Effective Feedback
What Is It?
Effective Feedback was a three-part learning series designed to teach business leaders how to give different types of feedback in the workplace. Each of the three modules had multiple conversations where learners could learn feedback skills from a coach and then apply those skills in an interactive conversation.
I created four of the six conversations included in the original release. I worked closely with our subject matter expert, Sue Padernacht, to go through discovery, define our learning objectives, and craft an experience that would allow leaders to apply their feedback skills in different contexts. (She was fabulous to work with— thanks Sue!)
The design team decided to base the structure of the series on three distinct types of feedback conversations: positive feedback, behavioral feedback, and performance feedback. We felt it was important to give learners the opportunity to practice the full spectrum of feedback they would need to give as a business leader.
How Did You Build It?
The Effective Feedback series was originally created before the release of CoPilot Designer (though it later proved so successful that it was re-released). I built the narrative in the open-source scripting tool Twine. Below is a high-level overview of the branching script. While it’s a bit hard to see, you’ll notice that there are many different possible endpoints. This was by design. Because the module was focused on the importance of empathy, I created opportunities for the learner to see the possible outcomes of taking the wrong approach.
What Makes This Project Unique?
The conversation I’m most proud of is the Performance Feedback conversation. Too often, managers look at poor performance as an indication of someone’s worth as an employee. But through our discovery work with Sue, we found that the best feedback conversations seek to establish trust, lead with curiosity, and engage in finding solutions together.
I created the character of Lionel to illustrate the impact of effectively utilizing (or failing to utilize) these techniques. Lionel is somewhat reserved, withdrawn, and soft-spoken as the module begins. The learner is tasked to provide Lionel with performance feedback on his declining sales numbers. As the learner speaks with him, he struggles to provide answers and will apologize for his poor sales but won’t provide any concrete suggestions for change. Only if the learner builds trust with Lionel and asks him open-ended questions about the decline in sales will Lionel open up about the true cause of his declining performance— an ill family member.
This design choice allowed learners to think about employees as whole, complete people with lives and concerns outside of work. Lionel helped to illustrate the true value of building trust and leading with curiosity, rather than judgment. Only if employees feel safe enough to be vulnerable and admit their struggles can employers collaborate to find solutions to the true problem.
This is Lionel, our character from Performance Feedback.
The learner was told that in months prior, Lionel had been a star seller, but recently, his sales had declined.
What was the Impact of this Project?
“This did reinforce a positive attitude on giving or receiving feedback... I don’t think I really considered those situations or peeling back layers like that. It made me consider the value of doing that. Doing it in VR, maybe I’m now more inclined to take note of people, and it was a good reminder that people might be going through stuff.”
“I had to take computer training that morning. I was a lot more engaged in VR. I was also remembering portions better during the tests at the end.”
“Overall I like it. I think it was way more effective than any other channel. I liked being able to repeat. It wasn’t boring to do it multiple times.”
Show Me!
I’ve also included a linear excerpt of one possible outcome of Performance Feedback in the PDF below. While scripting, I took the greatest possible care to ensure that Lionel’s emotions felt raw and authentic. The scenario Lionel is going through is one that, unfortunately, many people have gone through. It was important to me to bring this experience to light in a way that was respectful and realistic.