The Importance of Listening in the Evaluation Process

Create a channel for client feedback and you'll receive essential insights, critiques and perspectives.

I like client canteens. Office canteens, factory canteens, foreign canteens. I’ve never met a client canteen I didn’t like. I’m sure you know how this goes, you spend the morning on client premises and some kind soul will say ‘come and get lunch with us, we’re heading to the canteen.’ That might trigger a voice in your head which tempts you to say, ‘You know what, let me take you folks out for some lunch.’ If so, ignore the voice. It’s not just that clients are busy, which they are, or that it’s churlish to decline, which it is. It’s that if you’re in the business of specializing in your clients, then client canteens are where you eat. They are special places. This is where client personnel feel secure, comfortable and chatty. I’ve had some of my greatest insights, warnings and even admonishments in client canteens, and I’m grateful for all of them. Client canteen feedback can be priceless; just be sure to listen to it.

While client canteen chat is one channel for input, we have to create others for the listening component to ensure we get something to listen to. We can’t assume that clients will give us considered feedback, in fact we can probably assume they won’t, at least until something goes wrong. I have a couple of methods to provoke comment. First I do ‘Stakeholder Interviews’ and then, ultimately, I fold these findings into ‘Wrap-Up Meetings’.

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