By now, every manager knows the importance of feedback. What you might not know is that there is a proper way of providing it that can make it all the more effective. While a simple pat on the back can work wonders, there are several other things to consider if you’re hoping to get the optimal results from your feedback:
Be specific
Employee feedback should be centered on the job and to the point. Broad comments like “You need to improve your performance” or “I wasn’t impressed with your work on the last project” won’t be constructive.
Focus on what they specifically need to do: “You need to inspect those production runs more frequently. Your percentage of faulty parts has risen substantially in the last quarter.”
Keep it private
Never criticize an employee where others can see it. Your goal is to help workers improve their performance—not to embarrass them.
Some of your people may even prefer to have positive feedback delivered behind closed doors, so they aren’t the center of attention. Some experts recommend a private walk or a meeting over a cup of coffee as settings that will be relaxed and less confrontational. Communication between managers and workers tends to flow more freely when the environment has less activity.
Always end on a positive note
Some of the real benefits of feedback come from how the meeting ended. Throwing in one last criticism before it’s over will leave your employee with a negative impression of the entire meeting, while a positive comment will do the opposite.
When something needs to be fixed, talk about it near the start of the meeting, and save the strongest words of encouragement and appreciation for the end.
Don’t wait until the six-month review
Stay on top of any issues and tackle them quickly. Otherwise, the problems will continue and possibly get worse. Dealing with an issue as it arises is preferable to confronting multiple problems at the regularly-scheduled review.
Another advantage of not waiting is that some things might be forgotten over the months, so facing them as they come up means you are working with fresh data and your feedback will be more effective.
Talk about performance instead of personality
Focus on what your workers do rather than on what they are like. For example: “When you loudly put down the opinions of others during our meetings, it causes a big problem,” hones in on unacceptable behavior.
“Your arrogance is creating a problem” points out a personality trait instead of a behavior. The person receiving the former example will likely find it more palatable than the latter.
Can we help you with any other challenging issues?
Recruiting and hiring can be a challenge. It’s time to try something that works. Contact the professionals at Select Staff, a top recruitment agency in Dallas, Texas, and throughout the state.
