9 Ways to Give Effective Employee Feedback
Feedback. It’s important and you know it. But it’s not just a drop in the bucket or a pat on the back, there is a proper way of providing feedback consistently that will produce fruitful results. We have identified nine ways you can offer employee feedback –it’s painless, immediate and will get you the outcome you need.
1. Pay It Forward
Very simply, do a good deed for a colleague or employee and ask them to do the same for someone else in turn.
And that good deed? Constructive criticism.
It isn’t always easy to take and certainly not easy to give, but if it’s done thoughtfully, usefully and with the best of intentions it will help improve the quality of that person’s work and may even boost their productivity.
This will in turn give them greater job satisfaction and leave them with skills which they can use in their future career.
Why would you not want to this pay this forward?
2. Be Very Specific
Employee feedback should be task-focused, crystal clear, and to the point.
General comments like “Your work needs to be improved” or “I wasn’t very impressed with those reports: you have to do better than that” will leave your employee confused and in the dark as to what aspect of their work needs to be corrected.
Be specific on what they need to do: “You’re reporting on 20 KPIs at the moment and that’s bringing in some valuable insight. I’d like you to give us 30 KPIs so that we’ll have all the information we need”.
3. Don’t Wait for a Quarterly Review
Nip issues in the bud as they occur. If left unsaid, the problems will only recur and may multiply by a domino effect, so that by the time the quarterly performance review comes around, you’ll be faced with having to address a host of issues that could have been avoided if mentioned earlier.
Another flaw in the quarterly process is that problems will be forgotten by the time the review comes around. Daily or weekly reviews will make tracking and analyzing a colleague’s work much easier, and feedback will be up to date.
4. Make it one-on-one
Don’t criticize publicly – ever.
Even praise for some people is better delivered in a private meeting, rather than being pointed out in a public arena: some people simply don’t like being the center of attention. And allow the opportunity of feedback without a face-to-face meeting as it can make it easier for a person to say what they really think.
Aaron Schwartz of Modify Watches recommends going for a walk as an informal meeting strategy. A more relaxed, less confrontational setting over a coffee will help create an atmosphere where you and your employee can communicate better with each other, away from the office.
5. End on a Positive Note
Helping someone to improve should always be the goal of constructive criticism and going back over past mistakes in your closing comments will leave them with a negative impression of the meeting.
When something needs fixed, mention it at the beginning of your conversation (and read this before you say anything) but by leaving the problem to the end, any words of encouragement you’ve given during the meeting will be forgotten.
Above all, be sure to let them know how much you appreciate them (if in any doubt, watch the video and read the article 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace).
Read more | 15five.com
1. Pay It Forward
Very simply, do a good deed for a colleague or employee and ask them to do the same for someone else in turn.
And that good deed? Constructive criticism.
It isn’t always easy to take and certainly not easy to give, but if it’s done thoughtfully, usefully and with the best of intentions it will help improve the quality of that person’s work and may even boost their productivity.
This will in turn give them greater job satisfaction and leave them with skills which they can use in their future career.
Why would you not want to this pay this forward?
2. Be Very Specific
Employee feedback should be task-focused, crystal clear, and to the point.
General comments like “Your work needs to be improved” or “I wasn’t very impressed with those reports: you have to do better than that” will leave your employee confused and in the dark as to what aspect of their work needs to be corrected.
Be specific on what they need to do: “You’re reporting on 20 KPIs at the moment and that’s bringing in some valuable insight. I’d like you to give us 30 KPIs so that we’ll have all the information we need”.
3. Don’t Wait for a Quarterly Review
Nip issues in the bud as they occur. If left unsaid, the problems will only recur and may multiply by a domino effect, so that by the time the quarterly performance review comes around, you’ll be faced with having to address a host of issues that could have been avoided if mentioned earlier.
Another flaw in the quarterly process is that problems will be forgotten by the time the review comes around. Daily or weekly reviews will make tracking and analyzing a colleague’s work much easier, and feedback will be up to date.
4. Make it one-on-one
Don’t criticize publicly – ever.
Even praise for some people is better delivered in a private meeting, rather than being pointed out in a public arena: some people simply don’t like being the center of attention. And allow the opportunity of feedback without a face-to-face meeting as it can make it easier for a person to say what they really think.
Aaron Schwartz of Modify Watches recommends going for a walk as an informal meeting strategy. A more relaxed, less confrontational setting over a coffee will help create an atmosphere where you and your employee can communicate better with each other, away from the office.
5. End on a Positive Note
Helping someone to improve should always be the goal of constructive criticism and going back over past mistakes in your closing comments will leave them with a negative impression of the meeting.
When something needs fixed, mention it at the beginning of your conversation (and read this before you say anything) but by leaving the problem to the end, any words of encouragement you’ve given during the meeting will be forgotten.
Above all, be sure to let them know how much you appreciate them (if in any doubt, watch the video and read the article 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace).
Read more | 15five.com