End Users Criticizing You?

So you’re handling IT for your organization. Technically this means the end users and the department heads who are using computer systems, business applications and resources are your customers. Do you think they feel comfortable giving you critical advice? Do you feel comfortable asking for it?

It’s important for you to get positive critical feedback from your end users. Positive feedback is what you want to try and get, but critical all the same. How can you make their experience, the value they get out of using IT, better?

It could be a better performance issue, it could be better in terms of clients that they’re talking about and the service that they’re delivering or it could be more security.

But ask the question. Start with: I’m doing the best I can, how can I do better? and see what the feedback is from your users. This will create an opportunity to actually have a conversation.  Don’t just do this once, actually have this conversation regularly.

If you’re interested in this topic further we suggest a book called Radical Candor.  It’s actually a good book on how to engage.  It talks mostly about direct reports but we feel it’s applicable.