I have surveyed 160 people about their workplace feedback experiences and interesting insights have emerged about the three types of feedback.

Participants were asked two questions about offering and receiving feedback:

What type of feedback do you feel most confident in offering in your workplace?

1. Acknowledgment: 68%

2. Guidance: 26%

3. Evaluation: 6%

When receiving feedback, which type do you consider most useful to improve your performance at work?

1. Guidance: 57%

2. Evaluation: 26%

3. Acknowledgement: 17%

As you can see from the results above, while the majority of people (68%) felt most confident in offering Acknowledgement Feedback, it was considered the least useful (17%) when it came to improving performance.

A feedback stretch goal for you:

Of course, it is important you offer all three types of feedback on a regular basis. Research says the order in which you offer feedback is important, (start with Acknowledgement, then Evaluation, then Guidance). A stretch goal for you for the next month is to actively increase the amount of Evaluation and Guidance feedback you offer in your feedback conversations. I’d love to hear how you go!