The Feedback Report

From a professional and personal development perspective the Feedback Report is as important as the questionnaire. The goal of this document, and related discussions, should be to provide participants with information that will help them develop strategies to capitalize on their strengths and resolve gaps in performance or perception. To do this, the report must clearly and concisely summarize ratings, identify priorities, and list comments. Here are factors to consider when developing or selecting a feedback report: 

1. Clearly explain how to interpret the results.

• Explain how many responses were received, and the criteria for inclusion/exclusion of data.
• Provide examples of report data, with supporting comments to explain how the charts and summaries work, and what the responses might imply.
• Suggest how to compare data from different parts of the report to facilitate action planning.
• Designate a contact to answer questions about the report.

2. Establish how feedback will be displayed.

• We favour a series of bar charts, supported by the actual numbers, which compare averaged results from each respondent group, for each questionnaire item.  We don’t compare results to group averages of industry norms, as we feel the primary comparison should be between the participant’s and respondents’ responses.
• We also indicate the number of individuals, by respondent group, who have selected given questionnaire items as priorities, by actual frequency of selection and percentage of all priorities selected.
• We provide a transcript of all qualitative comments, grouped by respondent group and the nature of the question – i.e., start, stop and continue.

3. Be concise. The opportunity to tabulate and interpret the wealth of data in many different ways is tempting, but a complex report can be overwhelming for the reader, particularly if they’re receiving feedback that doesn’t match their perception. Consider how inclusion of a particular table or summary will facilitate interpretation. If it won’t add anything to the report, or the participant’s development, drop it.