The Utility of Feedback

We rely constantly on feedback in our lives.  Our bodies give us feedback on how it’s doing (hungry? Tired? Both useful pieces of feedback).  When we play a game we’re reliant on feedback on how we’re doing.  Social interactions with our friends and family give us feedback on how well (or poorly!) our jokes land.  All of this feedback is good, it helps us take care of ourselves, get better at games and tell better jokes.  Feedback at work, however, usually feels like a negative thing.

This to me is incredibly odd.  Many of us spend the majority of our waking time at work, so I would expect work-related feedback to be treated at a premium.  Frequently though, it’s seen as negative.  I’ve written previously about “having” to give feedback and the negative connotation around that phrase, but it goes beyond just “having” to give it.  Many of us are also reluctant to seek out, or even accept, feedback.  Giving feedback is also something we shy away from, after all, it’s very hard to first identify something someone can improve on (or where they’re doing well) and then communicate that to them.

Regardless of our reluctance, however, feedback requires two things to be effective.  It must be timely, and specific.

Timeliness

Imagine someone you trust comes up to you and says something like “hey, during that meeting four months ago you did a great job presenting X topic, it could be even better by also doing Y”.  This is useful, since it’s specific… but it’s made less useful since it’s months later.  You may not really remember that presentation or topic.  You may have already improved that skill so this feedback isn’t as useful.

Ideally feedback is provided as soon as possible.  I’m not saying interrupt a meeting, or call someone at 2am, but the sooner feedback is provided, the more useful it is to the recipient.  Not only does it makes it easier for them to apply it, it’s also still fresh in their minds.  They know the context, and they know how it can be applied.  Waiting to give it robs the recipient of a lot of the utility.

Specific

Imagine someone you trust comes up to you and say something like “hey, I checked out that paper your wrote yesterday and noticed some grammar errors you made”.  This is useful since it’s timely (they’ve told you close to the event), but it’s made less useful by not being specific.  Sure they mentioned grammar errors… but WHAT errors?  Are you mis-using commas?  Not using conjunctions?  Adding too many spaces after periods?  Without the specific information this feedback is not very useful.

Making feedback specific helps the recipient by clearly showing what they’re doing that can be improved.  Ideally specific examples can be pointed out and used to exemplify where improvements can be made.  THis makes it considerably easier for the recipient since they clearly see what they’re doing that needs improvement.  Being vague (regardless of the reason) robs the recipient of a LOT of the utility of feedback.

Wrap Up

Most people most of the time want to improve something, and feedback is one of the best tools to do that.  Like any tool, however, it needs to be used properly.  Being timely and specific gives the recipient the best chance of using the feedback effectively.  Not only does it illustrate exactly what needs to be improved, but it’s provided close to the event itself making it much easier to translate into reality.