Social media can be very good. A useful way of promoting your business, keeping in touch with events, and catching up with old friends.
But there’s no doubt it can be draining, disheartening and toxic in some parts.
It’s far too easy for certain minded people to criticise and make disrespectful comments from behind a keyboard.
There’s a vast difference between well-intentioned constructive criticism and spite laced sniping.
We’ve experienced a lot of this kind of latter commentary as a company. As an organisation that was set up to challenge the status quo, this was to be expected. I’ve also experienced personal criticism from faceless foes keen to spread misinformation about what we do here at EweMove.
The Good
But constructive criticism is precious. Around 12 months into my role as MD at EweMove, I asked our team at the Sheep Pen to collate feedback on what they thought I could do better and improve on.
It was a fantastic exercise as it highlighted ways I could adapt and ultimately get better at my role and make the team perform even more strongly.
We always encourage our franchisees to seek feedback from their clients. It’s a process, not an event, and when correctly used, it always helps people perform better and deliver more positive results for their clients. From a companywide perspective, we use TrustPilot and our NPS scores to gauge what clients think of what we’re doing. Without this kind of feedback, it’s all far too easy to assume your strengths and weaknesses.
The Bad
When dealing with faceless critics, the key is to take the emotion out of it. Whether it’s good or bad feedback, I’ve learned over the years to not take it personally.
I don’t think we are naturally equipped with how to deal with unfair criticism or negative feedback. As children, we seek out praise, and that carries through to adulthood.
The Ugly
Online trolling is often driven by the commentator’s inadequacies and prejudices, so it really shouldn’t be taken personally. This kind of ‘feedback’ says more about them than it does you.
A couple of years ago, I explained to my CEO how annoyed I was about something I had perceived as a slight on us. He stopped me in my tracks, as he could sense I was responding from an emotionally charged position, by interrupting and asking, “I’m not interested in what Nick Neill thinks – I’m interested what the MD of EweMove thinks and how he plans to handle it.”
This question changed how I thought about things as a business leader and how I reacted to certain challenges. It enabled me to think dispassionately and objectively about that, and many issues since. It was very wise advice.
How do you encourage people to leave feedback?
And what techniques do you use to handle negative criticism?
Thanks for reading.
Nick
About Nick Neill - Head Shepherd of EweMove
Nick has a strong background in Customer Service, Sales, Operations and Marketing, drawn from experiences mainly in financial services with high profile brands including First Direct - the first telephone bank in the UK which launched in 1989. Learn more here.
