Feedback is Critical to
Improving Performance
"You're cold! Now
you're getting warmer! You're HOT!" Even children playing the popular
"Hot or Cold" game know that, to perform well (find the hidden object), people need to be told how they're doing.
Without feedback, you're walking blind.
Feedback is a great orientation tool. Are you doing
things in the correct way or do you need to correct something?
Planes, for instance, are often “off course” but are
constantly corrected so that the passengers end up where they want to land
instead of Timbuktu.
Most
people in the workplace suffer from a lack of performance feedback – Information about what they are currently doing well and
what areas require improvement.
Automatic feedback helps
us reach goals
One category of feedback is designed to be given often
and automatically through a measurement system. Feedback can be designed into a
work process or a measurement system so that it is received automatically by
the employee. For example, many work processes have been designed to provide
performance measures daily, such as a production or printing process, i.e. so
many copies printed per day as determined by machine count. Also, total quality
and reengineering programs use extensive work process measurement methods.
Employees can measure for themselves how they and their team are doing.
Automatic Feedback as speed control
The perception of speeding on local streets is
probably the most persistent problem facing residents and traffic officials.
Residents observe vehicles being driven at speeds they perceive are too fast.
Speeds considered excessive by residents are considered reasonable by these
same persons when they are driving in another neighborhood.
One successful traffic control measure is the use of
mobile feedback for drivers. You’ve probably seen them – you see a sign that
informs you of the speed limit. Underneath you see your own driving speed. I’ve even seen them with faces that smile when you’re “good” and frown when you drive too fast. Studies have shown that drivers consistently slow down when they are able to
see the discrepancy between “is and should be”.
Automatic
feedback for fitness
I love my
personal trainings. I am pushed hard but I know that the exercises are
customized for me. And my trainer watches out that I stay safe yet reach my
fitness goals (Hey, I’ve lost 2 centimeters everywhere!). But, outside of these personal trainings, I'm on my own.
How can we progress without "somebody watching"?
There are now so many
top fitness trackers on
the market that choosing the best one can be difficult.
And it's not just
a case of Fitbit or Jawbone or nothing. The right activity tracker will be based
on your individual needs; whether it's step counting, sleep tracking or 24/7
heart rate tracking, there's something for everyone – it's just about
finding the right one for you.
My brother and
sister-in-law have bought the things to keep track of their steps each day. It
was quite surprising for them to find out they weren’t getting in as many steps
as they estimated.
We all think we
get more from less: Someone eats a piece of cake and says he just needs to walk
a few flights of steps to burn it off. Dream on!! If you key in the things you
eat on a food or diet app, you’ll be surprised how fast those calories add up!
People who say
they “gain weight and don’t eat anything” are amazed when they journal
everything they eat. Using an app, they realize that the calories taken in each
day are much more than the body could burn. Ergo, they gain weight.
I love learning languages on duolingo.com. If I need
help, it is easily available. If I get something wrong, the correct version is
shown. And I love the fanfare when I successfully finish a unit or get promoted
to a higher “fluency level”.
I can do all these things alone and don’t need another
person to help me discover any blind spots. It feels good to know I'm getting
better and closer to my goals.
I teach piano and cello on the side and wish I had a
possibility for the kids to get feedback while practicing at home. Not the “SUPER!”
from Granddad or the “There’s a wrong note in there somewhere!” yelled from the
kitchen.
I need some way for the kids to know they are on the
right track. I offered the possibility of the parents recording the child and
sending me the audio file. I listen to the recording and send a correction
recording back as soon as I can. It’s
not optimal but it beats having the kid practice wrong the whole week.
What automatic feedback do you know and use?
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