5 tips for successful communication with outsource design team
By: Masha Panchenko
Tags: Product Design, Feedback Culture, Feedback, Communication Skills

The art of feedback is a rare skill.

It is hard to trust other people to decide how your product will look. You find great designers, give them your best brief, yet… They might not meet your expectations at first. It does not mean you chose the wrong agency. It just happens. Take a deep breath before you say anything and remember some of these tips.

1. Trust

Don’t tell professionals what to do (and they won’t do the same to you).

You are a client, you surely know your product better, but remember that you hired that team for something. Probably because they are the professionals who are damn good at what they are doing. So, limit yourself with a good brief. After that, just comment on the prototype. Think of what is there, not of what you expected to be there.

2. Question is the best feedback

Well, maybe not every time, but it definitely helps in case you are not 100% sure what it is exactly that you feel is wrong and how to express it properly. Also, asking questions helps to avoid those situations when the solution was already there but done in a different way than you would suggest (and yes, remember what was said about suggestions above).

Questions are important, as said by wise men and women all around the world, from Albert Einstein to Bruce Lee. When you don’t know what to say, ask a question. When you know what to say, ask a question first to yourself.

3. Take your time

Don’t express your first impression at the very moment the presentation is over. Express your appreciation and say you would like to consult with your team.

Take a look at it the next day. It won’t be looking the same to you. Especially if the design solution is not exactly what you expected, let the time settle your first impression. Time gives us a chance to have a fresh perspective. It took decades before the art of Van Gogh was appreciated. Give the creative team a chance to be in the avant-garde.

If it affects the timeline, take the responsibility for stretching the deadline or saving the time on other steps. Make sure that the periods for feedback in your initial plan are realistic. If you think so, consider doubling them. There won’t be any spare time before the deadline anyway.

4. Share the burden

Don’t take all the responsibility for negative feedback on your own.

The advice of not taking all the responsibility sounds weird when you are actually the one who is responsible for the product on the client’s side. It is not about you though.

Engaging other team members in the decision-making process makes the feedback more substantial, concrete, and objective. Ask your colleagues from different departments to give their opinion and back their comments with relevant data. That way you avoid the impression that the feedback is based solely on your personal taste.

On the other side, it makes your team members feel involved in one of the most important stages of product development. By spending more time collecting feedback at the early stage you save the time you would spend on correcting design flaws later when it would be more complicated.

If consulting with your team members at early stages seems obvious to you, mind that it is important to mention it in the communication with the design team, making clear that your feedback is a consensus of people of diverse profiles.

5. Sandwich feedback is back

You might have heard recently that sandwich feedbacks sound too obvious, revealing the fact that you are trying to hide your critics in between two flattering comments. That is true. Does it mean we should avoid using the sandwich method? No. Sandwiches are still great. We all love sandwiches. If you still doubt, think that two compliments never harm anyone.

Another rational argument in favor of sandwiches is that you have to find a positive thing in the prototype. Seeing it from this positive-only side will give you another perspective that might change your overall perception.

Some of these tips might sound like common sense to you. That means you are gifted with great empathy. In any case, remember that time when you were hurt by the feedback that was too critical and rough. We all try to make our best when communicating with our team and clients, but being discreet with the outsource team is no less important.

The art of feedback is not innate, it takes practice. If there is one thing you would remember about proper feedback, let it be “sandwich”. When in doubt, go for a sandwich.