Environment

Annie Grier , Feedback Labs | March 24, 2023 Is it possible to have human-led conversations at scale? Katikati is a remote community feedback and engagement tool that allows for “configurable conversational journeys”. Born out of humanitarian work with UNICEF, Oxfam, and the Red Cross, Katikati’s software focuses on relationship-centered design with a new stance to machine assistance technologies, allowing users to connect live with human-led conversations at scale, creating conversational journeys in a technological platform. Arnav Kapur of Katikati led an interactive session with LabStorm participants in attendees engaged in a real-time demonstration of the tool, seeing how the platform looks to both end-users and the staff behind the scenes. Participants provided feedback on key questions such as how to navigate the challenges of utilizing the platform as the user base grows and how to improve two-way conversational tools to receive and respond to feedback rather than one-way standard surveys. The group discussed how to make semi-automated conversations “personal”, how to prioritize conversations for response time, and how to make the platform customizable to serve the varied purposes for which organizations desire to use the platform to engage with those at the heart of their work. At the events conclusion, Katikati reflected on key takeaways such as lessons learned from other citizen engagement tools such as automating as much of the platform as possible in order to reserve the human engagement (and bandwidth) for responses to sensitive or nuanced topics and creating a few pre-designed options for organizations to use (with some suggested pre-populated questions and responses) instead of an entirely customizable platform. Also, participants discussed strategies for furthering trust through anonymity such as programming key words in user responses to be flagged for human-led conversation (instead of automated responses), a “pop-up” window that explains with whom responses are shared and how responses are used in the feedback process, and opportunities to opt in/out or have a consent checkbox. Lastly, participants discussed ways to increase organizational uptake of the platform to improve their own listening practices. 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.

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