Better Ways to Give Your Employees the Feedback They Need

Delivering feedback can be hard for managers, but it’s an essential part of their work in leading people. Without feedback, employees have no way of knowing what they’re doing well and what they need to be doing better or differently — which makes it hard for managers to ensure they’re doing their best work.Some managers hold back on giving constructive feedback because they don’t want to be overly critical or discourage employees. Other managers are quick to tell employees what they’re doing wrong and may deliver the message in an unnecessarily harsh way. Neither extreme is ideal. Employees need both positive and constructive feedback and managers must learn to deliver both in a productive way.Read on to learn more about how you can improve your skills in giving your employees the feedback they need to do their best.Management Feedback Is Vital — Why Is It So Often Given Badly? Forbes: “Here are a couple of recent examples that were just passed along to me in the last week. A young man, motivated and talented, who’s been in a new role for eight months now, has yet to receive a single comment of substantive, meaningful feedback. It’s been bothering him for a while. He thinks he’s doing OK, but there’s much to learn in his new position, so he really isn’t sure. In the complete absence of feedback, he’s grown increasingly anxious and uncertain about his performance. A young woman, also motivated and talented, sat down with her manager for a meeting about a normal business issue, but when in the course of the conversation the employee happened to relate some criticisms that had been made by others about the manager, the manager became extremely angry and the meeting quickly  dissolved into a personal attack on the employee. No specifics were offered – the rant was more along the lines of “You know, there are a number of things you do that really bother me” – without going into what any of those things were. The manager left, upset – leaving the employee even more upset. Both of these scenarios are unremarkable. The remarkable thing is that variants of them occur and thousands and thousands of times daily. All too often employees receive either no management feedback, or feedback that is largely emotional and neither business-focused nor insightful.”3 Passive-Aggressive Phrases to Avoid When Giving Feedback. Lifehacker Australia: “1. ‘I Was Surprised/Confused/Curious About…’ What the Person Hears: ‘You’re Wrong.’ I worked with a woman who often tried to disguise her criticism in this way. Rather than just being upfront that she didn’t quite follow my line of thinking, she’d attempt to come across as truly surprised by what I’d said. While she might’ve done this in an attempt to soften the blow, I never heard it like that. Instead, I took it as a stab in the back because my boss was in attendance — and that feeling led me to promptly ignore her feedback. Which was unfortunate, because I’m pretty sure she often had a point. What to Say Instead: ‘I thought X was different, because Y. Can you walk me through your steps?’”Common Mistakes to Avoid When Giving Feedback. People HRO: “One huge key to giving successful feedback is to avoid giving negative feedback in public. The job of managers and HR professionals is not to embarrass employees but to create a positive workplace where employees can be productive. Being told that you’ve made a mistake or that your performance is lacking can already be an unpleasant experience for employees. Managers and HR professionals who give negative feedback in front of the employee’s coworkers will just make the experience even more painful. Your goal is to make things better but embarrassing employees in front of everyone will likely only cause their performance to worsen and kill their enthusiasm. On a similar note, another common mistake that HR professionals and managers make is giving feedback that is only negative. Evaluating your employees when they make a mistake is important, of course, but if you only give them feedback under negative circumstances, they will start to assume that you just don’t approve of their work or don’t care about their successes.”How to Make Staff Feel Appreciated. Fast Company: “Managers are in charge of more than just projects and deliverables; they have the power to manage employee emotion and motivation as well. Passing the buck when praised for a team effort is a way to earn respect as well as increased productivity. ‘The significance of personal contribution improves the level of commitment and creativity in the task,’ says workplace psychologist Marcelo Manucci. So show the appropriate level of gratitude by thanking people both publicly and privately. Ultimately, as workplace consultant Roberta Matuson says, thanking employees for their contribution is something that can easily be done and doesn’t require a wad of cash. ‘It just requires the desire to be the kind of manager you wished you had either now, or at some point in your life.’"It Pays to Praise Employees. Here’s How to Do It Right. LinkedIn: “In my work, I find that many leaders would like to improve in commending their employees, but they’re not sure where to begin. So, how can you cultivate a more effective praise culture at your workplace? Here are three tips: 1. Look for opportunities…If you see something that you like, tell the person right away. If you can’t do it immediately, make a note or set a reminder to make sure you don’t forget. 2. Be specific. Tell your people exactly what you appreciate about their work…Take time to really think about an individual’s contribution, and then show you sincerely appreciate it 3. See the potential…You need to see the potential in everyone. All of your people are talented in different ways; it’s your job to see those talents, and to bring out the best in them.”Do your company’s managers need to learn better ways to give employees the feedback they need? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.