Willingness and readiness to act
A key element often overlooked in supplier evaluation programs is the willingness and readiness to act on the feedback you receive from vendors. Vendors may sometimes feel their feedback is disappearing into a black hole. To prevent this, here are three vital communication steps to follow:
Always respond to the vendor, letting them know you’re taking their feedback into account. This acknowledgment assures them their voice is being heard.
Take appropriate actions based on the feedback and allow the vendor to comment on the changes implemented. This creates a sense of ownership and validation for the vendor.
If you decide not to act on a part of the feedback for any reason, communicate this to the vendor. They need to understand that you’ve considered their input.
Decoding Feedback
Improvements often come from small adjustments rather than massive overhauls of existing processes. This involves analyzing the feedback intricately. Consider pairing traditional Client-on-Vendor reports with Vendor-on-Client reports for a comprehensive view of issues.
Some vendors might be more candid than others. Hence, focus less on the exact scores and more on trends and patterns in ratings. A drop in scores, regardless of the scale, is worth your attention.
“Sweetened” comments, where criticisms are couched in compliments, may require some reading between the lines. Comments generally become more direct as vendors become more accustomed to the process.
Treat Feedback Responsibly
Given vendors’ varying degrees of openness, avoid comparing overall feedback scores between teams or using those scores to rank performance internally. This could breach trust and undermine your feedback process.
Taking Ownership of the Action Plan
Once you’ve committed to addressing feedback, it’s essential to have a systematic action plan. We recommend incorporating a structured communication strategy, which should:
- Identify the main processes & behaviors the client needs to improve
- Create an actionable plan
- Identify and utilize development resources
Finally, it’s crucial that client stakeholders take responsibility for the action plan. The effectiveness of an action plan is dependent on its implementation. It’s a shared journey to enhance your professional relationships and optimize your IT experience.
Click here for an article on how to unlock the power of 360 degree SRM evaluations