Directing Feedback to Meet Strategic Objectives

Every business has a set of strategic objectives that guide its decision-making and operations. Whether it’s increasing revenue, improving customer satisfaction, or developing new products, these objectives are critical to the success of the business. But how do you ensure that your operations are aligned with these objectives? The answer is through feedback.

The feedback management cycle.

By gathering feedback from appropriate stakeholders and analyzing the responses, businesses can gain valuable insights that help them make more informed decisions and achieve their strategic objectives. Here’s a sequence of steps to follow:

Identify Your Objectives.

The first step is to identify your strategic objectives. What are the key goals that your business is trying to achieve? For example, if your objective is to improve customer satisfaction, you’ll want to gather feedback from your customers to determine how well you’re meeting their needs.

Determine Your Stakeholders.

Once you’ve identified your objectives, you’ll need to determine who the appropriate stakeholders are. These might include customers, employees, vendors, or other key partners. For example, if your objective is to improve product quality, you might gather feedback from your employees who work in the manufacturing process.

Ask the Right Questions.

When gathering feedback, it’s important to ask the right questions. Be specific about the information you’re seeking and make sure that the questions are relevant to your strategic objectives. For example, if your objective is to improve customer satisfaction, you might ask questions like “How would you rate your overall experience with our product/service?” or “Did our product/service meet your expectations?”

Analyze the Responses.

Once you’ve gathered a reasonable amount of feedback, it’s time to analyze the responses. Look for patterns and trends in the data that can help you identify areas for improvement. For example, if customers consistently rate your product as being difficult to use, you might consider making changes to the user interface or providing additional training for customers.

Devise and Implement a Solution.

Based on the feedback you’ve received, devise a solution that addresses the issues identified in the data. Make sure that the solution is aligned with your strategic objectives and that it’s feasible to implement. Once you’ve developed a plan, implement it and track the results to ensure that it’s having the desired impact.

Rinse and Repeat.

Finally, it’s important to remember that gathering feedback is an ongoing process. Continuously gather feedback and make adjustments to your operations as needed to ensure that you’re meeting your strategic objectives.

The stats.

According to a survey by Deloitte, 68% of businesses believe that feedback is critical to improving performance. Another study found that companies that actively gather and respond to feedback are 40% more likely to have above-average customer satisfaction ratings. By directing feedback to meet your strategic objectives, you can gain valuable insights that help you make more informed decisions, improve performance, and ultimately achieve your goals.