Unstructured team feedback quickly turns into chaos— slowing progress instead of driving it. When you hire an outside creative agency, like Creative Repute, whether it’s for web design, marketing materials, social media content creation, or any number of other creative goals— providing clear, concise feedback is essential for a successful project and partnership.
That being said, as a manager or leader, chances are that you are not the sole individual who will be providing input. As a manager or leader, it can also be difficult to balance making sure your teams’ feedback is heard while honoring the purpose and creativity of an outside agency like Creative Repute. Many members of your team may also not come from a marketing or creative background, and struggle to understand when oversight and allowances for creative freedom are best employed during a project. However, successfully collecting team feedback can help ensure all stakeholders feel heard, keep project timelines on track, and result in better overall creative output.
So what happens when you need to gather and distill thoughts and feedback from various stakeholders across your organization? Without taking the right approach, it can quickly become an overwhelming task. Here are some tips for effectively and efficiently collecting feedback –
Determine a “Point-Person.”
Appoint one individual to be the designated collector and communicator. This person will be responsible for consolidating and conveying the thoughts of the group, in addition to relaying any questions or concerns the group may have. Whenever possible, this person should be someone who excels in communication-related tasks and iswell organized. Ultimately, this individual should also be “the decider” – presenting a singular client voice whenever possible and speaking for the group. They may need to consult “higher ups” or leadership within their own organization, but they remain the voice of the group nonetheless. It is also important that this individual filters out unnecessary or unwarranted information and feedback.
Collect it all in one place.
Use a singular collection point for everyone’s thoughts. This can be done using a number of tools. What’s important is that it is all collected in one place, and easy to access and use for all team members. A designated avenue for feedback can also encourage participants to be more to-the-point with their thoughts and prevent extra “noise.” According to research done by Slack, tools that encourage and collect collaborative feedback from teams can also increase worker productivity by 20-25%. Some examples of tools/places you can use to collect feedback are:A designated Slack channel
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- Pros: good for quick, brainstorming-style feedback
- Cons: can get noisy quickly
- A Google Sheets/Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet
- Pros: organized, well suited for brief feedback
- Cons: doesn’t allow much space for discussion or elaboration
- An anonymous online “feedback box”
- Pros: allows team members to provide feedback without fear of judgement
- Cons: can make it difficult to follow up on or inquire further about feedback
- A Google or Microsoft survey/form
- Pros: offers ability to list specific prompts for specific feedback
- Cons: makes it difficult to invite further discussion or elaboration
- A singular email thread
- Pros: invites and allows space for longer-form feedback
- Cons: can be difficult to keep track of and identify specific feedback or requests
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Set clear guidelines and criteria for feedback.
Whenever possible, list the exact aspects of a project that the feedback should be in response to. Are you gathering responses on the way something looks? Then feedback should stick to aesthetic-related thoughts and concerns. Wondering if the message of a given asset is clear and well communicated? Ask for thoughts on the copy. Want to know if your website has “bugs” or technical faults? Ask for specific examples of exact errors and proof (screenshots with information on what screen-size the website was reviewed on, etc.) Typically, the most useful feedback is specific, detailed, and backed up by data or real anecdotal evidence.
Navigate Conflicting Feedback.
Conflicting feedback is common in creative projects. A point-person should acknowledge all input, understand each team member’s intent, and guide decisions based on brand standards and project goals. When possible, they should come up with compromises or creative solutions for conflicting feedback; when not, they should justify choices with clear reasoning or evidence. Explaining how feedback was considered and recognizing contributions will help bridge gaps as well, and ensure everyone feels heard and collaboration stays productive.
How a member of your leadership team can navigate feedback from multiple stakeholders:
A client with multiple groups of stakeholders had a “point-person” who was new to their role in leadership. This leader wanted to make sure all parties felt heard, but struggled to bridge the gap between the stakeholder groups and their conflicting perspectives. This resulted in an endless loop of revision requests that never quite executed everyone’s goals. Creative Repute was able to provide this leader with evidence they could leverage for more objective decision making from all involved parties. In this case, the leader was able to leverage how different color combinations did or did not meet accessibility checks to narrow down the options. Creative Repute also encouraged the leader to ultimately delegate final decision making to a few key stakeholders such as themselves and other organization leaders. Combining these two approaches enabled the leader to move forward with making decisions while still receiving input from other invested parties/ Now, the leader makes the final decision, and Creative Repute equips them with clear criteria and supporting evidence to share with stakeholders.
Define the deadline.
A “due date” is important for both gathering and sharing feedback. Piece-meal feedback can be difficult to keep track of, account for, and address. A clear deadline for feedback can help prompt participation from team members who may not be involved with the project directly as a part of their own day-to-day work flow, and ensure their input is included. It’s also good to keep in mind that a longer timeline for collecting the teams’ thoughts isn’t always better – sometimes only allowing for a shortwindow of feedback can encourage folks to participate more immediately, and be succinct with their responses. The overall project timeline will help decide how longfeedback windows should be.
Be sure to look both ways.
Provide both positive and neutral or negative feedback. Relaying only positive feedback can result in mistakes going overlooked or unaddressed, and often leaves out key context. Only communicating negative feedback can lead to the agency making changes to aspects you already like or approve of, and can also add to a general feeling of frustration.
These tips can greatly improve the flow of feedback. Efficient and effective feedback helps ensure everyone feels their thoughts and opinions are accounted for, and prevent “passing comments” from slipping through the cracks.
Working with an outside creative agency like Creative Repute can be incredibly useful and cost effective. Our agency, Creative Repute, can help develop a more in-depth approach to your outlined goal, provide outside perspectives and expertise, and dedicate specific resources to your creative endeavor. However, providing valuable feedback as a team is crucial to project success. Using the tips outlined above can help any team communicate their feedback more effectively.
Transform scattered feedback into streamlined collaboration: Creative Repute will design a customized plan for you that keeps your project moving forward with clarity and focus. Reach out today to bring your vision to life with our expertise.