One of the easiest traps to fall into as a business person (and heck, as a human) is to assume you know what’s going on in someone’s mind. To invent a back story, fill in the blanks about their feelings and motivations, and then convince yourself it is the gospel truth. Our brain is pretty good at making such leaps–it’s really just trying to help us be more efficient and make sense of the world. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the brain always gets it right.
And then, of course, sometimes we just don’t want to know. Head in sand, keep going. La, la, la, la… If we don’t hear bad news, things must be going okay, right?
Curiosity about how your organization, your services and performance are perceived is often rewarded with unexpected insights into how you can do better. There’s a reason people often say feedback is a gift. And who doesn’t like gifts? While it can be hard at first (especially if you have some tough feedback to absorb), it will be worth it in the end.
When I am helping an organization design a new experience or service, I often recommend looking for ways to embed the seeking of feedback into the process. For example, you might make a habit to ask at the end of phases in your projects. Or, set a rhythm that is easy for you to stick to, whether that be annually or quarterly. If you have a typical down time, choose that season for reflection and feedback. Then you may actually have space to absorb what you hear and start taking actions to respond to what you’ve learned.
Once you decide to go for it, you can start with simple mechanisms—no need for an expensive, highly custom platform. You might try a short survey sent via email (Google Forms or Survey Monkey do the trick), or even a 1-2 questions asked via a pop-up on your website (Hotjar is a powerful and easy to use tool).
The questions need not be super complex. How are we doing? Did we meet your expectations? Once you’ve gotten good at asking and listening, you can add questions and try more advanced or in-depth methods like 1-on-1 interviews, project retrospectives, or focus groups.
Have you learned anything surprising in seeking feedback?