Feedback that stays on the work

Feedback at Color of Vietnam is aimed at the work, not at the person. A good comment points to the exact place that needs changing, says why, suggests a direction, and leaves the decision with the person doing the work. This is not softer or harder than other styles. It is more specific, and because it is specific it is easier to take and easier to act on. This piece describes how we give and ask for feedback day to day, for anyone considering joining the team.

What feedback on the work means

Take two comments on the same draft. The first: this is not right, please redo it. The second: line three gives a moisture value with no tolerance, so the partner facility cannot tell what counts as a pass; add a range and it is usable. The first comment describes the reviewer's feelings. The second describes the draft.

Feedback on the work has three parts, in this order:

• Where: the exact line, sample or sentence, never a generality.
• Why: what happens if it stays as it is. Someone who understands the why avoids the problem next time on their own.
• Which direction: a suggestion, not an order. The person doing the work may have a better way.

The part most often missing is the why. Without it, feedback becomes personal taste, and the receiver only learns how to please the reviewer.

How we give it

In a small team everyone reviews everyone else's work, the founder included. A few habits we keep:

• Comment early, while a draft is still a draft. A one-page summary is cheaper to fix than a printed pack.
• Comment in writing before talking, when the matter is complicated. Writing forces the reviewer to be specific.
• Separate must from should. Must means factually wrong, off specification, or missing something the law requires. Should means shorter or better. The receiver needs to know which is which.
• Say what is already good, as specifically as what needs fixing. Not to cushion the rest, but so the person knows what to keep.

We avoid two patterns. One is general praise followed by general criticism, which leaves nobody knowing what to do. The other is editing someone's draft directly without saying why, which leaves the author learning nothing.

How we ask for it

Asking is a skill too. The question what do you think usually gets the answer looks fine. A narrow question works better: is this storage line clear enough for a buyer, or does the order of these three items make sense. The person asked can answer at once, and honestly.

New colleagues often hesitate to ask for feedback because they fear looking unsure of the job. Here it is the reverse. The person who asks early saves time for the whole team, because a second draft is always cheaper than a fifth.

An email to a partner facility

A new colleague drafted an email asking our partner facilities to run a small trial batch of the Let's PLAY Maize Ball snack with a new seasoning. The draft was polite and had the right intent, but three things in it would have made the partner write back with questions.

The feedback was exactly three lines. First, the email did not state the sample quantity, so the partner could not tell how much to run to have enough to taste without waste; suggestion, state the number of packs wanted. Second, there was no date by which samples were needed, so the partner could not schedule; suggestion, give a date and ask whether it is feasible. Third, two questions, one about seasoning ratio and one about drying temperature, sat in the same sentence and would probably get a half answer; suggestion, split them into two bullet points. Then one more line: the description of the flavour direction is very clear, keep it.

The colleague fixed the draft in ten minutes and sent it. The partner answered all three points the same day. Nobody discussed whether the first draft was good or bad. There were three places and three reasons.

Why this suits a small team

In a small team, everyone touches many things and there is no layer of management in between to soften words. If feedback is aimed at people, one harsh sentence in the morning follows someone all week. If it is aimed at the work, the same sentence is just a line to fix. This is also how we practise our value Speak Honestly: name the exact thing that is not right, say it early, and say why.

If you would like to work where comments arrive early, specifically and with reasons, have a look at the Fresher Product R&D and Marketing Leader roles on our Careers page.