Can I send a feedback survey on behalf of someone else?

Introduction

In our travels and workshops, we have seen that many professions share common difficulties. One widespread limitation many firms experience is that their members simply do not request feedback frequently enough. When we ask the firm members why they don’t send more surveys, the responses range from “I forget to send them.” to “I don’t have time— can’t my administrative assistant or accounting people do this for me, perhaps when they send invoices?”

The Client Feedback Tool Solution

Fortunately, DesignFacilitator’s Client Feedback Tool solves these problems with its ‘Send-on-behalf-of’ feature.  With this feature, a firm manager can designate one or more firm members to send surveys on behalf of other firm members. For example, let’s say your firm manager has designated Al, an administrative assistant, to send surveys for you and other firm members. Acting as a proxy sender, Al creates a survey invitation in your name. All emails, responses and reports associated with this survey invitation will identify you as the sender. In fact, once Al sends the survey invitation, he cannot even see the answer report or modify the survey– but you can.

How it works

To begin, the firm manager designates proxy sender(s):

1. Log in to www.DesignFacilitator.com
2. Click My Firm in the left navigation pane, and then click Manage Firm Members in the right pane.
3. In the 4th column, “Send On Behalf”, select the firm member(s) who will send surveys on behalf of other firm members.

In order to send a feedback request, a proxy sender must know which survey template to send, when to send it, to whom, what project it regards, and so on. The Client Feedback Tool provides a convenient PDF form for this purpose. In the example above, you would probably fill in the form and give it to Al, because Al is sending the survey on your behalf . To obtain the form, log in to www.DesignFacilitator.com, click Other Resources in the left navigation pane, and then click Feedback Collection Information Request Form. Simply print the form and write in the data.

Proxy senders follow the normal procedure for requesting feedback:

1. Log in to www.DesignFacilitator.com
2. Click My Feedback in the left navigation pane, then click ASK on the cycle graphic. Select Send a feedback survey
3. Proxy senders (only) see a Send Survey on Behalf of: selection box at the top of the screen. There, they select which firm member to designate as the sender; that is, whose name will show in the invitation emails, the survey, the reports, and so on.

Note:    The Client Feedback Tool identifies the proxy sender in only two places: the Answer Report and the Modify Survey Edit screen.

You probably want to know if someone sends a survey using your name. So if your firm will designate proxy senders, we recommend that you visit your Set Preferences page in www.DesignFacilitator.com and make sure the first checkbox, “Survey sent on my behalf” is selected.

With the Client Feedback Tool’s ‘Send-on-behalf-of’ feature, even the busiest professional in your organization can enjoy the many benefits of client feedback by delegating the survey-send task to an administrative or accounting assistant.

The Feedback Cycle

Everyone has heard the idea of a “feedback loop” or cycle.  In fact, “Feedback Cycle” is rather redundant, as the original definition of feedback (according to Marriam Webster) is “ the return to the input of a part of the output of a process.”  In effect, the very word feedback means to take the results of a process, and feed them into the start of the next process iteration.

Our Client Feedback Tool helps you utilze feedback from clients (internal or external) in a complete cycle:

• Ask for Feedback
• Review your Feedback
• Follow-up to your Feedback

When managing client relationships, each component is critical.  Asking for feedback shows that you care.  Asking creates an open atmosphere of communication, setting a precident that you welcome correction and enhancements any time – not just when you ask for them.

Reviewing feedback – immediately when it is received – allows you to identify where refinement is required.  You know who has pain, and the context is there to help you solve any problems.  You also know when you’ve become someone’s “expert” – when you’ve reached that level of service and process refinement that will keep you glued to your client for years to come.

Most importantly, track your follow-up. When you ask for, receive, and review feedback – it is now your obligation to incorporate that feedback into your work going forward.  Especially if you received corrective feedback from a client, it is critical to follow-up, and discuss what adjustments are being made.   The adjustments may be to your process, or they may be to bring unreasonable expectations into line with the project constraints.   Either way, once feedback has been given to you, it’s your role to provide a response, or feedback, of your own.   If you do get corrective feedback from a client, and don’t follow-up, you not only have missed a huge opportunity to shine, but may incur more damage to the relationship by indicating you don’t care enough to respond.  Feedback is a two-way street.

Our Client Feedback Tool gives you the resources you need to collect and track feedback, and share/publish the follow-up to others in your firm who may work with that client.  You create a client history of decisions, adjustments, and celebrations helping cement the loyalty of your best clients.