Giving and getting feedback in the workplace — Part 2
Last week’s lesson looked at giving performance feedback. Today, we explore getting meaningful feedback.
By meaningful feedback, I mean asking employees, volunteers, customers for input, assessment or suggestions. Last week, I declared that we are generally unresponsive in getting meaningful feedback.
Unresponsive feedback
I deliberately choose “unresponsive” because of how it is used in medical terms. When we talk of a person being medically unresponsive, it means they’re “at least unconscious, and possibly dead or dying” (Vocabulary.com). Yup, that’s what I mean.
I see three ways we are unresponsive eliciting feedback: The ways we ask for feedback are constraining; we ignore the feedback we get — we don’t use it; and, we use the feedback we get, but we use it disingenuously.
Our methods for getting feedback about service are limiting. Look at timing — either we ask for feedback too soon, when we haven’t had time to process the experience — or we wait too long — we already forgot what we would say that is helpful. Another limitation is that with AI (artificial intelligence), we force responses to a rating scale, when we should allow open-ended comments. Or, we focus on service, when the focus should be on the service representative, or vice versa. This frustrates those who you ask for feedback.
Second is not using the feedback we get, or if we do, not letting our employees, volunteers or customers know we did. And, whether or not we intended to use it is irrelevant. The real detriment is when we don’t actually care or want feedback — we’re just doing this because it looks good or management requires it. In this case, it would be better not to ask at all.
Third is using the feedback disingenuously, with no real desire to hear honest, candid feedback. I call it, “give me all 5’s!” This is when the individual or organization tells you up front that they are expecting your rating of their service to be a 5 (the highest rating).
I had an experience with this in the extreme. A company that is contracted by a box store to install their product was at my home installing flooring. The contractors did a great job, but their English language skills were rough. I can speak Spanish well enough to communicate but it was still challenging for both of us. At the end of the job, they showed me a sheet
from their employer (the contractor, not the box store) that required them to receive the highest ratings or they were not able to leave. The sheet made it clear that any rating less than 5 would lead to some sort of disciplinary action. I wanted to give some feedback that the company should help the workers by providing some basic English language resources (e.g. a phone translation app, online course, etc.), but because I didn’t want anything negatively reflecting on their otherwise great service, I gave them the highest ratings. Afterwards, I called the contractor’s rep. They said my comments were very helpful and that someone would be contacting me to follow up. Despite my follow-up call, I still never received a call-back.
Consequently, all of the above thwart or prohibit us from getting meaningful, if any at all, feedback. If you want meaningful feedback, consider how you ask for it, actually using it, and using it in a way that gives you feedback you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.
Your feedback to me is always meaningful. Let me know what you think!
Dr. Santo D. Marabella, The Practical Prof, is retired professor of management at Moravian University and hosts the podcast “Office Hours with The Practical Prof … and Friends.” His latest book, “The Lessons of Caring” is written to inspire and support caregivers (available in paperback and eBook). Website: ThePracticalProf. com; Twitter: @ PracticalProf; Facebook: ThePracticalProf.