We humans like to do right by everyone. We want to deliver quality and make sure others see the value of our work and experience value in it ourselves. We are afraid of negative feedback, which is why, unfortunately, many people still refrain from asking for feedback. A shame, because it can bring a lot. Although asking for feedback is now in the system for Marlie Willems, Happy Customer Officer at Treams, this was not always the case. Marlie explains how difficult it is to ask for feedback, and how you can make it your own little by little.
Eager to do good
"Before I started at Treams, I was not used to asking for feedback from my colleagues, or even more difficult: from external people. You have to make yourself vulnerable. And of course I have my own idea of what is good and what is not. But if this is not in line with the experience and opinion of others, it can be hard. I found opening up to the opinions of others difficult. I have since learned; it is precisely by asking for feedback that I can do my job even better."
The value of asking colleagues for feedback
"Since I started working at Treams, I really see the value of feedback. But it took a lot of getting used to. Asking for feedback is not always easy. At Treams we work with quarterly objectives. Every quarter we reflect on the past quarter and asking for feedback is an integral part of that. It is important that you not only ask for feedback from your direct colleagues, but also the perspectives of colleagues from other departments and other areas of expertise give you a lot of insight. This does make asking for feedback extra difficult but ultimately all the more valuable. For example, Marlie asked for feedback from her colleagues in the sales department. "They told me that in their eyes I could occasionally be a little too businesslike in my contact with external parties. I myself always saw that as a positive point; discussing the content and adding value that way. My sales colleagues made me realize that there are several aspects in dealing with others that are important. By discussing this feedback with them and asking for help, I learned to interact with others on another level as well. That's really nice to see!"
E-book: Feedback
Do you want to get started with feedback? In this e-book we give you inspiration, tools and tips & tricks to make you a feedback pro too.
Focus on the process rather than the result
The reason that asking for feedback is still not done enough in many organizations is because it is scary to start with. "From the past, we are not used to asking for feedback. The focus in business was much more on the result rather than the process. Was the result achieved? Then everything was fine and people didn't talk about it anymore. Nowadays, we increasingly need recognition and reflect more often on the process. How did you get to the result? What actions did you take and what was your attitude throughout the process? In this, feedback has a valuable role."
Asking for feedback the first time
"The first time I had to ask for feedback at Treams, I hadn't worked there long. I then asked one of my colleagues how best to go about it. It's nice to have a practical example and get help on how to ask the right questions. The most important tip I got here was to be specific in what I wanted to know. If you are not, then the other person cannot give you concrete feedback either. In addition, it helped me when asking for feedback for the first time to start with one or two questions on which you have received feedback before. That way you start asking for feedback in a familiar and safe way, the answer is not completely a surprise and you can get used to the idea of asking for feedback. And you keep building on that; more specific questions to more different people. Even your biggest critic." says Marlie. After a while, she noticed that others really make the effort to give feedback that helps you get better. "That eventually gave me the confidence to start the conversation about the feedback given as well. Nowadays it feels so familiar that I don't even hesitate to ask for feedback, even from clients. I ask specific questions that fit my goals and what I am working on at that moment. In doing so, I indicate that they are allowed to be critical. Having only positive feedback and compliments doesn't really help me."
Asking good questions
"During this process I experienced that it is very difficult to ask good questions. The process you are going through and what you want feedback on is very clear to yourself, but it doesn't have to be that way to the other person. They only see what they notice from their frame of reference. If you cannot indicate specifically enough what you are learning and what steps you have already taken, then they cannot indicate specifically what they think about it either." Marlie's advice, then, is to start small and build bigger later.
Soliciting feedback through an online tool
"Asking for feedback is standard practice at Treams through our own online feedback tool. Very easy, I think. It's a lot faster. In addition, there are many different sample questions in the Treams tool that help you ask the right question. You can also ask several people at once for feedback, which gives you a broader picture. For me, the ideal combination is to first ask for feedback online and then discuss it offline. The strength of online is that you can think carefully about what you want to ask and it's easier to be honest. The fear and awkwardness of a direct response in one-on-one conversation is alleviated somewhat. Although, of course, you should always have the conversation about the feedback. Another great advantage of the tooling is that your requested and given feedback is stored. In addition, you can look back at the feedback you have given and received in the past. It's very funny to see how I asked for feedback a year ago, and how I do it now. You can really see that you are evolving in that."
For organizations
Marlie's advice for organizations not yet doing this: "Start with a good explanation of why you want to get started with feedback. What do you understand by feedback and what do you consider important in it? Include employees in the entire process. There are of course a lot of ways and different methods on how to do this, but the most important thing is that you make agreements on how you deal with each other. In doing so, start small. Do it within your own team first and then build out asking for feedback to other teams and eventually to external parties. After all, the customer is the one you do it all for. You have an idea yourself whether you are doing everything right, and your colleagues can tell you that, but it is very nice to hear from the customer whether that is actually the case and how they experience those things. You also give customers the feeling that they are being heard."
"At the beginning, then, it is important to help employees get started. For example, have them ask for feedback at set times. For example, after completing a project. Or let them ask for feedback based on your organization's core values. In doing so, give them tools and sample questions they can use. That way the frameworks are much clearer for employees and you work together toward a clear goal." A final tip from Marlie: "Don't forget to make it fun, too. Many people associate it with something scary and negative, but it can actually be a lot of fun. For example, by adding game elements to giving feedback you make it less demanding and therefore more approachable."