Good practices of how to respond to feedback.

Most common questions about how to answer feedback

There are a few questions you're likely to ask when you're introduced to the feedback response feature:

After receiving feedback, how soon do I need to answer? Is there an ideal deadline?

There is no strict rule for answering. You don't need to reply necessarily within a day. But the sooner you respond, the better will be the reception of the one who gave the feedback.

But it is also not healthy to respond immediately. Taking time between reading and answering (around 5 minutes) is interesting to help formulate better what to answer. It is important to think about some points, such as:

- What is the context of this feedback?
- Did I correctly understand the point that this person raised?
- Is there anything I could have done differently to avoid this feedback?

Empathy is key here.

Do I have to answer the positive feedbacks or only the constructive ones?

You should respond to all feedback. It is important to carry out positive reinforcement, even if it is a simple thank you. This attitude demonstrates that you care about your subordinates and that their opinion has value.

What to do when I have many feedbacks to answer?

We have already seen cases of managers with more than 200 messages of feedback to be answered. It's impressive! But don't worry. This is a sign that your team cares a lot about the work environment and wants to cooperate to improve it further.

In these cases, you should use the filter to prioritize the constructive. But little by little you will be able to answer everyone. It is important to respond from the oldest feedback to the latest one as well.

Remember it's almost like WhatsApp messages, how many messages do you reply per day? Yes, these are WhatsApp messages from your team, surely in order of priority of response, they are messages that you should prioritize first. Remember to take care of people, they are the ones who deliver value to customers.

Ways to respond to feedback

There are two behaviors you should always express when responding to feedback:

Be (excessively) positive!
Show empathy.

As a simple example, we can observe the difference that empathy and positivity generate in the message:

Hello, guy, how was your day?
Hey, guy! How was your day?

When we read both, we get the feeling that the second example is being said in a much more cheerful tone. And all we did was basically change the punctuation.

Another good reason to write with positivity is that people tend to mirror our reactions. So if you express positivity, they will respond with the same positivity, helping to spread a lighter environment throughout the company.

In this next example, note the difference between these two answers.

I don't remember saying that. Let's talk about it on Monday.

I apologize if I said something that offended you, it was not my intention! I honestly don't remember saying that, but do you believe we could talk on monday about it? Have a nice weekend!

Again, the second answer seems much more friendly and inviting. While the former is succinct and straight to the point, it's important to show collaborators that you have empathy and that you would never want to harm them.

For the next few examples, we'll use real questions we ask in TeamCulture and show you some examples of feedback you may receive.

Example of feedback response

Question asked: what would be the next step for your personal growth?

Feedback received: a new role within the company

How to answer: I think it's great that you want to grow in our company. Maybe we can talk about it in the next one-on-one? Do you have in mind the role you would like to have?

Question asked: why don't you think you're in control of the work you need to do?

Feedback received: I believe they could include me more in the decision-making process.

How to answer: I had no idea you felt that way, so thank you for mentioning this. Maybe we can talk about it in the next one-on-one, what do you think? If you can give me specific examples, I will love to receive them.

Question asked: what is missing in your work to be rewarding?

Feedback received: nothing, it's personal.

How to answer: no problem, I respect that. Know that whenever you want to talk, I'm here to listen

Key points

Take as long as you need to work out a good answer, but be sure to answer and never answer in a hurry. This is more important than it seems.

Be grateful that someone took the time to give you feedback. Giving feedback is always an effort that needs to be recognized.

Show empathy in your answers.

Be positive in your answers. It is difficult to pick up the tone of speech through the text, so a succinct and direct message may seem blunt to someone reading.

Do it differently! Let's Question, Act, and Evolve. Talk to our team right now using the side chat or take the opportunity to read more about the platform.

Updated on: 20/04/2021