How do I get helpful comments from my team?

Sometimes, as a team leader, it's difficult to glean helpful feedback from comments. Here we've put together some tips for you on how to change that.

Show your team what you consider to be a helpful comment

Show your team what kind of comments are most helpful to you. You can use real examples in teamecho, or show them yourself. Show suggestions and reasons why comments are helpful to you. Also show how comments could be more helpful - e.g. by showing your team our tips for impactful comments.

It's important not to criticize comments publicly, but to discuss them objectively and lead by example. This way you give your team important hints on how to formulate a comment in a way that you as a leader can understand the content well and act accordingly. Also share our rules of the game for comments with your team!

Unclear comments? Ask directly in teamecho for more details

The comments made in the last survey only consist of a few words? The infobox tells you about a downward trend, but upon closer examination of the comments you can't see the reason for it?

No problem: post a comment directly in the dashboard and ask your team members to give you specific clues for your interpretation of your results.

Here are two examples:

"Hello, dear team! In the comments of the last survey, you gave me some keywords about our strengths and challenges. Unfortunately, I can't tell from them what you mean exactly. Could you please refine in the responses to the comments?"

"Dear All. I noticed a drop in the "work activity" category, but can't figure out from your comments where exactly the challenge is. Please give me some specifics in the responses to this comment so I can drive improvements."

With these tips, it's sure to be easier for your team to write helpful comments in the future. Also, have some patience and remind each other regularly about the rules of the game and our practical tips - this way you'll keep developing your feedback culture.

As a team leader, it's also important to counter helpful comments with meaningful responses. Here we've put together a few elements of such responses for you.