![]() Be Receptive and Respond Wellīeing receptive to feedback is a crucial part of collaboration. But these forms of communication can quickly get confusing and time-consuming.īy making it simple for your stakeholders, with purpose-built tools, you can effectively share information, tasks and updates. Ensure they have the right tools to keep the back-and-forth quick and effective.Įmail, shared documents, phone calls, and team video conferencing can all be useful communication methods for certain tasks. Any time someone has to download anything, sign up, or learn a challenging new software, it adds potential delays to your project. Removing friction is essential for simplicity. The more time spent on figuring out how to tackle your ask, the longer it will take to start (or possibly just give up). Once you’ve tackled the clear ask, make it simple for the receiver to take their next step(s). This is simpler with an online communication tool that’s easily accessible to everyone involved. Ideally, plan how you will tackle the review and approval process before starting your project, with all stakeholders buying in. To use another cliche, an ounce of prevention is a pound of the cure. Everyone wants the project to succeed, so don’t be afraid to request clarification if you’re unsure of what’s expected. Ask the right questions if you need clarification on something. Is it creative input from stakeholders? A general review of visuals and graphics? Final approval from the project’s decision-maker?Ī good question is half the answer. Before reaching out to request revisions, consider what you hope to gain from it. Getting quality feedback on projects starts with knowing who, when, and how to ask for it. Here are 4 steps to deliver significant improvements to the quality, clarity, coordination and accountability of the communication. So how do you set up feedback systems that cover all 4 of the aforementioned pillars? Without accountability there is no learning. Accountability: Who does what? Why was it done a certain way? Without transparency, issues are bound to repeat themselves and result in avoidable mistakes.For example, finding the latest version of a file can sometimes become a guessing game and relies on messy title conventions. Retrieving information and versions can also be an issue. Coordination: Moving communication with stakeholders across silos, such as different tools, meetings, and emails, can result in confusion.For example, think about the last time you got notes on a video project via email - and it contained multiple timestamps saying “cut here”. This is especially important with visual references. Clarity: Ideally, all forms of communications, especially requests or updates, are accurate and clear.Quality: On the most basic level, you want revision suggestions, questions, and conversations to be relevant and informed.To get there, there are a few key considerations that you’ll need to address. On the flip side, it isn’t that difficult to update your creative communication process. You and the client are often unsatisfied with the creative output.ĭo you recognize any of these symptoms? If you identify with them it’s time to take a look how your creative workflow.There is no clear connection between the requests and who must act on them.You find your team redoing revision tasks because they were poorly communicated.There’s often a need to return to someone for clarification.You lose or miss comments and notes from stakeholders.Is it the person’s fault that they missed a deadline, or was the process too complicated?īefore getting to the solution, there are a few key problem areas that you might recognize if you’ve ever had a broken creative workflow: ![]() ![]() We’ve all been there Project delays, finger-pointing, disgruntled clients and teams… These are often the signs that there is something wrong with how we are communicating around a project.Īll too often, perhaps because we can be so used to it, we ignore the symptoms of a broken feedback process or misattribute it. So how do you build a system for gathering accurate, timely, and useful feedback from key stakeholders? The Symptoms of Poor Feedback Adapting your approach can be simple and significantly boost the quality of your deliverables. Your clients are already providing revision comments and suggestions. That is, until it becomes an impossible-to-ignore problem that chips away at your project's success.Īddressing the review and approval process doesn’t require a “digital transformation”. How you gather and manage comments or revisions is so often overlooked. One habit that can be especially painful when poorly addressed, is getting good feedback. Stacked with the habits of colleagues, organizations, stakeholders, and clients, change is all the more challenging. Our work habits have been honed through years to decades of professional experience.
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