Start a feedback culture in your team in 1h

Simplest, fastest way to get your team to practice feedback: speedbacks

Building a feedback culture in a tech team it’s not easy. 

Developers are not a fan of feedback because it can be uncomfortable, requires time and preparation, and might put them in a difficult situation with another team member.

At the same time, a team that constantly practise feedback:

• will bond faster - because feedback requires being open and vulnerable with each other

• will grow faster - constructive feedback will speed up the development process of individuals by providing them with specific improvement points

• will be a happier team - positive feedback gives people validation and reassurance that helps build their self-confidence and positive energy 

It’s just a missed opportunity for a team not to make use of it.

And there’s a simple exercise you can run to get people more acquainted with the feedback process: SPEEDBACK.

What is Speedback?

Speedback is a lightweight, fast tool for practicing feedback as a team.

I discovered the tool in my first team in Thoughtworks and I continued using it in every team I was after that.

📑 How it works

• All team members will be split in groups of 2

• Each group will have 4 minutes to exchange feedback: 2 min each

• After 4 min, the groups change -> this repeats until everyone got the chance to talk to everyone 

• Works great both face-to-face and remote (for example using Zoom breakout rooms)

Having a structure is not required but it helps keep people focused. I recommend a simple one:

• 2 things to continue doing / doing well

• 2 things to improve

👀 Facilitator role 

I recommend using an external facilitator (someone outside the team) to run the speedhack session. This allows everyone in the team to participate and fully focus on the feedback instead of worrying about logistics.

Facilitator responsibilities:

• Block people’s calendar for preparation

  Useful feedback requires time to prepare. Even more when it’s for the whole team.

  As a Tech Lead, I used to block 1h in everyone’s calendar before the speedback so they prepare proper feedback for each team member.

• Share with them tips for useful feedback. Here are some:

  • How good feedback looks like

  • How to really listen to feedback

  • What to do with the collected feedback

• Prepare groups and a simple process to rotate people

  • Here are some ideas

• Explain process to participants - emphasising on the fact that this it’s just the trigger of the process and they should follow up for more value

• Prepare tools - like Zoom breakout rooms for remote

• Track the time - give a heads up to participants every 2 minute - when it’s time to switch roles or pairs

• When done, thank the participants for their involvement and once again encourage them to follow up with people for more detailed feedback 

🕛️ When to run it?

Frequency: 1/month based on the team needs

It can be more useful after a couple of weeks in a new team, after a big milestone or if the team atmosphere has been a little rocky lately and everyone needs to chat.

Don’t overcomplicate the process!

My advice: Start with one and decide based on the outcome

🎯 Goal of the speedback!

The time is very short, so the goal of the speedback it’s to trigger follow up conversion between participants where they will deep dive into the topics mentioned in the speedback, getting specific examples and action points.

Note!

⚠️ Speedback it’s not a replacement for feedback and running 1 speedback / month does not mean you have a feedback culture in your team.

But it’s a great place to start. 😊

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What are your thoughts on Speedback? Would you try it? 🤔

✉️ Let me know by replying to this email.

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Until next time,

Anemari