Do you want to improve the efficiency of your staff? If so these tips are excellent ways to do so.
1. Don’t give unsought advice
Only a third of people trust that the feedback offered to them is helpful. The reason being most advice is unsought. It leaves the individual receiving advice with a lot of stress.
Always ask your direct report if, how, and when they’d like to receive feedback if they don’t ask for it.
You give your staff control when you do this. They are more likely to take up the feedback you give them thereafter. Always create an environment where employees aren’t scared to ask for feedback. They should be comfortable, willing, and confident enough to ask for feedback.
2. Go straight to the point
The feedback you give to your employees should be solution-based. It should be clear and precise. You’ll create more confusion if you view general comments such as “Take time to improve your work” or “Those reports weren’t pleasing. You can do better”. These comments aren’t clear corrective feedback. The employee will remain in the dark since he or she doesn’t know what changes need to be made.
Always specify what you want from your employees. Guide them on how they can use the feedback to improve their performance. For instance, “I realized you didn’t meet your last two deadlines. I’d prefer it if we work together on your time management skills to guarantee you complete your tasks hastily.”
Pro tip: Don’t just focus on corrective feedback. Incorporate positive feedback so they know what they are doing right. Recognize their work through sharing positive feedback (don’t use both feedbacks at once, see tip #6).
3. Have a deeper empathy level
According to Ron Carucci, an organizational consultant, an extra degree of sensitivity is required to give feedback showing an extensive gap in self-knowledge. He suggests that strong emotions can be elicited once someone realizes that they have a great gap. He compares it to ripping off a scab. Always make sure you exercise empathy if you take the heat for the difficult behavior shown by your colleagues. Set aside your frustrations when speaking to them. Ron Carucci says it is critical to allow colleagues to feel shocked when you give them feedback. Be prepared to give them the space they need. He also points out that you shouldn’t interpret this heightened reaction as resistance to your feedback.
4. Don’t sit back until a quarterly review
You can significantly affect the performance of an employee if you offer feedback immediately after an occurrence. A peak in engagement can be witnessed if employees receive feedback every week. Issues can cause ripple effects if they are left unconcluded. You’d have to deal with a lot of issues in the quarterly review if you don’t resolve them immediately.
Another shortcoming of waiting until the performance review stage to offer feedback is that the issues may be forgotten. A lot of time will have passed when you offer your feedback during this stage. Recency bias can be avoided by daily or weekly feedback. This can help to ensure it’s easier to track and evaluate the work of colleagues. Try this online work schedule maker on this site, not only are you able to develop a transparent work schedule for your team but it also enables you to see where feedback is required.
5. Ensure there is privacy
Never criticize employees in public.
Some individuals would prefer it if you delivered praise privately. They just don’t like all the attention. A written response is also a great way to offer employee feedback. It gives you ample time to offer a more fitting response to your employees.
Not only is feedback uncomfortable for the individual receiving it but also for the one issuing it. You can eliminate some pressure by meeting with your employee in an informal setting.
6. Avoid the “sandwich approach”
The aim of feedback is to help in improvement. Sandwiching corrective feedback with positive feedback won’t go well. The recipient of the feedback will be confused when you use this approach. The sandwich approach also affects trust and ultimately ruins your feedback.
For an authentic discussion, don’t beat around the bush. Be transparent and straightforward with corrective feedback. This, however, may be awkward for the giver. Always focus on giving tactful feedback.
7. Make it a dialogue, not a monologue
You’d as well be talking to a brick wall if you just lecture an individual about improvement. It is important to respect the other party when talking about vulnerable issues. It is not wise to talk at someone. A dialogue between two people is a more effective way to deliver your feedback home.
Give the recipient a chance to respond to your feedback. Let him or her make comments or ask questions. This will ensure feedback is well received and interpreted. Once the recipient has understood the issue, you can have a sit down to discuss solutions or come up with a course-of-action.
