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Guidelines for Effective Feedback

Feedback should be provided on an ongoing, year-round basis, not just during the annual performance appraisal. And, despite conventional wisdom, it should not be reserved for poor performance; it is important to address strengths and successes as well as deficiencies and failures. To be most effective, feedback should be:

Timely
Specific
"Owned" by the giver
Understood by the receiver
Delivered in a supportive climate
Followed-up with an action plan

Timely
Provide feedback as close as possible to the occurrence of the behavior in question; it will be of little use to your employee otherwise. If you wait until the annual performance appraisal to address poor performance, your employee may resent that you did not give him or her the opportunity to correct the problem before "raise time." Even if you are discussing an employee’s excellent performance for the first time during the annual performance appraisal, it may be "too little too late" if that employee places a high value on recognition.

Specific
Do not make vague generalizations when providing feedback to your employees. Instead, describe the undesirable behavior in exact terms. Be able to substantiate, also in very specific language, the importance of performing the job correctly and the consequences of continued poor performance. While you and your employee should work together to develop solutions, be prepared to identify specific alternatives if necessary.

Any feedback you provide should address the employee's performance in terms of measurable outcomes that were developed together. Your employee will be less likely to dispute the existence of a problem if he or she was involved in the goal setting process. Agreement is an important first step in reversing poor performance.

"Owned" by the Giver
Use personal pronouns such as "I" and "my" when providing feedback to an employee. These words enable you to take responsibility for your own thoughts and observations. Sentences worded in this way are less likely to be interpreted as accusations than those that use the word "you," reducing the possibility of a defensive reaction by your employee.

Understood by the Receiver
Ask your employee to rephrase your feedback to ensure that his or her interpretation corresponds to your intent. Also confirm that your employee understands what is expected of him or her, including the available tools and resources that can assist in the fulfillment of these expectations.

Delivered in a Supportive Climate
The setting in which you provide your feedback is as important as what you say and how you say it. Your employee's success in improving his or her performance – not to mention your continued working relationship with one another – can be greatly influenced by the framework within which your feedback is given.

Provide feedback in a disruption-free environment in which there is no risk of being overheard. Make it clear that the purpose of the feedback session is to assist your employee in achieving success (not to punish or embarrass him or her), and that you are addressing a specific behavior (not the manner in which your employee performs all of his or her duties).

Allow your employee the opportunity to explain why performance has been below expectations; perhaps he or she lacks the skills or motivation to perform the job properly, or there are other factors – beyond his or her control – preventing successful goal attainment. As a supervisor or manager, it may be within your power to address some of these issues. Otherwise, it may be necessary to re-evaluate and modify your employee's existing set of goals accordingly.

Offer your help and support. Identify additional resources, such as training, books, or experienced co-workers, from which your employee can also learn.

While it is very easy to tell an employee what he or she is doing wrong, don’t forget to tell him or her what he is doing right! Even star performers need to be told they are doing a good job.

Followed-Up with an Action Plan
Together with your employee, formulate a strategy for improving his or her performance. This may include skill-building activities, practicing in a dummy environment (in which errors are not as detrimental), and/or using an entirely different method of performing his or her duties. Agree upon deadlines and measures, and schedule a follow-up meeting to review progress.

Final Thought
While it may seem like an added responsibility to your already "full plate," you are actually making your job easier by providing feedback to your staff on a consistent basis: Your employees will always know what is expected of them, they will appreciate your interest in their success, and your work group will have a greater likelihood of meeting and exceeding its business goals.

Improving Communication -- Tips For Managers

Research indicates that managers spend somewhere between 50% - 80% of their total time communicating in one way or the other. This isn't surprising, since communication is so critical to everything that goes on in an organization. Without effective communication there can be little or no performance management, innovation, understanding of clients, coordination of effort, AND, without effective communication it is difficult to manage the expectations of those who are in a position to make decisions about your fate.

It can also be said that many managers do not communicate well, and do not set an organizational climate where communication within the organization is managed effectively. This isn't surprising, since a manager who communicates ineffectively and does not encourage effective organizational communication is unlikely to hear about it. Poor communication is self-sustaining, because it eliminates an important "feedback loop". Staff are loathe to "communicate" their concerns about communication because they do not perceive the manager as receptive. Both staff and management play out a little dance.

In short, you may be fostering poor communication, and never know it. You may see the symptoms, but unless you are looking carefully, you may not identify your own involvement in the problem. What can you do about it?

Your Role in Communication Improvement
Effective organizational communication, regardless of form, requires three things.

First, all players must have the appropriate skills and understanding to communicate well. Communication is not a simple process, and many people simply do not have the required depth of understanding of communication issues.

Second, effective organizational communication requires a climate or culture that supports effective communication. More specifically, this climate involves trust, openness, reinforcement of good communication practices, and shared responsibility for making communication effective.

Third, effective communication requires attention. It doesn't just happen, but develops as a result of an intentional effort on the part of management and staff. Too often, communication, whether it is good or bad, is taken for granted.

We can define your role in improving communication with respect to each of these. First, if you want to improve communication, you will need to ensure that you and staff have the skills and knowledge necessary to communicate effectively. This may mean formal training is in order, or it may mean that you coach staff and provide feedback so that they can improve.

Second, you play a critical role in fostering and nurturing a climate that is characterized by open communication. Without this climate, all the skills in the world will be wasted.

Finally, you must bring communication to the forefront of organization attention. If you make the effort to improve communication, your staff will recognize that it is important. If you ignore it, so will staff.

Some Specific Tips:
1) Actively solicit feedback about your own communication, and communication within the organization. Ask staff questions like:

=> When we talk, are you generally clear about what I am saying?
=> Do you think we communicate well around here?
=> Have you got any ideas about how we could communicate better?

Consider including these questions (or similar ones) in your performance management process, or staff meetings.

2) Assess your own communication knowledge and understanding.

3) Working with your staff, define how you should communicate in the organization. Develop consensus regarding:

a) How disagreements should be handled.
b) How horizontal communication should work (staff to staff).
c) How vertical communication should work (manager to staff, staff to manager).
d) What information should be available and when.

Once consensus is reached, support the achievement of these goals through positive reinforcement and coaching.

4) Look at the impact of the structure of your organization and how it impacts on communication. Indirect communication (communication that is transferred from person to person) is notorious for causing problems. Look at increasing direct communication where the person with the message to send does it directly with the receiver.

5) Learn about, and use active listening techniques. This will set a tone and contribute to a positive communication climate. If you don't know what active listening is, find out. It's important.

6) Consider undertaking a communications audit.

Conclusion
We only have space to give you a few tips, and communication is a very complex process.

Be aware that exploring communication patterns and effectiveness can bring to the surface a number of resentments and perceptions. If you aren't prepared to deal with these, it is best to look to an outside consultant.

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