| | NOVEMBER 20218CIOReviewIN MY OPINION"You've got a feedback request!" Messages like this are increasingly likely to pop up on your devices. From large to small, people management platforms and even apps are integrating feedback-giving features into their offerings. And the excitement around using technology to give feedback is easy to understand. Traditionally feedback takes time, requires personal judgment, and is often, frankly, uncomfortable. With options for digitalization plentiful in this area, it is appropriate to ask, is leveraging technology to give feedback the right thing to do?Feedback is information. Information lends itself easily to digitalization. 360-degree feedback platforms collect anonymous inputs about an individual's performance and behaviors from different groups of stakeholders in a matter of a few days or weeks. The 5 stars you have just given to your Uber driver is feedback, and the app will ask you to break it down further: driving skills, car cleanliness, politeness, etc. Similar tactics can be used in other contexts.However, there are caveats. Feedback is highly contextual. It can be emotional. People can be impervious to it. It can hurt more than help. Many organizations try to reduce this complexity. Rightfully so. We are similarly partial to models that make complex simple (e.g., the 3 Cs of performance: competence, characteristics, and context) or helpful formulae (e.g., the three-step FairTalk statement). But simple is not the same as simplistic. As we wrote in an article published in the MIT Sloan Management Review, attempts to make people management processes simplistic are likely to lead to decreased performance. So, the balance between the right and the smart is important. The right is knowing the science of performance and holding fast to the proven principles of soliciting, giving, and receiving feedback. The smart is being pragmatic and adjusting the approach to the specific needs of your organization. We offer three considerations for using technology in fostering a stronger feedback culture. 1. Not all feedback is created equal.For some stuff, crowdsourced digitally-enabled feedback is great. For other things, it can be lethal. For instance, if you are working on your presentation skills, getting opinions from the audience about the effectiveness of your presentation delivered just a moment ago is a fantastic way to improve. However, imagine that your biggest development area is trustworthiness. First, it's much more difficult to assess. Second, others may be wary of giving you honest feedback precisely for that reason.For developing competencies like strategic agility, you primarily need feedback from your superiors, as your subordinates (and even peers) may lack the "helicopter view" to assess correctly your ability in that area and give you fair feedback. Naturally, it is more difficult to get feedback from senior leaders via an app.2. AI in feedback is promising but still needs the human touch. There is a reason why many AI-enabled assessments are not mainstream yet. While promising, they fail to take into account all the critical factors of human performance, and, therefore, arrive at misplaced conclusions. That was the reason, for example, for Amazon to can its AI-enabled recruitment platform. Robots are still unable to account for organizational politics. But they can fairly accurately assess intelligence and personality. Robots get confused by metaphors, sarcasm, and THREE CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED FEEDBACKBy Angela Lane, Vice President, Global Talent & Sergey Gorbatov, Director, General Manager Development, Abbvie [NYSE:ABBV]Angela Lane
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