Feeding Back

1
Feeding Back Diagnostic Information
2
Possible Effects of Feedback
Feedback occurs
No Change
Is the energy created by the feedback?
NO
Energy to use data to identify and solve problems
YES
What is the direction of the feedback?
Energy to deny or fight data
Do structures and processes turn energy into
action?
Failure, frustration, no change
NO
Anxiety, resistance, no change
YES
Change
3
Determining the Content of Feedback

• Relevant
• Understandable
• Descriptive
• Verifiable
• Timely

• Limited
• Significant
• Comparative
• Unfinalized

4
Relevant

• Organization members are likely to use feedback
  data for problem solving when they find the
  information meaningful. Including managers and
  employees in the initial data collection
  activities can increase the relevance of the data.

5
Understandable

• Data must be presented to organization members in
  a form that is readily interpreted. Statistical
  data, for instance, can be made understandable
  through the use of graphs and charts.

6
Descriptive

• Feedback data need to be linked to real
  organizational behaviors if they are to arouse
  and direct energy. The use of examples and
  detailed illustrations can help employees gain a
  better feel for the data.

7
Verifiable

• Feedback data should be valid and accurate if
  they are to guide action. Thus, information
  should allow organization members to verify
  whether the findings really describe the
  organization.

8
Timely

• Data should be fed back to members as quickly as
  possible after being collected and analyzed.
  This will help ensure that the information is
  still valid and is linked to members motivations
  to examine it.

9
Limited

• Because people can easily become overloaded with
  too much information, feedback data should be
  limited to what employees can realistically
  process at one time.

10
Significant

• Feedback should be limited to those problems that
  organization members can do something about
  because it will energize them and help direct
  their efforts toward realistic changes.

11
Comparative

• Feedback data can be ambiguous without some
  benchmark as a reference. Whenever possible,
  data from comparative groups should be provided
  to give organization members a better idea of how
  their group fits into a broader context.

12
Unfinalized

• Feedback is primarily a stimulus for action and
  thus should spur further diagnosis and problem
  solving. Members should be encouraged, for
  instance, to use the data as a starting point for
  more in-depth discussion of organizational issues.

13
Effective Feedback Meetings

• People are motivated to work with the data
• The meeting is appropriately structured
• The right people are in attendance
• knowledge
• power and influence
• interest
• The meeting is facilitated

14
Survey Feedback Process

• Members involved in designing the survey
• The survey is administered to the organization
• The data is analyzed and summarized
• The data is presented to the stakeholders
• The stakeholders work with the data to solve
  problems or achieve vision

15
Limitations of Survey Feedback

• Ambiguity of Purpose
• Distrust
• Unacceptable Topics
• Organizational Disturbances

16
Ambiguity of Purpose

• Managers and staff groups responsible for the
  survey-feedback process may have difficulty
  reaching sufficient consensus about the purposes
  of the survey, its content, and how it will be
  fed back to participants. Such confusion can
  lead to considerable disagreement over the data
  collected and paralysis about doing anything with
  them.

17
Distrust

• High levels of distrust in the organization can
  render the survey feedback ineffective.
  Employees need to trust that their responses will
  remain anonymous and that management is serious
  about sharing the data and solving problems
  jointly.

18
Unacceptable Topics

• Most organizations have certain topics that they
  do not want examined. This can severely
  constrain the scope of the survey process,
  particularly if the neglected topics are
  important to employees.

19
Organizational Disturbance

• The survey-feedback process can unduly disturb
  organizational functioning. Data collection and
  feed back typically infringe on employee work
  time. Moreover, administration of a survey can
  call attention to issues with which management is
  unwilling to deal, and can create unrealistic
  expectations about organizational improvement.