Feedback Labs | March 11, 2025
Gathering feedback is one thing—using it effectively is another. At Feedback Labs, we know that listening is only the first step; acting on what we hear is where the magic happens. That’s why we were excited to host a LabStorm with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta to explore how they can close the loop on the feedback they collect and make their data more accessible and actionable for staff and community members alike.
About YMCA of Metro Atlanta
For over 160 years, the YMCA of Metro Atlanta has been a cornerstone of the community, fostering youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. With 23 membership locations, 13 early learning centers, and two overnight camps, the Y provides a vast array of programs, from child care and sports leagues to job training and housing assistance. Through partnerships with local organizations and schools, they offer enriching afterschool programs to thousands of children, ensuring that every young person has the opportunity to grow, connect, and thrive.
The Challenge
The YMCA of Metro Atlanta is committed to high-quality, data-driven program improvements. Through youth evaluations and parent surveys, they collect extensive feedback to understand how well their programs support positive youth development. However, two major challenges stand in the way of maximizing this feedback’s impact:
- Data Sharing: How can they present feedback in a way that is comprehensive yet digestible for staff at different levels?
- Closing the Loop: How can they ensure that those providing feedback—whether youth, parents, or staff—see how their input leads to meaningful changes?
With limited staff capacity and varying levels of data literacy across branches, the Y needed strategies to create an efficient feedback system that would be both useful and sustainable.
Key Discussions
1. Designing a Feedback System That Accommodates All Staff
Not every staff member at the Y is a data expert, and that’s okay. Participants emphasized the need to make feedback data accessible and relevant at all levels of the organization. A few key strategies emerged:
- Coaching Instead of Just Reporting: Instead of simply presenting dashboards, staff could benefit from one-on-one coaching on how to interpret and apply data to their programs.
- Internal Ambassadors: Identifying feedback champions within each branch could help bridge the gap between raw data and actionable insights.
- Framing Feedback as Learning, Not Judgment: Making it clear that data collection isn’t about evaluating individual performance, but about continuous improvement for youth programs, could ease concerns about job security and program sustainability.
2. Balancing Comprehensive Data with Ease of Use
A recurring concern was how to make data usable for front-line staff without overwhelming them with complexity. Ideas included:
- Interactive Dashboards with Tiered Access: Creating user-friendly, role-specific dashboards that present only the most relevant data to each staff member’s responsibilities.
- Small-Scale Usability Testing: Before rolling out large changes, testing different data-sharing formats at a few locations to see what works best for different teams.
- Incentivizing Feedback Engagement: Offering quarterly awards or recognition for staff who actively engage with feedback could help integrate the process into daily workflows.
3. Closing the Loop with Parents, Youth, and Staff
One of the Y’s biggest goals is to ensure that feedback leads to visible action. Participants suggested creative ways to communicate the impact of feedback to different stakeholders:
- Parent Engagement Through Sign-Out Sheets: Attaching feedback updates to parent sign-out sheets could be a simple but powerful way to highlight what’s changing based on their input.
- Youth-Friendly Feedback Sharing: Since much of the Y’s work is youth-centered, making feedback fun—such as through competitions, student-led projects, or game-style engagement—could encourage more participation.
- Email & Digital Updates: Sending monthly “You Spoke, We Listened” emails with concrete examples of how feedback has shaped programs.
Key Takeaways
- Making feedback usable requires both technology and human support. While dashboards are useful, coaching and internal feedback ambassadors can help ensure that staff members truly understand and act on the data.
- Shifting the culture of feedback from evaluation to learning can reduce fear and increase participation. Framing feedback as an opportunity for growth rather than a performance review can encourage more engagement from staff.
- Closing the loop doesn’t have to be complex—simple, strategic actions make a big difference. Whether it’s a note on a sign-out sheet, a digital update, or a student-led initiative, small efforts can build trust and keep stakeholders invested in the process.
Conclusion
This LabStorm with YMCA of Metro Atlanta reminded us of the power of practical, people-centered feedback. Data is only useful if it’s understood and acted upon—and that requires intentional design, strategic communication, and a culture of continuous learning.
Does your organization face similar feedback challenges? Share your experiences in the comments below, or reach out to us at [email protected] to keep the conversation going!
Learn More About LabStorms
LabStorms are collaborative problem-solving sessions designed to help organizations tackle feedback-related challenges or share what’s working well in their practice.
Presenters leave the experience with honest, actionable feedback and suggestions to improve their feedback processes and tools.
To learn more about participating in a virtual LabStorm, please visit feedbacklabs.org/labstorms.
