained in simple scenario summaries.
Scenario 1: You request feedback from a peer (not shared with manager)
Participants:
You (receiver) — can see the full thread
Peer (giver) — can see the full thread
Your manager — cannot see it
Scenario 2: You request feedback from a peer and choose “Share with manager”
Participants:
You — see full thread
Peer — see full thread
Your manager — sees the thread after the giver shares their feedback
Scenario 3: Your manager gives proactive feedback to you
Participants:
You (receiver) — see full thread
Your manager (giver) — see full thread
Appears:
On your Feedback page
On your manager’s Team view
Scenario 4: Manager viewing a direct report’s Feedback page
A manager sees feedback where the direct report is the receiver and either:
The manager is the giver, or
The thread was explicitly shared with manager by the receiver
The “Share with manager” toggle
If you are the receiver, you may see a Share with manager checkbox on published feedback.
Toggling it:
On: Adds your manager to the thread’s visibility list
Off: Restricts visibility to only you and the giver
You can change this at any time.
Notifications: What You’ll Receive and When
Notification guide
Bonusly sends notifications to help you keep track of feedback requests and responses.
For most feedback actions, users receive:
An in-app notification, and
An email, unless they’ve turned off “constructive feedback” emails in their preferences.
You’ll get notifications when:
Someone requests feedback from you
Someone shares feedback about you
Someone responds to your feedback request
A request you sent is nearing its due date (giver gets the reminder)
A request expires
Additional Ways to Give Feedback
Go deeper on public recognition
Sometimes Bonusly will automatically recommend a feedback request to a public recognition post. This makes it easy for a user to follow up on a moment of praise and ask for additional context or further feedback.
Any feedback requested or given continues to be private.
When it happens
Whenever you ask for feedback that’s grounded in specific recognition, that context is pulled into the feedback request. The relevant recognition post is shown at the bottom of the feedback message.
What you can do
Keep it attached to provide context
Remove it by clicking the X on the preview
You can’t browse or pick other recognitions to attach.
What the receiver sees
If you leave the recognition attached, the receiver will see a small preview card showing:
Who gave the recognition
When it was given
The recognition text
A link to view the full post
Managing Your Feedback Threads
Inside any thread, you can:
Add follow-up messages
Edit drafts
Review past feedback
Track timestamps and status
Feedback remains accessible as long as both participants have active Bonusly accounts.
Need More Help?
Explore related articles on recognition, goals, and 1:1s — or reach out to Bonusly Support for assistance.