“I don’t think the company values me anymore. It’s been great working here for a while, but the last six months have been just pathetic. I’ve never had feedback from the manager, no one has told me how I’ve been doing, and it just seems like everything has come to a standstill. I’m not really sure I have a future in this organization anymore.”
Mentioned above is the sad story of 24% of the employees who want to consider changing their job because of their management’s inadequate feedback.
Giving feedback – it’s a simple thing that is often made a lot more complex. However, it is one of the most critical factors in keeping the employees from leaving an organization in today’s scenario.
In the words of Tom Rath, the master consultant on employee engagement, strengths, and wellbeing, “Employees who report receiving recognition and praise within the last seven days show increased productivity, get higher scores from customers, and have better safety records. They’re just more engaged at work.”
Come to think of it; it’s not that difficult to let your team members know how they are doing at work? It doesn’t even look complex? Does it? So, why is the word ‘FEEDBACK’ often touted to be the most dreaded word in the workplace?
In this post, we will have a look at everything about giving feedback in the workplace, in detail. Right from its meaning, to the correct way of doing it to the pros and cons of feedback sharing and a lot more.
Giving Feedback: A Simple Art, Made Complex
Google the term Feedback, and you will find the answer ‘information about reactions to a product, a person’s performance of a task, etc., which is used as a basis for improvement.’
Let’s analyze the definition.
From the last part of the definition, it is quite evident that feedback is a part of the process that lays the foundation for improvement, based on a person’s performance in a task. Feedback, if given on time and in the right manner, can prove to be an asset for an organization. However, this is where most of the managers lack.
They fail to understand the importance of feedback sharing. Let’s take a look at why giving feedback is essential:
Why is feedback important?
1. Promotes Growth
“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.” – Max de Pree
Every employee’s ultimate goal is to grow, but growth only happens when you know what you need to change for good. This is why feedback becomes crucial for career success and growth. When an employee does not know whether he or she is performing good, average, below average, or bad, how can you expect them to improve their performance?
Constant feedback helps employees learn new things and unlearn the bad habits that hinder their growth.
2. Helps Avoid Mistakes
Suppose one of the team members has been doing a task, which is technically correct but wrong in terms of client expectations and project requirements. How is he or she supposed to know this if there’s no feedback?
Relatively easy to understand, right?
Feedback leads to improvement, as employees know how to improvise their skills (which are technically correct but sometimes require modification according to project specifications). Therefore, sharing regular feedback leads to lesser mistakes and thus saves a lot of everyone’s time.
3. Builds Better Relationships
Managers who shared the right amount of feedback with their team members received a score of 8.3 out of 10. At the same time, the ones who did not share the feedback received a lower score.
This one statistic is enough to explain the importance of feedback sharing in building better relationships. Instead of pointing out mistakes, constructive feedback is a means to show appreciation for a job well done. Or, you can look at it as a way to boost the confidence of your team member by suggesting ways to improve.
By doing so, you automatically start to build a rapport with the team members, leading to better communication and relationship between both parties.
4. Creates a Friendly Environment
68% of the employees feel fulfilled at their job because they receive constant feedback from their managers.
There’s nothing more satisfying and gratifying than having a friendly team environment. Constant, accurate, and consistent feedback makes it happen. It builds a communication bridge between the management and the team members, where everyone’s opinions are valued equally (since two-way communication forms that basis of feedback).
In the next section, we will take a look at the different types of feedback sharing. To help you better understand those types, I will also share some simple and significant examples.
Methods Of Feedback Sharing (With Examples)
If you are wondering how to give feedback to the team members, here’s everything you need to know, with examples:
1. Formal Feedback
The kind of feedback sharing happening in offices, every once-a-year during the annual performance assessment. This is usually a planned event, where an employee’s performance is assessed based on predefined parameters. It is documented and usually includes information based observations.
E.g., the annual performance review is the best example of a formal feedback system. In annual performance reviews based on their performance at work based on predefined criteria. Apart from this, Human Resource reports are another common example of formal feedback.
2. Informal Feedback
As it is clear from the name itself, informal feedback is carried out without any planning. It is usually a spontaneous event and usually requires a strong rapport between the team member and manager or the leader. The best part is that this type of feedback is generally carried out in a more casual setup and is not necessarily bound between specific, set parameters.
For e.g., the best example of informal feedback can be seen given to the team members in between running projects. It generally includes suggesting they change their approach towards doing something or a small pat on the back for sticking to the deadlines and so on. Informal feedback sharing has shown to work great in boosting employee morale and performance.
3. Constructive Feedback
The third common form of feedback that we are going to talk about here is constructive feedback. Constructive feedback is generally aimed at encouraging/supporting the employee by providing positive comments, suggestions, and corrective measures. You can further segregate it into the following four forms:
- Positive feedback: the simplest form of constructive feedback, where the manager affirms that certain behavior, strategy action has worked in the past and must be repeated, is positive feedback.
- Negative feedback: in this form, the manager generally suggests corrective measures about certain behaviors, actions, or strategies that did not work in the past.
It is one thing to know the different types of feedback sharing, it is entirely different to know how to do it right. In the next section, my focus is to share some actionable tips to ensure that anyone can master the art of feedback sharing. So, let us take a look at all the dos and don’ts associated with giving feedback:
The Do’s
1. State The Purpose, Clearly
The whole purpose of giving feedback to colleagues is to ensure that person receiving it can rectify the mistakes they are making. But that cannot happen if you are unable to state the purpose clearly i.e. why you are doing it?
Therefore, before you start with the feedback process, make sure that you communicate a clear picture to the person for whom the feedback is supposed to be.
One of the best ways to do this is to jot down a few pointers such as:
- Mistakes committed
- Areas of improvement
- And so on
Share this information before you begin the feedback process with the other person, so that they know what to expect, and in which direction your session is going to proceed.
2. Ask Questions
The second important thing to keep in mind when giving feedback to peers is to ask a lot of questions.
Probing is considered to be the best method to understand what a person is going through. By asking these questions, you can get to the bottom of the problem and paint a clear picture of why there has been a glitch in the performance.
However, while asking questions, make sure not to sound rude. Here are some of the questions that you can ask:
- How do you feel about your work right now?
- Is there something we can change about the way we work to improve your performance?
- What drives you about work? What motivates you to improve your performance?
3. Do Keep A Time Check
Make sure you stick to a time limit when organizing feedback sessions. This is important because such sessions when dragged beyond a certain time limit end up losing their effectiveness.
If you want your feedback sessions to be effective, make sure you set a clear agenda and have that shared with the other person as well. This will solve two purposes. Firstly, it will help your team member be clear about what to expect from the meeting. Secondly, they will come prepared with the answers and will be able to better explain the scenario behind their performance issues or glitches.
Here’s a great way to do it:
- Document a clear agenda of the meeting
- Share it with the team member
- Set a clear time deadline for the meeting, and don’t stretch it (use a timer if required)
4. Come Out Of The Session With An Action Plan
How do you end the feedback sessions? Now, this is as important as it is to set an agenda for the session.
Remember, at the end of the session you must have a clear action plan in mind as to how you are going to mitigate the performance issues. Building this action plan is going to require both you and the person receiving the feedback to be on the same page, and contribute equally to the task.
Here are some suggestions to make an action plan to conclude the feedback session:
- Arrange training or learning sessions (if required)
- Eliminate the factors causing distractions that are leading to poor performance
- Set up a time frame for monitoring performance
5. Do Praise The Good Efforts
Feedback sessions, more often than not, revolve around finding ways to improve performance. However, this does not mean that they should revolve only around the mistakes or areas that could have been done better.
One of the things you can do to make these sessions more impactful is to praise the good things as part of the discussion. Here are a few things that you can do:
- Share the achievements
- Let the employee know the impact of those achievements
- Praise them, and use the right words to encourage them
The Don’ts
1. Don’t Start On A Negative Note
Starting with a statement like ‘We did not expect this’ or something similar can be the worst possible start of a feedback session. Don’t let that happen.
Instead, start the conversation on a positive note. As mentioned in the previous section, focus on finding the reason behind the problem and not the problem itself. Doing that will help build the rapport, and take the conversation to a flying start.
And, that’s what matters in the end.
2. Don’t JUST talk (listen as well)
“Feedback, when given well, should not alienate the receiver of the feedback but should motivate them to perform better.” – M.O.,
It is important to understand that feedback is not a two-way street. When both the parties walk on this street equally, and towards each other, that’s when you progress. Instead of making a feedback session all about you, make it about the employee.
Let them express their thoughts, provide reasons for their performance and factors that you can change to improve their performance.
3. Don’t Make It Personal
Feedback is all about finding reasons for the improvement in their performance. There’s nothing personal in it, so don’t let the session move in that direction. Make sure the conversation stays about work, and not about finding faults in the person’s behavior or actions.
You also need to ensure that the other person also understands this fact. Therefore, it is important that you maintain clarity in your tone to not sound offensive, or demeaning to the other person.
4. Don’t Let It End On A Bad Note
As the general perception of people is, feedback sessions are always dreaded. That’s because generally only the negatives are discussed, and the employees are always put under the hammer.
It is your job as a leader to ensure that these sessions don’t end on a bad note. Rather, they should end with something positive for the employee receiving feedback so that they know the real value of feedback sessions.
When the employees see that you are putting time and effort to help them become better at their job, they are bound to develop a better sense of respect and responsibility for their job.
Make Feedback Sessions Meaningful
Running a business, and handling a team can be quite overwhelming at times. The most challenging part of being a leader is to ensure that people are performing to their fullest potential. Organizing effective feedback sessions, therefore, becomes even more vital.
You can use these sessions to ensure that your team’s performance is continuously on the rise. Making these sessions meaningful by sharing quality advice, and connecting with your team on a more personal level is the best way to achieve this.
The advice shared in the above paragraphs is going to help you achieve this goal. Bring these tips into practice, and they are surely going to help you shape your team’s performance for good.
All the best!
FAQs
- What are the different types of feedback?
The three most common types of feedback are formal, informal, and constructive. Constructive feedback can further me of two types: Positive and Negative.
- Why is feedback so important?
Feedback is important because:
- It fosters personal growth
- It helps avoid mistakes
- It builds better rapport between the team and the leader/manager
- Creates a friendly environment
- How can managers give effective feedback?
Effective feedback is all about active listening, understanding employee mindset, and then coming up with a solution to solve the employee performance issues.
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