Mixed Messages: People of Color Receive More Conflicting Aggregated Feedback

Organizations rely on feedback aggregation systems for the evaluation and development of their employees. Although aggregating feedback from multiple sources has the potential to offer individuals a holistic view of their performance, it also creates the opportunity for conflicting feedback to emerge across these different sources. We define conflicting feedback as evaluations from different sources that appear to disagree with one another. Based on qualitative feedback aggregated in medical contexts, we explore how people of color are more likely to receive conflicting views. We then test and replicate these findings in an experiment. Across these contexts, we find that people of color are more likely to receive conflicting feedback along domains of competence rather than warmth. Taken together, these findings inform theory and practice around feedback aggregation systems and their implications for people of color.