Why is feedback critical to the communication process

Most channels are either oral or written, but currently visual channels are becoming more common as technology expands. Common channels include the telephone and a variety of written forms such as memos, letters, and reports.

The effectiveness of the various channels fluctuates depending on the characteristics of the communication. For example, when immediate feedback is necessary, oral communication channels are more effective because any uncertainties can be cleared up on the spot. In a situation where the message must be delivered to more than a small group of people, written channels are often more effective.

Although in many cases, both oral and written channels should be used because one supplements the other. If a sender relays a message through an inappropriate channel, its message may not reach the right receivers. That is why senders need to keep in mind that selecting the appropriate channel will greatly assist in the effectiveness of the receiver's understanding. The sender's decision to utilize either an oral or a written channel for communicating a message is influenced by several factors.

The sender should ask him or herself different questions, so that they can select the appropriate channel. Is the message urgent? Is immediate feedback needed? Is documentation or a permanent record required? Is the content complicated, controversial, or private? Is the message going to someone inside or outside the organization? What oral and written communication skills does the receiver possess? Once the sender has answered all of these questions, they will be able to choose an effective channel.

After the appropriate channel or channels are selected, the message enters the decoding stage of the communication process. Decoding is conducted by the receiver.

Once the message is received and examined, the stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in order to assign some type of meaning to it. It is this processing stage that constitutes decoding.

Feedback can also be verbal or non-verbal. A smile would be a positive non-verbal feedback, whereas a frown would indicate a negative feedback. Now study on-the-go. Find useful content for your engineering study here. Questions, answers, tags - All in one app! In this case, organizational success depends on proper coordination of inter-departmental activities Feedback helps top management to ensure proper coordination.

Improving labor-management relationships: Healthy labor-management relationship is essential for organizational success. If management wants to build a congenial atmosphere, they should encourage two-way communication. That means, management should seek feedback from employees as well as they should provide feedback to the employees.

Through this practice, managers can create democratic atmosphere in the organization. The above discussion reveals that feedback is an essential element of communication process.

Through feedback, the sender and receiver can know each other and accordingly they can decide their next count of action. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. OKRs short for Objectives […]. Disconnecting used to seem like an easier task back when we were able to separate our professional lives from our personal ones. Our work mainly […]. Why is feedback important in the communication process: Types of feedback and how to increase performance at work by correct evaluation.

Summary: Importance of feedback in the communication process: Types of feedback and which one is the best Why is feedback critical to the communication process in the workplace? Importance of feedback in the communication process Feedback is a tool that can help people evaluate themselves and their work and also how others perceive them.

There are four types of feedback, as follows: Formal feedback — many companies adopt this type of feedback, being used for evaluating productivity for a given time. This type of feedback is not always recommended, because it can sometimes be perceived as being too personal; Prescriptive feedback comes under the form of advice and is more of a way of telling the individual how to correct their way of working.

Thus, descriptive feedback is considered as being the best form of evaluation in the workplace, but also in other fields, such as education and science. To be motivated, especially when working for someone else, team members need to feel appreciated , even when improvements need to be made. A proven way to provide good feedback is by combining the necessary recommendations with the quality of their work, in order to conclude on a positive note about the evaluated person. Why is feedback critical to the communication process in the workplace The power of good feedback comes from the fact that it can change certain behaviors and allows the other person to receive a realistic perspective on his action.

Therefore, feedback is essential at the workplace because: It motivates A recent research on work productivity showed that 4 in 10 employees do not involve as much in the goals of the company when not given regular feedback.