Asking For "Feedback"
“Feedback” is one of those words that no manager can do without. We give our direct reports “feedback” on
their performance, we get “feedback” from our boss about our performance, and
Marketing departments and Customer Service live off “feedback” from focus
groups and customers.
We live in a world where it’s getting easier
by the day to gather, store and manipulate information and data. I’ve seen plenty of articles about “Big Data”
and how to gather, store and analyse it.
I’ve been surveyed in the high street for my opinions on everything
ranging from economic policy to TV channels.
When I ask “What are you going to do with this feedback?”, I often get a
blank stare in return… This has happened
on street surveys, HR surveys and other occasions. It doesn't fill me with confidence to see
that my questioner doesn't understand what their objective is…
When asking for “feedback, consider
these questions:
What is the situation?
Why do you need feedback? Is it to improve a product, performance or
just a periodic survey?
What are you trying to measure?
If you’re measuring people’s awareness
of a particular brand, that’s different to gauging customer satisfaction or how
many times/week they go grocery shopping.
Some feedback involves quantitative
information (how many/how often, etc), which is easier to gather as it
focuses on numbers or frequencies. Other
feedback requires qualitative
information, which is more difficult to pin down as it involves respondents
making a judgement or interpreting what you’re asking. Understand what you’re measuring, as this
impacts how you measure it.
Why do you want it (what action will you take)?
Why are you asking for this in the first
place? Is it because you feel that
customers aren't happy with something?
Assuming you can get meaningful feedback, how will you act? What form should the information take to
enable you to act quickly and effectively?
A spreadsheet of numbers may not be the right solution, compared with,
say, a pie chart or bar chart.
What specific information do you need and how will you get it?
Now you can get into detail - what is
the data or information you need and how do you intend to get it? Will it be a mail survey, phone survey,
face-to-face survey on the high street? What
questions do you need to ask (open/closed, multiple choice/essay, score1-5/1-7)?
Are you prepared for unpleasant answers?
There’s a great saying, “Never ask a
question if you don't want to hear the answer.”
Unfortunately, particularly when people are involved, you need to be
prepared for negativity, rudeness, anger or apathy. All of it is useful, if managed correctly.
If people give you feedback, how do you thank them?
If you’re face-to-face or on the phone,
it’s easy to thank them directly. If
you’ve used a mail shot or internet survey, unless you ask for contact details
(which they may be reluctant to give) you can only put a message of thanks at
the beginning or end of the survey. What
will you do if you need to clarify feedback?
How will you make it easy for respondents to provide feedback?
Remember, the wrong question will result
in distorted information. How many
“Yes/No” questions can you ask? Can you
ask people to score something on a scale of (say) 1 - 5? How will you adjust for personal
interpretations of what constitutes a “3” or “4” score? Make it easy for respondents to respond -
don’t do like one rganization did to us and send a 41-page questionnaire!
How will you make sure they understand what you’re asking for?
As I mentioned above, many questions may
require respondents to make a judgment or to interpret what you're asking. How do you make this as effortless as possible? How will you avoid ambiguity and how much
“leeway” for interpretation can you give?
This becomes more important if you're doing a “remote” survey (i.e. one
where you're not face-to-face with respondents).
How can you review effectiveness?
Inevitably, your results will be only as
meaningful as the information gathered. Was
your methodology sound and were the questions asked properly crafted to
minimize misinterpretation? If there was
too much room for ambiguity, misinterpretation, confusion or even outright
lying, the validity of the feedback will be in question. Interestingly, the level of doubt raised over
the validity of information is usually inversely proportional to the degree of
acceptability of the information by its recipients…
Feedback is, as they say, a
“double-edged sword”. When it is
gathered using trusted methods and acceptable questions, it can be
invaluable. When there’s any room for
doubt, be prepared for more work…
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial
services around the world running
different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to
offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk
management. I work with individuals,
small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across
the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be
contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy
Communication And Connectivity
We rely more and more
on email and mobile communication to get things done. It’s quick, convenient and we can be
reasonably certain that we will get a reply.
The problem is that this is a “double-edged sword”. Whilst it opens up more channels and more
contacts, it also increases the volume of communication we send, receive and
process. Clients who come on my Time
Management workshops frequently comment that they receive hundreds (literally)
of emails every day and spend disproportionate amounts of time handling them -
time that could be used to develop their business.
Apart from going through strategies to help them deal with
the never-ending cascade of email, the question I always have for them is,
“What if you couldn't communicate by email or mobile?” The initial reaction is silence, followed by
laughter until someone “gets” that what I’m really asking is “How dependent are
you on a working electronic network to do business?”
What would you do if you weren’t able to use email or a
mobile phone to communicate? How
“geared” are you and your business to having a working electronic and cyber
infrastructure for your very being? What
would you do if it were cut off? Could
you continue to run the business, or would everything grind to a halt?
Even if you could keep going, what about your suppliers and
buyers? Could you still make and receive
payments at your bank? Could they
communicate with you?
This isn’t an “Armageddon” scenario; it’s perfectly possible
as a result of a major natural disaster such as a hurricane, flood or
earthquake. One of my employers (whose
office was in a hurricane-prone area) had a satellite phone for office use in
the event of a hurricane. The trouble
was, it was useful only if the phones at the other end were working. In other words, if he wanted to call someone
else in the same area, either they had to have a satellite phone or their
phones had to have escaped the same hurricane or whatever had hit the area…
So… how reliant are you, your family and your business on a
reliable electronic communication network?
Ask yourself what you would do if it was unavailable? How long before it becomes a serious problem
for you, and what can you do to mitigate the impact? Some ideas might be:
Have a satellite phone;
- Have a pre-arranged procedure for people to meet up at designated
places to receive instructions and agree action;
- Know how long you, your business and its buyers/suppliers can
survive in the event of a “communications blackout”;
- Have a contingency plan if you live/work in an area prone to
natural disasters.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial
services around the world running
different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to
offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork
"Brexit" - What Now?
The world is coming to
terms with the results of the UK’s decision to leave the EU after an often
acrimonious campaign which saw the country divided more or less evenly between
those wanting to leave and those wishing to remain.
The result (52% leave vs 48% remain) means that the UK has
decided - with the slimmest of margins - that its interests are better
served by being outside a trade bloc of some 500 million people with a GDP in
2014 of approximately USD16.8 trillion, according to the IMF.
Constitutionally, the country is in turmoil. The Prime Minister has announced his
resignation, precipitating a leadership contest within the governing party - a
contest likely to highlight the deep divisions within the party between the
Eurosceptics and the Europhiles. The
main opposition party also finds itself in a leadership contest. Scotland and Northern Ireland, which voted in
favour of remain are now in a situation where the wishes of the majority of
their populations have been overridden by those of the English and Welsh.
Whatever the arguments for and against, the UK has voted to
leave and businesses need to decide how this will impact them. The short answer is, it’s too early to
say. We have no idea how long the exit
will take, what the exit terms will involve and therefore the likely impact on
the country’s ability to trade and to attract Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI). Some businesses have said that,
in the event of Brexit, they will relocate either in full or at least partially
to the remaining EU countries. Others
have said they will remain.
Some will decide that the best chances of survival are
outside the UK and depart as soon as possible unless the incoming government
negotiates a deal that persuades them to stay.
These will mainly be larger multinationals and international companies
that invested in the UK because of its (then) EU membership. Businesses that deal with them will see
business volumes decline unless they supply components or services that can be
sourced only from the UK.
For UK businesses with little to no trade with the EU and
who don't employ other EU nationals, things will continue as before, at least for
the time being. Those who import raw
materials, other foreign components, services or staff can expect to see the
cost of these increase as sterling has fallen.
Generally, what goes down must come up and we can expect sterling to
rise again, but whether it will be to pre-referendum levels remains to be seen. This will impact profitability.
UK businesses with UK expat employees based in Europe may
find that they may be subject to new work and/or residence visa regulations,
making it more difficult for UK companies to move employees to Europe for work
in future. This could impact
competitiveness.
Those with EU nationals on their staff may find that those
employees demand higher salaries to offset the fall in sterling (assuming
they’re paid in sterling). This will
also make it more difficult to hire new EU nationals if the business depends on
it and UK regulations covering the employment of EU nationals change. Some employ casual migrant labour or
low-skilled EU labour depending on seasonal demand. They will need to know what the regulations
will be governing their ability to continue employing such labour to stay in business.
UK exporters can expect the fall of sterling to mean their
goods/services are now cheaper (and therefore more competitive). This includes businesses based outside the UK
paying UK-based employees in sterling. They
should take advantage of this now.
It also means that for foreign businesses wishing to set up
in the UK (and not dependent on its EU membership) are likely to be welcomed
with open arms. For foreign companies
that purchase UK goods/services, these will be cheaper (for a while at least)
due to sterling’s fall following the referendum result. Buy now, if you can…
Foreign companies with significant presences in the UK based
on its EU membership will have to consider other options, e.g. set up a new
subsidiary in the EU and move there, leaving the UK workforce with fewer
jobs. They won't know what the future
will be for at least two years, but they have their own home country
shareholders and governments to satisfy and may not e able to wait for things
to settle. However, if they decide to
dispose of UK investments, this may take time due to the uncertain political
situation and the fall of sterling.
Ratings agencies have already downgraded the UK’s credit
ratings, which usually means an increase in the cost of borrowing depending on
how easy the UK government finds it to finance its borrowings. Rates are
already at historic lows and there seems to have been a switch to “safe”
investments (government bonds) meaning that, for the time being, rates will
remain low. The Bank of England has just announced an interest rate drop, so businesses
which depend on bank finance will find this is cheaper, and may decide to press
on with projects that will now make more economic sense.
Until the UK formally invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon
Treaty (which apparently needs to happen before the exit process can begin) it
remains a member of the EU, albeit without a seat at the decision-making
table. It is still bound by current EU
legislation and will continue to benefit from membership. The exit process, once started, is likely to
take at least 2 years. At the same time,
the UK will need to renegotiate trade deals with other countries with whom
trade was previously covered by EU agreements.
The problem is that it’s still too early to say what will
happen. Some of the predictions of the
remainers have come true (falls in sterling and stock markets). My opinion?
Consider the worst-case scenario for your business and prepare for that. It may mean setting up an EU-based subsidiary,
but not all can afford this (especially with a lower sterling giving less bang
for their pound…)
Expect more uncertainty in the months to come.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial
services around the world running
different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to
offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork
