We’ve received a lot of requests to write a blog about giving feedback to employees…how to do it, what to say…and also what NOT to say. Understandably, this is a tricky area for business owners who often excel in areas related to business development and innovation, but struggle with some of the necessary people management tasks that go along with leadership. You might think that it’s only hard to give constructive feedback to employees, but giving positive feedback can be difficult too. Mastering the art of giving feedback is one of the most important and mission critical behaviors you can focus on when it comes to employee retention, satisfaction, and growth. Here are 4 tips for talking with employees about how they are performing:
1. Recognize the difference between feedback and major performance gaps.
Feedback is, “Hey it would be great if you could work on this” or “Going forward, will you do this differently?” But feedback is also “Great job with this” and “The way you handled that was excellent.” Feedback can (and should) happen often, spontaneously, and in the moment when possible. This helps normalize it and that takes the intensity (and fear that’s often associated with it) down for everyone involved. As a leader, it’s important to notice opportunities for feedback and get comfortable giving it quickly whether it’s positive or constructive. Performance gaps are different. These are bigger areas where employees are falling short repeatedly and need to make bigger changes to improve and close those gaps. These conversations are bigger and more complex.
2. For constructive feedback, it’s helpful to be clear on what your “ask” is and make sure it aligns with the behavior you want to change.
For example, telling someone you’d like them to work on their time management skills or their communication skills is less meaningful if you don’t specify what behavior they need to work on and in what way. A better approach would be to say “There are some communication challenges happening on this project. Will you please start giving regular updates to the project manager at the end of each week to help minimize this?” Vague feedback is not very helpful, especially for employees who see things very black and white and may struggle to read between the lines. If you want to change a behavior, be specific with what you’re asking someone to do differently and give an example of what that looks like to minimize misunderstandings.
3. Turn it around.
Instead of immediately jumping in to give constructive feedback. Broach the subject by first asking the employee how they think things are going. For example, “How do you think that went?” Or, “What are your thoughts on why this problem is happening?” Employees who demonstrate some self-awareness and humility around misses, mistakes, and growth opportunities are usually more receptive to feedback and more motivated to change for the better. It’s a great sign and future performance indicator if they can come to the same conclusion you were going to lead them to.
4. Giving positive feedback is more important than constructive.
You might think it’s easy to give positive feedback – and it is if you notice when to give it and act on it. But more often than not, we see employers who fail to notice when employees are doing great work and don’t shout them out for it. Without regular positive feedback, employees are less invested and motivated to receive and act on constructive feedback. If you only call people out for their misses, their wins carry less weight. So notice those wins – even the small ones.
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