Feedback typically has many benefits, such as allowing management to better understand the real issues and challenges in the field and strengthen trust with the workers. But not all feedback is good.
Bad feedback can lead to bad decisions. And bad decisions can waste resources, reduce efficiency, reduce effectiveness, and increase downtime. They can even have negative effects on safety and the environment.
Sometimes, bad feedback happens because the person giving it lacks the skills to clearly define the problem, accurately collect relevant information, or correctly apply logic to what's known. Sometimes, bad feedback is deliberate; the employee seeks to manipulate management and game the system.
A prevention measure is for management to conduct brief training sessions, perhaps at the end of a safety meeting, in which one aspect of good feedback is addressed for a few minutes. This will help with the skills gap. To address the manipulation problem, managers must “trust but verify” and they must be trustworthy.