1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:04,740 Welcome to HR Coffee Time. 2 00:00:04,770 --> 00:00:06,420 It's great to have you here. 3 00:00:06,780 --> 00:00:11,340 I'm your host, Fay Wallis, a career and executive coach with a background 4 00:00:11,340 --> 00:00:15,390 in HR, and I'm also the founder of Bright Sky Career Coaching. 5 00:00:16,050 --> 00:00:21,270 I've made HR Coffee Time especially for you to help you have a successful 6 00:00:21,300 --> 00:00:26,760 and fulfilling HR and People career without working yourself into the ground. 7 00:00:27,540 --> 00:00:31,770 In this episode, I'll be sharing five tips to get useful feedback at work 8 00:00:31,770 --> 00:00:36,990 to help your HR or People career, because I know how frustrating it is 9 00:00:36,990 --> 00:00:41,310 to not be given any feedback at all at work, even if you've asked for 10 00:00:41,310 --> 00:00:44,010 it, or to just be given some vague. 11 00:00:44,415 --> 00:00:45,825 "Oh, you're doing a good job. 12 00:00:45,825 --> 00:00:47,025 Don't worry about it" 13 00:00:47,175 --> 00:00:51,165 comment, when you've asked someone for feedback, and I think this is 14 00:00:51,225 --> 00:00:55,665 especially true if you've started a new role or you've had a new leader 15 00:00:55,665 --> 00:01:00,495 join the organization you work for, and you're just looking for some reassurance 16 00:01:00,495 --> 00:01:01,785 that you're on the right track. 17 00:01:01,935 --> 00:01:05,745 Otherwise, you can be left questioning yourself and wondering whether you 18 00:01:05,975 --> 00:01:09,465 are focusing on the right things and doing a good enough job, which can 19 00:01:09,525 --> 00:01:13,585 eventually start to chip away at your confidence so you doubt yourself. 20 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,220 I've been meaning to create another episode about feedback ever since 21 00:01:18,220 --> 00:01:23,679 I recorded episode 57, which was called "Using the Johari Window to 22 00:01:23,679 --> 00:01:25,960 develop and grow in your HR career". 23 00:01:26,470 --> 00:01:31,240 The Johari window can be a good tool for getting useful feedback, and I 24 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:36,039 remember boldly saying in that episode that it was going to be the first one 25 00:01:36,039 --> 00:01:38,770 in a series of episodes about feedback. 26 00:01:39,580 --> 00:01:43,240 Well, I hadn't planned on leaving it quite so long before covering 27 00:01:43,670 --> 00:01:45,490 feedback again, but here you go. 28 00:01:45,490 --> 00:01:49,539 21 episodes later and I'm finally diving into it again. 29 00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:53,080 I've decided to cover feedback again because it's been on my 30 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:54,670 mind for a couple of reasons. 31 00:01:55,150 --> 00:01:59,410 I've had some coaching clients recently who have been working in environments 32 00:01:59,410 --> 00:02:02,350 where they weren't getting enough feedback, so were finding it really 33 00:02:02,350 --> 00:02:08,045 frustrating, but also it's been on my mind because if you're listening to this on the 34 00:02:08,045 --> 00:02:13,325 day that the episode is released, which is going to be Friday, the 31st of March, 35 00:02:13,325 --> 00:02:21,005 2023, it will be the final day of my group program, Inspiring HR for my third cohort. 36 00:02:21,065 --> 00:02:25,115 So this is the third group of people who have been through the group program. 37 00:02:25,470 --> 00:02:30,720 I'm always sad when inspiring HR comes to an end because I really enjoy getting to 38 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:36,060 know and working with the HR and people, professionals who are in the group. 39 00:02:36,210 --> 00:02:40,950 And one of the things I do on the last day of the program is ask for feedback. 40 00:02:41,579 --> 00:02:45,660 The feedback I get is always incredibly helpful and I've been 41 00:02:45,660 --> 00:02:49,930 able to use it to tweak and improve Inspiring HR every time I run it. 42 00:02:50,490 --> 00:02:54,995 As well as being able to use that feedback to be reassured that people 43 00:02:54,995 --> 00:02:57,275 are getting a lot out of the program. 44 00:02:57,635 --> 00:03:03,065 So I promise I will be practicing what I preach in this episode and using some of 45 00:03:03,065 --> 00:03:05,135 the tips that I'm about to share with you. 46 00:03:05,675 --> 00:03:07,775 Let's dive in and hear the first one. 47 00:03:09,305 --> 00:03:13,955 My first tip is that it's really helpful for you and the person you're going to 48 00:03:13,955 --> 00:03:18,665 be asking feedback from to be really clear on what kind of feedback it is that 49 00:03:18,670 --> 00:03:20,945 you want and why it's important to you. 50 00:03:21,545 --> 00:03:25,820 Otherwise, there's a big danger that you get feedback but it's not useful. 51 00:03:26,210 --> 00:03:29,360 And there's a really good book about feedback called, "Thanks 52 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,080 for the feedback - the science and art of receiving feedback well." 53 00:03:33,350 --> 00:03:36,500 It's written by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen. 54 00:03:36,770 --> 00:03:40,640 I'll pop a link to it in the show notes in case you'd like to take a look at it. 55 00:03:41,030 --> 00:03:45,290 And in the book they explain that when we are looking for feedback, we usually 56 00:03:45,290 --> 00:03:48,500 want one of three things, appreciation, 57 00:03:49,385 --> 00:03:51,035 coaching or evaluation. 58 00:03:51,335 --> 00:03:55,265 And when we go to someone for feedback, but don't make it clear, which most 59 00:03:55,265 --> 00:03:59,195 of us don't, which one of these it is that we're looking for, the person 60 00:03:59,195 --> 00:04:03,335 we've approached for the feedback often assumes we're looking for something else. 61 00:04:03,665 --> 00:04:07,865 And that leads to crossed wires and ends up with you feeling frustrated. 62 00:04:08,404 --> 00:04:11,194 So I'll quickly talk you through these three different types of 63 00:04:11,194 --> 00:04:12,214 feedback in a bit more detail. 64 00:04:14,104 --> 00:04:16,325 The first one was appreciation. 65 00:04:16,804 --> 00:04:19,474 Now recognition is really important. 66 00:04:19,474 --> 00:04:22,835 We all like to have our hard work acknowledged in some way. 67 00:04:23,195 --> 00:04:26,554 If you hadn't had anyone saying, "Well done", or "that was a great 68 00:04:26,554 --> 00:04:30,994 piece of work", or "Thank you", or, "I appreciate your help with that", 69 00:04:31,504 --> 00:04:36,874 it can sometimes spark a strong desire or a need to have some appreciative 70 00:04:36,874 --> 00:04:42,094 feedback or otherwise you can start to feel demotivated and a bit fed up. 71 00:04:42,859 --> 00:04:47,390 But sometimes even if you do want to have appreciation as feedback and you are 72 00:04:47,390 --> 00:04:52,580 given some appreciation, the appreciation can feel like it doesn't go far enough. 73 00:04:52,969 --> 00:04:57,710 So if you've asked for feedback and you've been told, "Oh, you're doing a great job", 74 00:04:57,710 --> 00:05:02,359 and "keep up the good work", that is a type of appreciation, but it's vague. 75 00:05:02,780 --> 00:05:06,430 You ideally want to have some more information, so you want to ask things 76 00:05:06,430 --> 00:05:08,419 like, "How am I doing a good job?" 77 00:05:08,780 --> 00:05:10,849 Or, "What is it about the work that's good?" 78 00:05:11,630 --> 00:05:15,820 Of course there are lots of times that appreciation isn't the feedback 79 00:05:15,825 --> 00:05:17,510 you're looking for or that you need. 80 00:05:17,810 --> 00:05:21,890 So for example, if you are keen to take a step up into a more senior 81 00:05:21,895 --> 00:05:26,210 role and you need feedback on how to make the move, appreciation isn't 82 00:05:26,210 --> 00:05:27,800 really going to be helpful at all. 83 00:05:27,979 --> 00:05:30,229 If you're just given appreciation as feedback, 84 00:05:30,310 --> 00:05:32,710 you are going to end up feeling a bit frustrated. 85 00:05:33,070 --> 00:05:36,580 Instead, it's more likely that you're going to want to hear one 86 00:05:36,580 --> 00:05:38,350 of the other two types of feedback. 87 00:05:38,590 --> 00:05:43,219 So the second one was, Coaching, but I'd call it coaching slash mentoring. 88 00:05:43,730 --> 00:05:47,570 This is all about being given advice or support to help you expand your 89 00:05:47,570 --> 00:05:49,310 knowledge or improve your skills. 90 00:05:49,610 --> 00:05:53,960 So thinking back to our example of wanting to take a step up into a more 91 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:59,190 senior role instead of appreciation the kind of feedback that is more likely 92 00:05:59,190 --> 00:06:04,080 to be useful is to have some advice and insights into how to make the move or 93 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,240 how to get ready to take that step up. 94 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:11,610 So useful feedback might be to be told, it would help you progress if you had 95 00:06:11,610 --> 00:06:16,110 more experience and confidence with public speaking or coaching other people, 96 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,420 or improving your data analysis skills. 97 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:24,805 Or, anything, whatever it is that could help you, and then being given some advice 98 00:06:24,805 --> 00:06:27,715 or guidance ideally on how to do this. 99 00:06:28,285 --> 00:06:32,095 The third kind of feedback covered in the book is evaluation. 100 00:06:32,395 --> 00:06:35,875 Now there is actually evaluation in all feedback. 101 00:06:36,265 --> 00:06:40,045 If you're given appreciation as feedback, for example, the implied 102 00:06:40,045 --> 00:06:43,585 evaluation is that you've done something well or you've done something good. 103 00:06:43,945 --> 00:06:48,595 If you're given coaching and mentoring, the evaluation is often sitting behind 104 00:06:48,625 --> 00:06:50,755 the advice or the encouragement given. 105 00:06:51,395 --> 00:06:55,235 but there are also times when the most useful feedback that you could 106 00:06:55,235 --> 00:07:00,155 have is going to be to tell you where you stand with something, that you 107 00:07:00,155 --> 00:07:02,405 are given some form of evaluation. 108 00:07:02,795 --> 00:07:07,445 Now, this tends to show up in the most obvious way at performance appraisal time. 109 00:07:07,715 --> 00:07:11,315 So if your organization uses a ranking system and you're given 110 00:07:11,315 --> 00:07:15,045 a number or a grade, but it shows up in lots of other ways too. 111 00:07:15,435 --> 00:07:19,395 So for example, if you are going for a promotion and you are up against a 112 00:07:19,395 --> 00:07:24,195 colleague or an external candidate, you want to know is there any point 113 00:07:24,225 --> 00:07:25,875 in you putting yourself forward? 114 00:07:26,325 --> 00:07:29,055 Where are you on that list of people? 115 00:07:29,055 --> 00:07:31,650 And when it's happened, when you've had an interview and you've gone 116 00:07:31,650 --> 00:07:36,540 through the process, you want to know, how did I do compared to the others? 117 00:07:36,540 --> 00:07:37,860 Where could I strengthen up? 118 00:07:37,860 --> 00:07:39,600 Or what did I do particularly well? 119 00:07:40,195 --> 00:07:44,785 . And of course another example is if you've started a new role, you might want to 120 00:07:44,785 --> 00:07:47,485 know, are you meeting their expectation. 121 00:07:49,210 --> 00:07:53,590 You don't want to be agonizing over am I going to pass my probation at the end of 122 00:07:53,590 --> 00:07:55,510 your probation period if you've got one. 123 00:07:56,230 --> 00:08:00,160 So once you are clear on the kind of feedback that's going to be most helpful 124 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:05,920 for you, whether that is appreciation, coaching and mentoring or evaluation, 125 00:08:06,190 --> 00:08:08,950 my second tip is to let the person know 126 00:08:09,665 --> 00:08:11,585 that you're going to be asking them for feedback. 127 00:08:11,885 --> 00:08:15,875 It's so much better for both of you if they've had even a little 128 00:08:15,875 --> 00:08:17,795 bit of time to think about it. 129 00:08:18,275 --> 00:08:21,905 We all know what it's like to have someone put us on the spot 130 00:08:21,965 --> 00:08:24,095 and our mind go completely blank. 131 00:08:24,095 --> 00:08:26,195 Well, I know that's happened to me before. 132 00:08:26,585 --> 00:08:29,675 And then that means that they're not able to do the best job of 133 00:08:29,675 --> 00:08:31,415 giving you helpful feedback. 134 00:08:31,685 --> 00:08:36,515 So help set the person up for success with their feedback delivery by 135 00:08:36,515 --> 00:08:38,265 giving them a little bit of warning. 136 00:08:39,490 --> 00:08:44,500 Then my third tip is to try to make sure you give them some context and detail. 137 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,090 Don't assume they've been paying careful attention to your work or can remember 138 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:53,680 exactly what you've been doing because of course, most people are focused on 139 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:58,120 themselves more than anyone else, and their thinking will have mainly been 140 00:08:58,150 --> 00:09:00,880 immersed in their own work, not yours. 141 00:09:01,140 --> 00:09:06,420 Certainly not all of yours, unless of course, lots of your work's impacting on 142 00:09:06,420 --> 00:09:10,440 their work and their results, but they just won't be able to remember everything. 143 00:09:10,650 --> 00:09:15,210 So try and give them that context and explain not only what kind of 144 00:09:15,215 --> 00:09:19,770 feedback is going to be helpful for you, but remind them of what it is that 145 00:09:19,770 --> 00:09:23,520 you've been doing that's relevant to the feedback you're asking them for. 146 00:09:24,290 --> 00:09:29,140 Then my next tip is to use open questions instead of closed questions. 147 00:09:29,380 --> 00:09:33,460 So by open questions, I mean questions that can't be answered with a 148 00:09:33,460 --> 00:09:38,500 simple "yes" or "no" when the person responds to you, because that means 149 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:42,880 you are much more likely to get a more detailed piece of feedback 150 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:45,790 and therefore more useful feedback. 151 00:09:46,450 --> 00:09:50,385 To help explain what I mean here are some examples of fairly 152 00:09:50,385 --> 00:09:52,005 generic feedback questions. 153 00:09:52,010 --> 00:09:55,575 So you might want to use one of these, or you might want to come up with your 154 00:09:55,575 --> 00:10:00,135 own one that's much more specific for the feedback that you would like to have. 155 00:10:00,140 --> 00:10:02,745 But here are some open-ended examples. 156 00:10:03,645 --> 00:10:06,375 "What are some areas where you think I'm doing well?" 157 00:10:07,215 --> 00:10:09,605 "How do you think I could improve in my role?" 158 00:10:10,635 --> 00:10:14,655 "What do you think I should start doing, stop doing or continue doing?" 159 00:10:15,675 --> 00:10:18,695 "How do you think I can contribute to the team's success?" 160 00:10:19,725 --> 00:10:22,405 "What do you think are my biggest strengths and how can I 161 00:10:22,835 --> 00:10:24,175 leverage them more effectively?" 162 00:10:25,435 --> 00:10:28,585 "How do you think I can improve my communication with colleagues, 163 00:10:28,585 --> 00:10:30,175 clients, or stakeholders?" 164 00:10:31,375 --> 00:10:34,555 "What other feedback or insights do you have that can help me 165 00:10:34,555 --> 00:10:36,505 grow and develop in my role?" 166 00:10:37,675 --> 00:10:42,025 My next tip is to be mindful of your reaction to the feedback that 167 00:10:42,025 --> 00:10:46,735 you are given, and thank the person who gives it to you, even if it 168 00:10:46,735 --> 00:10:48,115 isn't what you wanted to hear. 169 00:10:48,685 --> 00:10:52,825 If you disagree with what they tell you initially, ask them some more open-ended 170 00:10:52,825 --> 00:10:56,845 questions to try to get a better understanding of their point of view and 171 00:10:56,845 --> 00:10:58,705 how they've arrived at their thinking. 172 00:10:59,145 --> 00:11:03,415 Otherwise, if you bristle, you get cross or you dismiss 173 00:11:03,415 --> 00:11:04,945 their feedback or you start. 174 00:11:05,270 --> 00:11:07,340 "But, but you don't know. 175 00:11:07,340 --> 00:11:08,510 You don't understand." 176 00:11:08,810 --> 00:11:13,790 You're going to hugely reduce your chances of getting any useful feedback 177 00:11:13,795 --> 00:11:16,730 from them in the future because they're going to be worried about your 178 00:11:16,730 --> 00:11:19,130 reaction and not wanting to upset you. 179 00:11:20,425 --> 00:11:25,525 That brings us along to my final tip, and that is one that often isn't talked 180 00:11:25,525 --> 00:11:29,755 about with feedback when it comes to our careers, and that is the benefit 181 00:11:29,785 --> 00:11:33,775 it can have for your career when it comes to getting buy-in for your ideas. 182 00:11:34,225 --> 00:11:37,225 If you've ever been involved in any change management, you'll 183 00:11:37,230 --> 00:11:39,145 probably have learned or realized. 184 00:11:39,420 --> 00:11:43,410 What a massive difference it makes to involve other people in your plans 185 00:11:43,410 --> 00:11:45,381 and ask for their feedback and input. 186 00:11:45,780 --> 00:11:49,319 If they're giving you their ideas, their feedback, their suggestions, 187 00:11:49,410 --> 00:11:54,030 right from the very beginning of your project or your initiative, they are 188 00:11:54,030 --> 00:11:57,689 so much more likely to be on board with it when it's the polished, 189 00:11:57,689 --> 00:11:59,699 finished version ready to launch. 190 00:12:00,180 --> 00:12:04,620 So if you want to launch a new project, you want to get buy-in for a new policy, 191 00:12:04,890 --> 00:12:09,840 or you want to have the senior leadership team on board with your new HR strategy 192 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:14,790 or People plan, involving them and asking them for their feedback is going to 193 00:12:14,790 --> 00:12:19,230 hugely increase your chances of being successful later on down the line. 194 00:12:20,355 --> 00:12:24,465 This is a big switch in behaviour I often see when someone moves into a 195 00:12:24,465 --> 00:12:29,145 more senior role and it can feel a bit uncomfortable at first because when we 196 00:12:29,145 --> 00:12:33,225 were all at school, we were conditioned to just keep on working on something 197 00:12:33,225 --> 00:12:38,700 until we got it perfect and then submit it so we could get an A, but of course 198 00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:40,860 that isn't how the world of work works. 199 00:12:40,890 --> 00:12:45,150 It's certainly not how it works as you progress in your role and start 200 00:12:45,150 --> 00:12:47,910 finding yourself moving up the ranks. 201 00:12:48,300 --> 00:12:52,980 It's pretty unusual that you can just beaver away on a strategy or a plan 202 00:12:52,980 --> 00:12:57,660 or a process on your own and then put it in front of everyone else and 203 00:12:57,660 --> 00:13:01,620 expect to get their buy-in and have them admiring how fantastic it is. 204 00:13:02,170 --> 00:13:06,189 Instead, if you make sure you're getting feedback along the way, you are much 205 00:13:06,189 --> 00:13:10,599 more likely to have everyone saying how fabulous it is and how well bought into it 206 00:13:10,599 --> 00:13:15,729 they are because they can see that you've taken their input on board and they've 207 00:13:15,729 --> 00:13:18,159 been able to get used to the idea of it. 208 00:13:18,736 --> 00:13:21,766 So that brings us to the end of the episode today. 209 00:13:21,796 --> 00:13:23,956 I really hope that you found it helpful. 210 00:13:24,286 --> 00:13:28,426 Please do let me know how you get on with putting any of the ideas into 211 00:13:28,426 --> 00:13:30,646 action if you decide to give them a try. 212 00:13:31,066 --> 00:13:34,396 And it's my turn to ask for feedback from you. 213 00:13:35,236 --> 00:13:40,006 . If you have been enjoying the show and finding it useful, I would be hugely 214 00:13:40,006 --> 00:13:44,926 grateful if you could rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for me. 215 00:13:45,376 --> 00:13:48,016 Thank you so much if you do go ahead and do that. 216 00:13:48,106 --> 00:13:52,316 It makes such a big difference in encouraging the podcasting platforms 217 00:13:52,486 --> 00:13:56,956 to suggest the show to other HR and People professionals who might 218 00:13:56,956 --> 00:13:58,456 not have come across it before. 219 00:13:58,786 --> 00:14:02,326 And I would just love to help as many people as possible 220 00:14:02,476 --> 00:14:04,336 with this free weekly podcast. 221 00:14:04,726 --> 00:14:06,226 So thank you so much. 222 00:14:06,286 --> 00:14:10,516 Have a great week, and I will be back again next week on Friday 223 00:14:10,516 --> 00:14:12,196 with the next episode for you.