The power of asking for feedback
There’s power in seeking out feedback – instead of simply waiting for it. Harness it, and you’ll foster a culture of continuous growth.
Feedback made us what we are today. Literally. A billion years ago, it marked the difference between survival and extinction. Simple organisms would scope out their environment, pick up cues, test what works, learn what doesn’t – so they could adapt to their surroundings and develop ways to thrive, grow and evolve.
Is that so different from business survival in today’s competitive world?
The stakes are different, of course. But it’s just as essential to stay alert to the demands of our environment, building resilience and strength, making us ready to adapt.
And for those giving feedback? In our experience, when we ask a client to share their opinions of us, we’re not only inviting them to be critical. We’re also asking them to help create the ideal environment where we can all flourish.
Job feedback vs organisation feedback
Inviting feedback is an everyday part of working life – submitting drafts for approval, requesting input on a strategy, stress-testing a new product.
But how often do you proactively ask for general feedback about you or your organisation? A comprehensive critique? A real, in-depth ‘how are we doing?’ that explores every aspect of your relationship with clients, partners or others touched by your work?
On an individual level, we know workplace feedback helps us gauge performance, track progress and enhance our personal and professional growth. That’s why regular reviews are an intrinsic part of the employee engagement. Collectively, it’s just as potent. Asking for feedback as an organisation is a great opportunity to boost performance and embed a continuous improvement mindset.
It creates a culture of openness – clients know we genuinely want their thoughts, so we can keep on doing the best for them.
It encourages our people – because we know the honest feedback will include some glowing comments.
And it helps us all to grow – we can share successes and learnings across our agency, embracing any negatives as opportunities to improve, challenge ourselves, and benefit from each other’s experience.
Asking for feedback as an organisation is a great opportunity to boost performance and embed a continuous improvement mindset.
A glimpse into the client’s world
As we’ve found, asking for feedback can also reveal behind-the-scenes factors that we didn’t even know clients were handling – and which we can support them with by tweaking the way we work.
We’ve discovered this by commissioning our annual Radar survey, an independent audit of what our clients think of us.
In the 2022 survey, one client remarked that a difficulty we’d faced together on a project was partly caused by ongoing changes in her organisation. Who knew? Not us, until this moment of honest revelation.
This allowed us to adjust the way we work with our client – when and how we communicate with her, allowing more time in the schedule for internal processes on her side, and generally understanding more about the environment she’s working in. If we hadn’t asked for overarching feedback about our agency, we might never have known any of this.
It was invaluable. Our 2023 Radar survey included comments from our client about how we’d adapted in line with the previous year’s feedback, with results that made everyone happy.
Asking a client for honest feedback gives them a comfortable setting in which to criticise, either negatively or positively.
A cosier way to critique?
While some people are not shy about sharing brutal truths, most tend to feel awkward about voicing opinions that might cause ill feeling. So asking a client for honest feedback gives them a comfortable setting in which to criticise, either negatively or positively. It tells them we care about the work we’re doing with them, and that we’re invested in putting right anything that’s grinding their gears.
There could be an issue that isn’t serious, but something they’ve wanted to talk about when ‘the right moment’ comes up. And if we don’t proactively ask for feedback, that right moment might never arise, and we’ll all continue, blissfully unaware… while the client crosses those fingers, hoping things will change.
What a waste – when we could get that concern out in the open, think about it, tackle it, and make our client’s life easier!
Seeing ourselves through the eyes of others
Without feedback, we can never truly view ourselves the way others do. According to psychology professor Mark Leary, we filter information about ourselves in a way that supports our self-image and ‘egotistic desires’ – it’s basic self-preservation.
Protecting the ego on a personal level is one thing. But in business, preservation depends on removing the ego-goggles and seeing our organisation through the lenses of others. It means identifying the ‘blind spots’ that may be holding us back – the need to ask more questions to ensure clarity, for example, or to set expectations around what is achievable within a budget. It could be a preference, like when to phone rather than email. Or a personal ask, such as not wanting to be ‘outnumbered’ in meetings.
When clients show us how they view us, they shed light on areas where we can improve – and where we should continue what we’re doing.
A client’s perspective also helps when our self-image is not totally positive. Think about times when you’re planning a change to the way you work – the way you do contact reports, for example. What if clients love things as they are? What if a change would force them to alter their own internal routines, or just make them feel a bit miffed? Who wants a miffed client? Not us – and we know you don’t either.
Each client is unique, of course, so it pays to explore their difference. We wondered, for instance, if we’d allowed our meetings with one client to lose some of the formality we’d established with others in a similar sector. That’s until their survey responses included this line: ‘The informal approach during meetings allows everyone to feel relaxed and free to share ideas.’
So ask away, for the bad and the good. You might learn you’re missing the mark in one respect, while hitting a sweet spot that you didn’t even know was there!
Asking for feedback can enhance relationships
When we actively request feedback, we signal to our clients that we’re focused on improving. It also shows we respect their judgement and value their opinions – which can strengthen the relationship and build a culture of trust.
Having an annual, qualitative deep-dive with research such as the Radar survey also sets the scene for more ad-hoc candid chats throughout the year. Knowing we’re always listening and learning, our clients – often generous with positive feedback – are more likely to also speak up if something isn’t quite right.
A relationship built on mutual trust naturally leads not only to closer collaboration, but also a partnership – one of the things our clients tell us they value. In our latest survey a client remarked that we’re a trusted ‘sounding board’ – a partner, rather than a supplier simply following instructions. Another liked how we challenge her proposed ideas and offer alternative solutions. And many clients said they saw us as ‘an extension of our team’ – and that’s always one of our greatest aims.
And those little extras?
‘I never thought to ask,’ someone told us when we mentioned other ways we could help with IC challenges – ones that were outside the initial brief. It was only when they got to know us that they discovered the breadth of expertise in our agency. That’s why in our annual audit we make sure we ask our clients to offer us one key piece of advice. We’re not upselling – we’re asking what they’d like from us. ‘More insights on external trends’ is the kind of recent suggestion that’s unlikely to come up in day-to-day conversations. And yet it’s something we can certainly do to support our client.
What other skills do you have that could enhance your client’s day – but which they haven’t yet thought to ask about?
Asking for the gift of honesty
Just as every sentient being gathers intelligence from its surroundings, feedback is the lifeblood of survival and growth. Cognitive scientist Tom Stafford says it’s at the very core of how we adapt to the world around us, and means we can ‘develop more complex responses to the environment’.
We’re not suggesting the world of internal communication and employee engagement is a predator-filled jungle. But it’s clear that there’s real potency in actively seeking information about our place and our performance in the environment we work in. When a client gives us the gift of feedback, it’s transformative – giving us power to foster innovation, unlock learning, strengthen relationships, and become more effective all round.
It seems fitting to end on one client’s piece of advice which makes all our feedback-hunting feel worthwhile: ‘Keep being H&H!’
So, as we’re chuffed to bits with our recent Radar report, in true H&H fashion, we’d love to share our little summary here…
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