MadeYou’s impactful feedback for EOY performance reviews – Insights from CEO Luke Todd

In today’s increasingly competitive business landscape, ensuring strong work performance is more important than ever. However, cultivating an environment where employees can truly grow and excel takes more than just tracking metrics—it requires an intentional and structured approach. This is where MadeYou can make a real difference, offering services that revolutionise feedback and performance reviews, setting businesses up for long-term success.

Based in Malta and founded in 2014, MadeYou has carved out a niche in leadership training and business coaching, with a notable presence in the gaming industry. Central to their success is their innovative 360 Feedback program, which goes beyond delivering reports by integrating feedback into ongoing performance reviews to ensure continuous improvement.

In a conversation with Luke Todd, Co-Founder and CEO of MadeYou, we learned more about the philosophy behind their approach to feedback and how they combine it with their unique services.
“We started out focusing on leadership training,” Luke explains, “but over time, we just realised how much we could improve feedback processes.” When the pandemic pushed businesses online, MadeYou expanded globally, reaching clients across Europe, the Philippines, America, and Japan.

What sets MadeYou apart is their practical, business-oriented approach. “That’s what clients love most about us,” Luke tells us. “We don’t just hand out theory; we share actionable insights that are proven to work in real business settings.” Their close-knit team of seven, including four client-facing coaches, brings real-world experience to the table. “We’ve applied everything we teach within large corporations, and now we’re supporting others to do the same,” Luke proudly shares.

MadeYou offers a range of people development services, including 360 feedback, performance review calibration, and employer branding, all designed to create a culture of constructive feedback that truly supports growth. The CEO emphasises how future-paced feedback adds much more value than traditional feedback methods that dwell on past mistakes. “Feedback is there to help people perform better moving forward. Focusing on what the employee did wrong adds little value to their future performance, often prompting a defensive response. But forward-looking feedback is more likely to be seen as a resource for identifying and addressing blind spots, and that’s where the power of feedback lies,” Luke passionately notes.

Luke also stresses the need for feedback to be both constructive and specific, whether it’s positive or critical. “When you explain what worked, why it worked, and how it benefitted the organisation, employees can apply that same method elsewhere,” he claims. Luke further points out that managers often fall into the trap of vague praise like “good job,” which doesn’t explain why the performance was commendable. But when feedback is thorough, it reduces the need for corrective conversations over time, as employees gain a clear understanding of what drives success.

MadeYou’s 360 Feedback Program stands out for two main reasons: “One of them is that we create the feedback questionnaires in-house, making sure they’re objective across all departments,” Luke tells us. By owning the process, MadeYou makes feedback a company-wide initiative, not just an HR task. At the same time, this inclusivity means HR participates as equals.

Another unique element of MadeYou’s programme is their practice of profiling feedback before sharing it. “Anonymity can sometimes encourage unconstructive comments,” Luke notes, “so, we carefully review the feedback to ensure it’s useful and actionable. This careful screening process improves the quality of feedback, allowing us to guide individuals in delivering constructive criticism.”

In industries like gaming and telecoms, MadeYou has seen feedback scores steadily improve, proving that employees are engaging more constructively. Unlike typical feedback programs, where employees are left to figure things out on their own, MadeYou pairs them with coaches to help them reflect on feedback, even if they don’t initially agree with it. “Even if you don’t see eye to eye, there’s value in understanding why someone views you that way,” Luke says. “Ultimately, it’s about what you can do with the feedback moving forward.” This approach fosters a more open, growth-focused mindset and makes feedback productive, rather than a source of frustration. Luke explains that this approach invites individuals to reflect on feedback they might otherwise dismiss, particularly if it’s perception-based.

In addition to supporting employees, MadeYou offers coaching for managers, helping them interpret their team’s feedback and guide them toward growth. Managers often struggle with giving actionable feedback, and MadeYou’s coaching sessions ensure that the entire feedback loop is fully closed, with both employees and managers equipped for future development.

Another key element of MadeYou’s feedback system is performance review calibration. Luke describes this process as crucial for fair evaluations: “We bring together leadership teams to discuss their direct reports and align perspectives using a five-column ranking system—low performer, developing, steady, top performer, overachiever.” This structured approach removes bias and paves the way for objective performance ratings.

“Of course, there’s bound to be disagreements and emotionality in the room,” Luke explains, “but as an external facilitator, I insist on pragmatic evidence to back up evaluations so that when people leave the room, they understand the evidential proof of why people are in certain categories.” This process promotes transparency and since the feedback is collective, when employees receive their reviews, “it’s not just their manager’s opinion; it’s the opinion of the leadership team,” reducing individual bias.

This process also helps identify long-term patterns—whether someone needs consistent improvement or is ready for promotion. Besides, cross-calibration between departments ensures fairness in shared projects. Luke notes, “Without those cross-calibration conversations, one person might get the credit for work someone else did.”

The calibration process allows for fair, collective, and actionable feedback, helping businesses align performance reviews with real contributions to organisational goals. MadeYou’s 360 Feedback Program goes beyond simply identifying areas for improvement. By combining feedback, coaching, and performance review calibration, MadeYou promotes a sustainable feedback culture that empowers both employees and managers to grow.

As Luke puts it, “Many 360 programs only give feedback to the individual, which makes the process feel one-sided. We ensure it’s a full-circle conversation, involving both employees and their managers, so everyone works together toward growth.”

Looking to the future, Luke envisions a time when real-time feedback becomes the norm, eliminating the need for formal 360 programs.

Parting ways with Luke, we reflected on the value of MadeYou’s contributions, especially to local workplace cultures. Their holistic, coached approach to feedback is a great asset for organisations, serving as a powerful catalyst for continuous improvement and driving impactful changes in workplace performance and dynamics.