Event Feedback Collection

If you’re an operations manager at a tech company, your “beta testing process” is probably just… vibes. Does this sound familiar?👇 → You want to try a new feature or service → You pick a few customers from memory → You send some emails → You hope they say yes → You hope they remember to give feedback You hope you can find that feedback later A lot of hope. Not a lot of system. Here’s the part nobody says out loud: Beta testing isn’t just for products. It’s ANY new way of doing business. • New pricing. • New onboarding. • New way you invoice. • New way you communicate with customers. All of that should be tested. But not manually. Do this instead: 1) Pick the right customers (on purpose, not by memory) Use your CRM (Salesforce, ideally) to: • Find customers who are a strong fit for the change • Or flag the next 5–10 new customers to go through the new experience Stop scrolling through lists. Let the system tell you who to invite. 2) Automate invites and reminders One email is not a process. Set up a simple flow that: • Sends a clear beta invite • Tracks who accepts • Sends 1-5 spaced out reminders to people who never opened or replied No manual follow-up. No spamming good customers. 3) Collect feedback in a structured way Feedback in random email threads = lost. Use a short form or survey that: • Is easy to answer • Feeds straight into Salesforce • Attaches to the Contact or Account So when you pull up a customer, you can see: “What did they think about this beta?” Without digging. 4) Use data to decide what happens next When the beta is done, you should be able to answer: • Did customers like this? • Did it make things easier or harder? • Should we roll it out to everyone, tweak it, or kill it? No more “I think it went fine” based on two loud opinions. If you’re an operations manager at a tech company and you want beta testing to feel like a system, not a guess, I broke down the full flow (step-by-step, inside Salesforce) in a short YouTube video. 👉 Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/gHK2q4nf

Being nicer won’t fix your feedback problem. Neither will being harsh. Because the issue isn't your message. It's your framework. Behavior correction needs a different approach than positive reinforcement. Coaching conversations require a different structure than performance reviews. Here are the 6 frameworks that turn feedback into development opportunities: 1️⃣ PREP: For Behavior Correction Point → Reason → Example → Point State what needs to change. Explain why it matters. Give proof.  Restate what needs to change. "Client emails need 24-hour response. When it takes days, we risk deals. The client escalated after 5 days of silence. Same-day or next-day response going forward." 2️⃣ BOOST: For Positive Reinforcement Behavior-focused → Observable → Specific → Timely Not this: "Great presentation." This: "You opened with revenue impact, then gave 3 clear options with trade-offs. That helped the board decide fast. Do that every time." Tell them what to repeat. 3️⃣ GROW: For Coaching Conversations Goal → Reality → Options → Will What do they want to achieve? Where are they now? What could they try? What will they commit to? Ask, don't tell. Your job is to guide their thinking. 4️⃣ CEDAR: For Difficult Feedback Context → Examples → Diagnosis → Action → Review "Three Q4 deliverables came in late. This pattern is impacting the team's ability to plan. If you can't meet a deadline, I need 48 hours' notice. We'll review in 2 weeks." Name the pattern. Set clear expectations. Follow up. 5️⃣ FEED: For Real-Time Feedback Facts → Effects → Expectations → Development "You interrupted twice in that meeting. The client couldn't finish, so we missed information. Let them complete their answer. This builds your listening skills." Immediate feedback = immediate behavior change. 6️⃣ SBI: For Trust-Building Feedback Situation → Behavior → Impact "In today's meeting, you credited the design team for the win. That built trust and showed you share credit." Separate observation from interpretation. These frameworks work because leaders stop avoiding hard conversations, Teams know exactly what success looks like. And the business performance improves because feedback actually changes behavior. If your people know you care about their growth, they'll receive tough feedback as a gift. If they sense you're checking a box, no framework will save you. So start with one framework. Master it. Then add the next. And watch your team's confidence, performance, and trust in your leadership grow. If you want the complete system for difficult conversations and feedback that builds trust while driving performance... LeaderOS, my Leadership Accelerator, breaks down everything. The frameworks, the delivery, the timing, and the follow-through. Secure your spot here: https://bit.ly/TheLeaderOS ♻️ Repost this for leaders who need better feedback frameworks. And follow me, Cicely Simpson, for leadership systems that develop leaders and teams.

The meeting ended. My manager said I seemed "checked out." I wasn't. I was still processing the first question. Most feedback conversations are designed for people who think out loud. The manager talks. The employee responds in real time. Reactions are read on the spot. The whole thing moves fast. Whoever speaks quickest tends to come across as most engaged. For introverts, that format is a trap. After 20+ years in HR, I've seen this pattern repeat itself. Introverts are often the most precise feedback givers in the room. They've already observed the pattern. Thought about the impact. Chosen their words carefully. But the format rarely gives that process room to work. A few things that change this: 1. Send a short reflection prompt 24 hours before. One or two questions. Give people time to think before they have to speak. 2. Start with what you observed, not what you concluded. "I noticed you went quiet in the last three team meetings" lands differently than "I think you're disengaging." The first opens a conversation. The second closes one. 3. Leave silence after asking a question. Most managers fill the gap within four seconds. That's not enough time for someone who processes internally. Wait longer than feels comfortable. 4. Follow up in writing after the conversation. For introverts on the receiving end, this is where the real reflection happens. A short message summarising what was said gives them something to respond to properly. Feedback isn't just a conversation. It's a format. And the format can work for more people than it currently does. Which of these four would have changed your last review? ------ More frameworks like this in my brand new weekly Linkedin Newsletter launching Saturday April 11th. Watch out for it through a notification in your inbox. ----- ♻️ Repost if someone on your team processes before they speak. ➕Follow me (Steven Claes) for more on introvert leadership and workplace dynamics.

During my formative years, I followed the traditional feedback formula: begin with compliments, provide criticism, and conclude with support. However, I left behind this "feedback sandwich" (or compliment cushioning) method many years ago. The issue? This method weakens significant messages. When encased in praise, constructive criticism diminishes its effectiveness. Even more troubling, team members come to expect criticism whenever you begin with compliments("Here comes the 'but'..."). An improved approach: Be straightforward and precise: I begin with the specific action or result that requires attention. There is no introduction, only clarity. Emphasise effect: I describe how the particular behaviour influences results, team dynamics, or business performance. Present as growth: I view feedback as a chance for progress instead of a personal critique. Collaborate actively: I inquire about their viewpoint and collectively explore solutions. My perspective may overlook something. Separate praise entirely. I offer genuine praise independently. My constructive feedback stands on its merit—never as a softening prelude to criticism.

Ensuring Students Act on Feedback Feedback is only as valuable as the action students take in response to it. Too often, feedback becomes a passive exchange,teachers give comments, students glance at them, and then move on to the next task without making meaningful improvements. To truly accelerate progress, we need to create structures that ensure feedback leads to independent development. Here’s how: 1. Build Dedicated Feedback Lessons into Your Scheme of Work If feedback is to be effective, there must be time for students to engage with it properly. This means moving beyond a quick ‘read your comments’ approach and embedding dedicated feedback lessons into the scheme of work. By protecting this time within the curriculum, feedback becomes a continuous, structured process rather than an afterthought. 2. Use Targeted and Specific Feedback Vague comments like ‘be more analytical’ or ‘develop your explanation’ don’t give students a clear direction. Instead, feedback should be precise and actionable. For example: • Before: ‘Your analysis is weak.’ • After: ‘To strengthen your analysis, explain why this event was significant and link it to a wider consequence.’ Or Pose questions to help students develop their answer or guide them to the correct knowledge. Pairing feedback with examples or sentence starters can help students apply improvements more effectively. 3. Teach Students How to Use Feedback Students need to be explicitly taught how to engage with feedback. This includes: • Modelling the process – Show students how to act on feedback by walking them through a worked example. • Guiding self-reflection – Use prompts like, ‘How does my answer compare to the model? Where can I improve?’ • Encouraging peer support – Structured peer review can help students identify strengths and areas for development before teacher intervention. I often like to highlight a weak paragraph in a green box so students know what area to precisely improve/re-write, as you can see below. 4. Use Feedback Trackers to Monitor Progress Instead of feedback disappearing into exercise books, encourage students to keep a feedback tracker where they record teacher comments and their own reflections. They can then set targets for the next piece of work and review previous feedback to ensure they’re improving over time. Feedback is most powerful when it becomes part of the learning process, not just an add-on. By allocating time in the curriculum for feedback lessons, making guidance explicit, and encouraging students to take ownership, we can transform feedback from words on a page into meaningful improvement. The ultimate goal? Students who no longer just receive feedback, but actively use it to progress.

We overhauled the way we do feedback, and it’s transformed the company. Here’s how: We are kind of obsessed with feedback at Koru Kids. I think it’s essential to personal development and teamwork. But it took us a few iterations to land on a great system. Initially, we tried written 360 degree feedback. This had 4 problems: 1. People didn’t write that much - you don’t get much detail or many examples 2. And you can’t ask follow up questions when it’s written 3. Negative stuff came across really harsh at times, which was dispiriting 4. Plus there’s just something about writing stuff down that makes people go weirdly formal All in all, it wasn’t the empowering, trust-building experience we wanted it to be. So we tried an experiment, and we’ve never looked back. These days, all our feedback is given ‘live’ in a session held every quarter. - The subject decides who to ask for feedback, and gives them some questions to think about - Then, on the day, the subject sits in a private Zoom with their manager - One by one, each colleague comes in and answers the questions - The manager’s role is to take notes and manage the Zoom waiting room so the subject can concentrate on listening - At the end, the subject and the manager discuss the ‘themes’ that have emerged in the session Doing it like this has solved ALL FOUR of our problems: → It’s easier to speak than write, so people give WAY more detail → We can ask clarifying questions, so we really understand the feedback → People still give ‘constructive’ feedback, but they phrase it gently so it lands far better → The whole interaction feels very real, which builds trust I find new joiners usually dread their first feedback session…. but feel AMAZING afterwards. There’s nothing like knowing that you know exactly what’s on your team’s mind about your work. For a taste of this, check out the message Rebecca shared on our internal Slack. (Shared with permission.) I love creating people systems that make the world happier. Feel free to steal this one! What’s been your experience with feedback? 🔄 Repost to share the idea, and follow Rachel Carrell for more like this