Can AI-driven Feedback Work?

Gallup data shows that a whopping 80% of employees who receive meaningful feedback for a project or task are fully engaged in the work they are doing. 80%! What’s more, organizations with regular feedback programs experience 15% lower turnover rates. Yet, also according to Gallup, 74% of employees report being dissatisfied with the feedback they receive.

So why aren’t we doing more of it? Why does providing meaningful feedback seem more like a luxury than a necessity? Employees are starving for it, from you, from their peers, from management, and even from the C-suite. Maybe that’s why people spend so much time with their pets.

Yes, day-to-day responsibilities, wall-to-wall meetings, and such, preclude dedicating time to communicating thoughtfully with staff, even though that communication is statistically speaking, worthwhile, a no-brainer. Business moves quickly. Important decisions need to be made all the time. Intense focus is critical. When companies are desperately seeking competitive advantage, it’s hard to find the time to tell your people how well they’re doing, how they could be doing better, or how they’re kicking ass.

But, honestly, it’s exactly what you should be doing. Offering feedback is pivotal, a win-win. It makes people feel necessary, noticed, and more productive. It’s just a matter of finding the time to do it.

Enter AI-Generated, Human-Assisted Feedback

Gathering and presenting usable feedback is very time-consuming when undertaken “manually.” But AI is changing all of that, as it’s done with so many other professional functions. Organizations now have access to advanced tools and platforms that are revolutionizing the way we’ve done all of that burdensome stuff. AI can now expedite the meaningful delivery of feedback; how it’s collected, analyzed, prepared, and presented.

Incorporating AI into the feedback process marks a notable shift towards a more data-driven, proactive approach to managing work and monitoring performance. But it’s not simply creating greater efficiency. It represents a genuine commitment to gaining a deeper understanding of your people and the dedication to improvement on both sides of the feedback model: giver and receiver. This commitment drives performance, builds engagement, increases retention, and ultimately leads to better business outcomes. It’s the long game, cut up into small steps. Can you say “game changer”?

AI has the ability to mimic human intelligence—in terms of sentiment analysis and emotional insight—and learn from collected data, the employee feedback function can now be automated, and in many cases enhanced, using natural language processing and machine learning.

Human-generated feedback is collected through various communications channels—surveys, feedback forms, chatbots, and employee messaging channels—and then analyzed. Algorithms can decipher trends, patterns, and other significant ideas, and then draw their own insights and conclusions. These conclusions can lead to actionable measures and specific improvements. All of this sounds tedious… which is why the prospect of not doing it manually is so exciting. Who wants to get bogged down in all of this when you can automate it in a fraction of the time?

The Pros of AI Feedback: Personalization and Real-Time Delivery

AI empowers organizations to deliver personalized feedback to individual employees, enhancing the impact and relevance of the feedback received. Traditional feedback processes often provide generic, one-size-fits-all feedback, which may not resonate with each employee’s unique needs and aspirations. With AI, organizations can tailor feedback to the specific context, preferences, and developmental goals of each employee.

1. Personalized Feedback: Personalized feedback can be delivered in various ways, such as customized reports, targeted recommendations, or even automated coaching based on individual performance data. This personalized approach not only increases the effectiveness of feedback but also demonstrates to employees that their individual growth and development are valued.
2. Delivered in Real Time: Furthermore, AI enables real-time feedback delivery, allowing organizations to provide immediate recognition and course correction. Instead of waiting for annual performance reviews or scheduled feedback sessions, AI-driven systems can provide instant feedback as situations occur. This timeliness helps employees understand the impact of their actions in the moment, facilitating continuous improvement and growth.
3. Avoiding Human Biases: Let’s face it: The traditional feedback process is susceptible to bias and subjectivity. We’ve all worked in offices in which a certain person or group is favored over the rest. We see that this person or persons are treated differently. We wonder why this is. They seem to have it made.

The fact is that nearly all leadership has its favorites, no matter how neutral we think we are. It’s human nature. Human evaluations often unintentionally favor certain people or demographic groups, all of which lead to unfair assessments and dissension in the workplace.

When AI algorithms are trained on reliable existing data or have been designed to ensure they’re not amplifying any prejudgements, then they are reliably neutral and able to focus solely on the work performance of the employee. This creates a candid and equitable feedback experience and enables employees to feel they’ve been evaluated without prejudice or bias.

Disadvantages of AI-assisted Feedback

Of course, AI-assisted feedback has its drawbacks, and they happen to be the same types of ethical drawbacks lurking in AI in general.

1. Ethical considerations: In an unsecured environment, AI can surface issues related to privacy and data protection. AI systems in the workplace must be secure, and locked down, as we have yet to fully understand the ramifications of unsecured AI data.
2. Algorithm transparency: Algorithms in the feedback process can occasionally be troublesome, not addressing accurate issues because the algorithms aren’t calibrated properly. Before deploying AI-generated feedback, the system needs to be tested to guarantee trust and fairness. If the results aren’t delivered accurately, leadership risks losing credibility.
3. Employee acceptance: There will always be skepticism of AI-driven anything, and using it with a feedback system is especially wearisome, given its personal sensitivity. The staff must understand how the process is changing and there’s no better way to do that than to discuss the potentially positive impact it will have on everyone.
4. Legal compliance requirements: Organizations must ensure that their usage of AI aligns with their existing regulations.

Cost vs. ROI

Not only must you have the personnel to implement AI, you need to have a full understanding of the cost/benefit before plopping down the cash for this technology. Consult with those who have engaged in this type of system prior to investing in it for your organization.

Conclusion

AI doesn’t function in isolation. It’s not replacing human intelligence. It must work in tandem with it. In fact, it amplifies our voices and expands our capabilities, helping us deliver more meaningful work in a much more practical, expedient way. It’s still early days, but we’re seeing incredible efficiencies and the potential for radical improvements, and not just with the concept of feedback.

AI is not intended to replace everything we do and are. It’s intended to make everything we do, and everything we are, better. In this case, delivering feedback the traditional way is outmoded, antiquated, time-consuming, and difficult to execute. AI gives us the ability to circumvent all of that. With it, we can enhance our conversations with each other, create better and more meaningful connections designed to improve performance and productivity, and ultimately motivate all of us to exist within a thriving, successful workplace.