Evaluation in action: Beware of ‘Feedback Fatigue’

You are probably feeling this right now. Have you been asked to rate your most recent shopping purchase? But also the delivery? And the experience of the payment system? What about the bank transaction you just made? Or the website you just visited? And a recent call with a water company, council, electricity provider, or mobile phone company? It feels a bit endless right now.

We must make sure that any requests we make to the public, on behalf of our providers, feel different from this and avoid ‘feedback fatigue.’

How to avoid ‘feedback fatigue’?

• Luckily, our clients are usually experts in building relationships with the people they work with, and that is an important factor.
  When someone you know asks for something, it feels much easier to do it for them as opposed to a big faceless organisation.
• Another important avenue to avoid ‘feedback fatigue’ is offering ways to collect information that are not just surveys and links.
  We almost always build face-to-face asks into our planning and include focus groups, telephone calls, and visits in the mix of evaluation methods.
• We also tend to avoid using words like ‘rate’ in requests, preferring to ask for ‘help’ instead.
• It’s also worth trying to ask people directly to complete feedback when clients are actually working with them.

Our number one top tip to avoid ‘feedback fatigue’…

Help the people you are working with to understand how you use their feedback. If they realise that their information can help to support future funding applications, alongside improving experiences for the people that come after them, then we find they are much more willing to take part.