Acting on Feedback: Closing the Loop
Consumer and family advisors’ time and energies are valuable, and the best way to demonstrate that your organization appreciates this is to consistently employ a clear “feedback loop” approach. This means that advisors’ feedback is recorded, considered by the correct organizational staff (including leadership) and that decisions – or progress about those decisions – are communicated back to the advisors. As one PFAC member at Children’s Mercy Hospital stated “[F]ollow-up is very important. It gives me more pride in my commitment back, because I feel like I’m contributing something…We feel heard. We feel our opinions are valued.”
Pro Tip: Feedback Loop
For Collaboration and Co-Ownership-based strategies that have regular meetings, one of the first items on the agenda should be a list of topics from the previous meetings. During that time, organizational staff should provide an update on each topic, describing what happened with the feedback advisors provided. The topic should continue to appear on agendas until final action is taken.
Acting on feedback should begin during the Planning phase, when the Planning Workgroup should establish goals and a clear framework for how advisors’ feedback will be acted upon. For Consultation, Collaboration and Co-Ownership-based strategies, patients and family advisors should always understand what will happen with their feedback. For instance, they should leave a meeting with a clear sense of the following:
- Who is accountable for taking the next steps for each item discussed and how feedback will be given to them (information chain)
- A timeframe for when feedback will be considered and when decisions are likely to be made
- How the organization will communicate progress and/or decisions about implementing any changes that come about as a result of the feedback
Self-Assessment Questions
On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 indicating “strongly disagree” and 5 indicating “strongly agree”), rate your organization’s performance on the following questions:
- My organization has established goals and a clear framework for how consumer feedback will be acted upon.
- Following a meeting or activity in which we have solicited their input, advisors always know:
- Who is accountable for taking the next steps for each item discussed
- When feedback will be considered and when decisions are likely to be made
- How the organization will communicate progress and/or decisions
- We let advisors know when we have not taken their recommendations or feedback and provide an explanation of the decision.
- When something goes wrong with our engagement approaches, we are nimble in implementing course corrections.
