Feedback Communication
Receivers are not just passive absorbers of messages; they receive the message and
respond to them. This response of a receiver to sender’s message is called Feedback.
Sometimes a feedback could be a non-verbal smiles, sighs etc. Sometimes it is oral, as
when you react to a colleague’s ideas with questions or comments. Feedback can also
be written like - replying to an e-mail, etc.
Feedback is your audience’s response; it enables you to evaluate the effectiveness of
your message. If your audience doesn’t understand what you mean, you can tell by the
response and then refine the message accordingly.
Giving your audience a chance to provide feedback is crucial for maintaining an open
communication climate. The manager must create an environment that encourages
feedback. For example after explaining the job to the subordinated he must ask them
whether they have understood it or not. He should ask questions like “Do you
understand?”, “Do you have any doubts?” etc. At the same time he must allow his
subordinated to express their views also.
Feedback is essential in communication so as to know whether the recipient has
understood the message in the same terms as intended by the sender and whether he
agrees to that message or not.
There are lot of ways in which company takes feedback from their employees, such as
: Employee surveys, memos, emails, open-door policies, company news letter etc.
Employees are not always willing to provide feedback. The organization has to work
a lot to get the accurate feedback. The managers encourage feedback by asking
specific questions, allowing their employees to express general views, etc. The
organization should be receptive to their employee’s feedback.
A manger should ensure that a feedback should:
1. Focus on a particular behaviour - It should be specific rather than being
general.
2. Impersonal - Feedback should be job related, the manager should not criticize
anyone personally.
3. Goal oriented - If we have something negative to say about the person, we
should always direct it to the recipients goal.
4. Well timed - Feedback is most effective when there is a short gap between the
recipients behaviour and the receipt of that feedback.
5. Use “I” statements - Manager should make use of statements with the words
like “I”, “However” etc. For example instead of saying”You were absent from
work yesterday”, manager should say”I was annoyes when you missed your
work yesterday”.
6. Ensure understanding - For feedback to be effective, the manager should make
sure that the recipients understands the feedback properly.
7. While giving negative feedback to the recipient, the manager should not
mention the factors which are not in control of the recipient.
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/feedback_communication.htm