How to give feedback
Fundamentals / 01 December 2009
Communication and collaboration are essential when it comes to giving employees feedback. Make sure you plan feedback into your regular one to ones and always listen to the concerns of individuals to make sure everybody gains from the session, says Scott Beagrie
Feedback matters in modern business. Without it, you can’t expect teams to grow and develop, underperforming charges won’t get better at their jobs, and when it’s executed badly, it could result in previously highly motivated individuals becoming quite the reverse. All too often, feedback is afforded neither the status nor the importance of other management skills such as delegation, influence or negotiation.
Research carried out on more than 13,000 employees by Shine Feedback, a consultancy specialising in 360 degree feedback and employee surveys, showed that managers’ behaviour and performance are rated consistently low when it comes to handling poor performance and giving feedback.
Corrective feedback inevitably means having to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations with staff – a situation which many managers would rather shy away from than confront.
The way I see it
Andy Clare, Shine Feedback
Q. What’s new in the world of feedback?
Increasingly there is a realisation that in mature, adult-to-adult work relationships, the recipient of feedback can choose to reject the feedback they are given. Some conventional theories (and training) would have us believe that we should accept and act on most, if not all, feedback. This is both unrealistic and disempowering. Contemporary theories will place more emphasis on seeking the feedback with an open mind and trying to understand it rather than having to agree with it and then act.
Q. What steps can anyone take to improve their performance?
Be courageous. Invite the person to whom you have given feedback to describe how effectively you did it and how you could have done it better. Take more opportunities to give feedback – both positive and negative – at work and outside. Practice. Practice. Practice.
Q. What are the benefits of giving pre-feedback, and when should it be used?
We tend to ask individuals (especially senior executives and company boards) to predict the feedback they are going to get before we go out and get it for them. This tends to reduce any initial rationalisation or defensiveness they may exhibit when you bring the feedback to the table.
Q. How do you rate the quality of feedback you’ve given?
The immediate reaction of the individual, their reaction a day or so later, their ability to willingly come to you to discuss the feedback further and what and how they may do things differently. It’s not always about whether they accept it and do something with it – because they don’t have to. But if they listen and show that they understand it, then that in itself is a success.
Shine also believes that many organisations send an ‘implicit’ message that relegates the importance of feedback. “It’s OK to postpone or cancel a feedback review, but it’s not OK to miss a sales target meeting or a board presentation,” says Andy Clare, managing partner of Shine Feedback. “Coaching and training should have a strong element of giving-receiving feedback, as should appraisal training.”
1 Take a reality check
Before deciding to provide any feedback, make sure that it is part of your remit to do so. If an individual isn’t expecting to be given feedback by you and doesn’t consider it your responsibility, it is unlikely to be received positively and you will likely lose their goodwill. “Is it legitimate for you to be giving feedback?” asks Clare. “Do not pass ‘go‘ if the answer to that question is no.” Once you’ve established that it is within your remit, choose where and when you want to conduct your feedback session and give the individual adequate notice.
2 Always make your feedback relevant
Set the context for the feedback before you deliver it and make sure the individual understands what situation or time period the feedback applies to. Be specific and spell out where you feel the individual went wrong, or right, and what the impact was. It might be that their actions had a particular effect on the rest of the team, and illustrating this with concrete evidence will help them appreciate why next time round they need to act differently.
“Not referring to a specific behaviour or action, ie ‘Joe, you are careless’ is not as helpful as ‘Joe, when you don’t check your reports for mistakes it creates a lot of work for others’,” explains Clare. Make sure your feedback is based on fact, not hearsay, and avoid trying to pass negative feedback off as someone else’s comments. “Not owning it is the coward’s way out,” he says.
3 Give feedback often
Feedback is most effective when it’s treated as a frequent, ongoing discipline rather than a once or twice a year affair delivered in the formal setting of an appraisal or annual review. Giving feedback as close to the event as possible means it will be fresh in everyone’s mind, making it more meaningful and easier to learn from.
Use every opportunity to practice giving feedback and it will become second nature. Praise the individual’s achievements and where improvements are required, constructively suggest steps that will help. If a situation calls for negative feedback, try to hold the discussion within a day or two; it’s not a good idea to wait until the annual review when the event in question may only be hazily recalled. Set up formal meetings on a regular monthly or bi-monthly basis and initiate feedback into everyday and ad hoc meetings.
4 Follow through thoroughly
Giving feedback should never be seen as a tick-box activity. To enable the employee to properly learn from and act on the feedback, the manager must follow through and devise a development plan to plug skills gaps or work on weak areas. In many cases, it may not need a full-blown training course but some straightforward corrective steps or behavioural changes.
Whatever the follow-up activity, ensure the individual understands the specific changes you expect and support them throughout their progress. Always agree a follow-up date to assess the impact of any action taken.
5 Gather feedback on your feedback
No matter how effective a manager you are, it’s likely there’ll be room for improvement in your feedback skills. Ask those on the receiving end what they thought of your approach and whether it was helpful – are there ways you could add extra value? Discuss good practice with other managers and remember that the more frequently you give feedback, the better you are likely to become and the more beneficial it will be for everyone.