How to use Feedback Journey

So you have been with your new team for about three months. You probably have demonstrated some great skills, and sometimes you have shown to everyone that you are still the new guy, as you have misunderstood some fundamentals with the new working environment. It has been three months, and you must think they they have gotten an impression. It is time for feedback!

The First Survey

I tink that after about three months with a new team, it is good to have the first survey. They have gotten to know you, they know that you are probably not at you peak performance, but you should have had the chance to prove your worth and started to build relations.

It is a good time for verifying your own impression against evidence.

For this first survey, keep in mind that your colleagues don't know you yet, so you might want to invite only the ones you are working most closly with. The purpose is primarily to check off that you have had a good start and are heading in the right direction. Also, it is good to have some pointers on the road ahead, trying to figure out what you should focus on to contribute the most.

So you create the survey and invite as many colleagues that are working close with you as possible. In the days ahead, you should follow-up and make sure to thank the ones that answers, and genrly remind the ones that does not. You might also want to make sure that they read the email. Hopefully most everyone will answer after some light nudging.

Learning From the Results

When the survey ends and you have hopefully gotten most answers, it is time to investigate the results and see if there is anything from learn from them.

Looking at the scores you should ask yourself:

• Are the results as you would expect them to be?
• What in the results are surprising?
• What do you think is the reason why the people responded as they did?
• What else do I need to think about when seeing the results?

Maybe you also got some qualitative feedback or recomendations? What do you think about them?

You should save your reflections with the survey.

After you have reflected on the results, are there any conversations you would like to arrange?

Setting up conversations with individuals that provided interesting feedback is a good idea. Then you can sort out potential misunderstandings, have them elaborate on things you wonder about, or simply achknowledge their input and thank them for taking the time to respond to you.

Imrpovement

After collecting the data and having the follow-up conversations, it is time to use your learnings to set an improvement goal.

There are a lot of things to consider when deciding which improvement area you want to focus on:

• In what question do you have the lowest score?
• You don't have to improve your lowest score. How about the most surprising?
• Are there any low-hanging fruits in some of the areas?
• In what areas are you motivated to improve?

When registering a goal, you are asked to describe: The goal itself, the current situation and the plan to acheive it.

Writing these things down is good for getting a grip on the way ahead, and you should put some effort into this work. Involving a coach or supporter in this activity could be a good idea.

Once the goal is registered, only the hard parts are left! You should revisit the goal, put some reflections into the notes and comments frequently. You could also change the goal if you think that your focus areas should be changed, or you could create more goals and work with them simultaneously.

When you set up new surveys, they will be available to you in the goal screen, so that you easily can track progress.

The Feedback Loop

When the goal period reaches the end, it is time to conclude it. Compare the results of the surveys you have had during the period and consider the trends when deciding if the goal has been a success or if it is still unfulfulled.

If the goal is successful is purposefully a qualitative decision, and you are the person with the best infomration about the relationships you have built, and the results you have acheived during the goal period. Setting the goal may nudge you in a certain direction, and it is possible that you have had great progress, which is not necessarily reflected in your socre.

Finally, when you have put in your final reflections in describing the results, you should set up a new survey, to identify your next improvement area. That is how you do continuous improvement with Feedback Journey!