How To Provide Effective Feedback?
One study has shown that 68 percent of employees who receive regular feedback find their jobs satisfying, and 92 percent believe that constructive feedback, primarily if delivered adequately, improves performance (Alcala, 2015). Providing feedback to employees is usually difficult as you must make your message clear so that the recipients are motivated to improve their performance without causing uncertainty, anger, or resentment. When delivered correctly, constructive feedback coupled with positivity will significantly impact employees engagement. This action means recognition of their accomplishments.
However, providing feedback to your employees is only one aspect of it. Feedback must be a two-way street that allows both parties to participate in the conversation. You empower your employees or subordinates to provide their feedback and act through a feedback solution that allows you to regularly check the pulse of your organization. You can also obtain anonymous feedback from employees to get their honest opinions while checking whether your feedback has the intended results.
Providing workable feedback suitably can be a challenging task. Here are a few pointers on how to provide employee feedback, including the best practices for delivering effective feedback in collaboration with your employees.
Give Feedback for the Proper Reasons
The first step in providing feedback is to ask yourself why you want to do so. Your main motive must be to give constructive feedback on how the employees can improve their performance in the future. If your true goal is to demonstrate how they failed the last time, step back and examine your emotions as well as the employees' actions. Try to channel your emotions into a productive conversation aimed at improving your employee's performance. Always separate the feelings associated with the feedback from the message you want to convey to provide direct, actionable feedback the employees want (Wong, 2020).
Make the Feedback Specific
Employees will be unable to implement your feedback if they do not understand why you are providing it or how you advise them to proceed.
Your feedback must be precise and concrete. Your feedback must be connected to a specific and observed behavior. Then, give steps for the employee to improve in the future.
Feedback Must be Given Immediately and in the Proper Environment
Feedback will not have the same impact if given several weeks or months later in a performance review. The employee may not even remember the actions you are providing feedback on, or they may misremember them. Chances are, their behavior has been repeated or will be repeated in the future. To avoid any issues, provide feedback as soon as possible so that your employees will understand why and will be able to put your proposals into action right away.
Provide constructive feedback in private and do everything to foster a welcoming environment. Never give constructive feedback in front of others. Employees will hear your message if they feel safe and comfortable engaging in a discussion. Always make an effort to create a psychologically safe and mutually trusting environment.
Include Positive Feedback
Remember to give employees positive and constructive feedback. Giving positive feedback shows you appreciate your team and motivates them to continue and improve their behaviors. Studies show that employees appreciate the recognition of their work and increase the possibility of repeating their behaviors in the future. Moreover, it was shown that frequent recognition increases employee retention and encourages employee engagement.
When providing positive feedback, adhere to many of the same guidelines as to when providing constructive feedback. Make it particular, frequent, and timely. If viable, try to link the feedback to your organization's core principles, as this will advance employees and company values. Also, think about implementing a recognition solution that allows everyone in the organization to show their appreciation from everywhere.
Give Frequent Feedback
Giving regular feedback will become a natural part of the employees' work lives. They will be more accepting and take action to address it. Also, it makes them more at ease providing you with feedback of their own.
Adjust Your Feedback to the Relationship
Personalizing feedback entails engaging with people based on who they are. After all, you wouldn't address your CEO the same way you would a subordinate. Here are some inputs for providing feedback to various parties in the organization.
From one person to another, highlight what you enjoy about working with them and emphasize that your goal is to strengthen the team, not weaken it. Managers must collaboratively provide feedback. Managers account for most of the variance in employee engagement, and employees place the most outstanding value on positive feedback from direct managers (Wong, 2020). To the team, they must avoid singling out a specific person, recognize the team's accomplishments before giving out constructive feedback, and try to empower your team so everybody benefits. The leadership, in turn, must deliver transparent and regular feedback to all the members, especially during difficult times.
Human Resources is vital in every company. HR personnel performs several critical functions related to employee feedback. When providing particularly important or challenging feedback, they act as facilitators and, if necessary, mediators between parties. They also serve as an essential resource for feedback recipients, allowing inappropriate or unclear input from managers to be addressed.
As managers, be prepared to solicit and act on employee feedback. Soliciting and tangibly responding to employee feedback is a critical complement to providing feedback. Why should your employees offer feedback if you don't show them that you're willing to act on it?
You must implement a continuous listening strategy that includes tools for creating anonymous, accessible feedback channels for employees and a system for analyzing feedback to uncover actionable insights. This strategy consists of an end-to-end employee engagement platform with pulse surveys for frequent check-ins with all team members. And an always-on, employee-driven feedback channel, such as a workplace chatbot, so they can tell you how they're feeling at any time. You should also look for a tool that is supported by an experienced team and is available to assist your organization in transitioning from using annual surveys to creating a feedback culture.
Giving feedback must not be a chore or stressful experience. It must be something that you and your team look forward to. Create an authentic feedback culture, and everybody in the organization will be with you.
Looking at enhancing your feedback skills especially to drive performance management :
References:
Alcala, L. (2015, January 20). 4 Trends in Workplace Communication [Infographic]. CMSWire.Com. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from https://www.cmswire.com/cms/social-business/4-trends-in-workplace-communication-infographic-027762.php
Wong, B. (2020, June 25). 9 Steps For Giving Great Feedback. Achievers. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from https://www.achievers.com/blog/giving-employee-feedback/
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