How to give effective feedback

Feedback

Feedback is very helpful whether we are doing a good job or a bad one.  Good feedback helps us to know what we are doing right so we can continue to do it.  If we need to make changes then it helps us to know where and why those changes need to occur.  So how do we give good feedback?

Good feedback

Good feedback has several elements and leaving out any of those will weaken the response we are likely to get.  

Firstly feedback should be clear and it should help the person to understand why the behaviour is or is not working.  

Next it should help them to understand what would be a better way of handling the situation so that they know what is expected of them.

It should also contain a “what’s in if for them” (WIFT) to change or maintain a behaviour.  For people to maintain momentum knowing that what they are doing will benefit them in some way encourages them to keep doing it.  If they need to make changes to their behaviour then a WIFT will help them to push themselves to make a change.

When offering feedback you need to consider the state of mind of the person who is receiving it.  

• Did they ask for feedback?

• Did you ask for permission to give them feedback?

• Are you both in a calm or receptive mood for this discussion to occur?

This is important if people want their feedback to be well received.   

What is feedback?

Feedback is different from a coaching conversation.  It’s short, immediate to an action and should be immediately actionable. 

If you receive a report from a person and it’s late and of poor quality then the feedback about this should be clearly communicated.  The full response may lead to further corrective action or coaching but the immediate requirement is to let the person know that the document is late.  It is also necessary to let them know that the work is not of a high standard.

Some points to consider are that rather than an accusatory statement you ask them some questions.  This will help you to better understand their situation and work with them to ensure better compliance moving forward.

For example

“Thank you for passing this to me.  Unfortunately I was expecting it yesterday and having quickly reviewed it I noticed there are several errors.  Moving forward I will need reports to be submitted on time and without obvious mistakes so that I can use this information easily in our monthly report.”

You might start by asking them why they missed the deadline?

You will also need to understand why they didn’t complete it to the best of their ability?

Once you have got this feedback from them then you and they can plan on how to avoid these problems in future.

How to encourage high performance

Many times when I discuss feedback people don’t understand why feedback should be given to someone who is performing well.

To me, if you want someone to perform well then you need to let them know what they are doing right.  If someone has done a task and it has made your job or task easier then you should let them know.  

Peer Feedback

You can also take this approach with a colleague.

If your colleague has given you suggestions and you found them helpful then let them know.  They will be more enthusiastic about doing so again as they know you both appreciate it but also that it helps you to perform better.  This can be particularly helpful if you are working on a team project.

Managing up

I also try to use this approach with my boss.  

If something they have done has helped me to do a better job then I let them know.  That way they will feel confident that supporting me in this way will help me to perform better.

Tone

When giving feedback also consider the tone of voice that you are using.  Especially if you have had difficulty getting if right in the past.

If you have to be tough then it is important that your tone is appropriate and that you don’t come off as attacking rather than being supportive.

Why give feedback?

People who receive regular feedback perform better and learn better than people who don’t.  We don’t operate in a vacuum at work, what we do impacts others.  So the clearer we are on the impact our behaviour and performance has on those we work with the more effective we can be.  If we know where we can perform better than knowing the kinds of changes we can make that will be of highest benefit will help us to make immediate changes.

What to do if feedback does not have the results you wanted?

Before deciding on my plan of action I would look at has the person made any improvements or not?

If they have then I would look at continuing to give feedback using “and” statements.

For example:

I really appreciate that you submitted your report on time this week and it would be even better if you could review it for errors next time.  What can we do to help you to do that?

It may take several  repeat feedback opportunities before you get the results that you need but as long as they are showing improvement then I would focus on that.

However, if no changes of behaviour are seen at all then it would be time to move this to a coaching conversation.  This will involve you really understanding why they are repeatedly making the same errors or unable to change a behaviour.

Coaching is a longer process but it allows you to work on understanding more of why and how to support an underperforming colleague.