What is Plus-Delta? A Collaborative Exercise for Effective Feedback

Plus-Delta is an excellent reflective exercise that helps gather quick and candid feedback at the end of a meeting or event. The exercise is designed to encourage positive feedback but also allows people to recommend changes. It is a particularly useful exercise for newly-formed teams that are getting to know each other.

Plus / Delta is a short exercise so can be added on to the end of a meeting easily, but it still requires you to introduce it properly, time-box strictly, and provide guidance through the steps.

How to conduct a Plus-Delta exercise with Metro Retro

Step 1: Set up a feedback board

As a facilitator, start a feedback board with the Plus / Delta template. One section is labeled with a plus (+) sign, while the other is labeled with a delta (Δ) symbol. Invite your participants and introduce the exercise.

Step 2: Ask for Pluses

Start by asking participants to write down what they thought worked well during the meeting or event. Use the Private Writing feature in Metro Retro so each person can hide the contents of their sticky notes until they are ready to share.

Step 3: Ask for Deltas

Next, ask participants to write down what they would change to improve future meetings or events. This section can be harder to complete, and will probably have less items than the Pluses, which is fine.

Step 4: Implement Changes

Use the feedback provided in the Plus-Delta exercise to make changes to how future meetings or events are conducted, or just to keep on doing the good things!

Tips for running an effective Plus / Delta exercise

1. Start with a clear purpose: Before conducting the Plus-Delta exercise, ensure that the purpose of the exercise is clearly defined. This will help participants provide more relevant feedback.
2. Encourage participation: Create a safe and non-judgmental environment that encourages participants to share their feedback openly. Avoid criticism or defensiveness, and actively listen to all participants.
3. Understand all feedback: Ensure that all feedback is understood by the group. Add more details to a sticky note, if needed.
4. Prioritize feedback: Review the feedback collected and prioritize the most important feedback that needs to be addressed immediately. You can ask the participants to prioritize as a group. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to address all the feedback, so make sure you spend your valuable time on the most important!
5. Follow up: Share the feedback collected with the team and outline any changes made based on the suggestions provided. This helps to demonstrate that feedback is valued and encourages participation in future exercises.