The Importance of Proper Feedback
The feedback
We hear a lot about feedback these days. Even the customer support department asks for your feedback asking for your opinion on a fixed scale. Feedback is nothing but information about reactions for a product, or opinion about a person's performance that carried out a task for you but one thing is for sure all this information in form of your opinion are used as a basis for improvement of that particular service.
Actually I bought a scooter manufactured by a reputed manufacturer a couple of months back from a local showroom. Next day there was a phone call on my mobile phone asking me about the experience I had at the showroom during my stay at the showroom and the behavior of the sales staff. I was surprised to note that we have developed this much of awareness about feedback regarding customer experience. Actually, the modification or control of a process or system by its results or effects or behavioral response is necessary to for any industry and it will be good we learn it fast, earlier than later.
Being a marketing personal myself let me make it clear at this point that negative feedback and positive feedback does not mean good or bad in themselves but a negative feedback only tells you to wake up and do better than you are already doing. Likewise a positive feedback indicates that you should keep doing the good work or try to improve on what you are already doing and if lose the grip the things might go beyond your control. Feedback is a process that keeps you on your toes, you and your company knows whether you’re doing enough or need to improve. Feed back in other words is true reflection of your efforts.
Feed back- The right Direction
We spend almost one third of our lives at our workplaces doing our best, giving out what best we can but not really knowing what else could we do to make things better. We in some cases would have been happier if we found out what was expected of us, how was our performance. However, there is no doubt about the fact that there was a way to know about performance we could have done better compared to what we were already doing. That’s where the role of feedback is needed and if we have a good feedback system working for us rest assured you will not go wrong. If you permit me to say I would like to put it this way- you are entering into a jungle without proper maps and signs. You may have a good knowledge about your business but unless you have a proper feedback system you’re not on the right track. The employees should know where they are missing out at.
Lack of feedback
Let me make it clear at this point that your workers do their best but in absence of a proper feedback the chances are they will make similar mistakes constantly and that too without knowing it. If you see a lack of collaboration in between management and workforce the reason is nothing but a proper feedback. In technical terms it’s called ‘feedback famine’ which occurs when workers do not get enough proper information about their own good or bad performance. This is a dangerous situation for any company which may affect company and employees adversely. The worst happens with workers as they get no chance to improve their performance irrespective of level and size of the company they work for. Let me revel another fact at this point that all successful people use feedback system on their way to top of the ladder.
Feedback makes all the difference
There should be no doubt about the fact that feedback is one of the most powerful management tools which undoubtedly works successfully in increased production and satisfied employees. In fact several companies are not only using their own feedback systems but also engaging survey companies which approach consumers in many different ways and even pay the consumers to know their opinion. However there is no doubt about the fact that positive feedback always encourages you to increase what you are doing with added enthusiasm. The process of feedback refers to a response from the consumer/customer that gives the idea of how the job is being carried out and whether it needs to be improved.
Feedback is a powerful management tool that provides a perfect data which differentiates in between success and failure well in time and that helps improve the performance and reduce the chances of failures. Feedback is not positive all the time for sure and this is not easy to listen to criticism at your face but that is one of the best ways to improve your performance and companies are prepared to listen to their own criticism to improve their performance. Companies have made arrangements to record the discussions in between their customers and customer support officers so they get the real picture of the feedback and not a painted or fabricated version. In fact, companies do not mind complaining customers as the companies consider them their quality controllers.
The sources of feedback
The source of feedback does not come from customers necessarily but from various other sources like company’s own managers, supervisors, measurement system, quality control department, friends circle and consumers of course but all the feedback is important as long it helps in improving the performance. The important point of any feedback is that how much it helps to improve the service or the product. Ultimately the aim of all the efforts is to improve the quality of the company’s performance. Now, you have to decide what kind of feedback you need for your workplace from your inner and outer sources. The feedback could be in form of written, oral coming from your customers and employees and online if you are big enough industry and finally from outsourcing.
There is another important point about feedback which is always considered to be negative but even if it’s negative it should be done in a manner which sounds as if the purpose is to improve the services and the product and not to show the company down straight away. As a team leader or manager I would prefer to get well prepared before suggesting team members the necessary changes which they need to apply to improve the things. Also, I will always be prepared to listen to the team members about their own suggestion in to the matter which may come in handy rather than overlooking them. I would rather listen to them and even accept them if they sound worthwhile.
The Positive side of the feedback
There are lots of benefits of proper feedback at any workplace which help create a better understanding in between the workers. A feedback works properly when it’s done with a particular aim in mind and it work toward improvement of that particular aim. Generally workers adhere to the advise provided the higher management. The feedback not only helps improve the performance of the company but workers also improve themselves as they focus on work with new energy. Feedback provides the proper suggestion to a company and they can work with new ideas and better concentration.
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