Giving relevant feedback to your employees can help them be more productive and upskilled. Employee feedback has outgrown the monthly performance review method that improved employee development.
But when we think of the feedback and reviews, we can only think of the bitter memories and see no scope for improvement or reflection of self-confidence. Because most organizations do not know how to convey their feedback.
The method can only be changed when we learn to give spontaneous opinions, which will help provide people with better feedback.
Whatever your position, the feedback you give does not necessarily have to be intimidating. It can be comforting to your fellow employees or juniors if it is given appropriately. There are different kinds of employee feedback that you can keep in mind for your next review meeting, or any meeting, for that matter.
Types of employees feedbacks
1. Reinforcing/redirecting feedback
It means if we want someone to keep doing certain positive tasks continuously, we reinforce the person to that particular task. Giving negative feedback means we will be only telling them what not to do; this will not boost their confidence and may hinder their productivity too.
Reinforcing feedback will be more effective as the employee is always reminded of what is needed more and it will boost confidence too.
Reinforcing feedback can be given at any point, and there doesn’t need to be a one-on-one discussion regarding it. You should not wait for the meeting, especially when the review is positive. Your employees will appreciate the unexpected positive reviews, and it will help boost their confidence as well.
2. Redirecting employee feedback
You must have heard the connotation of “sandwich feedback.” This means sandwiching a negative review between the two positive reviews. This is called redirecting feedback. Before giving any kind of redirecting feedback, it is important to know if the other person is in a mental state to work on it and listen to it carefully.
You can always start with the questions like ‘I want to give feedback, is this the right time’, and ‘I have been meaning to share my insights on your work’. ‘Can be debriefed’ etc.
These are the ways wherein you can start a conversation and then put forward the required feedback.
3. Third-party feedback
This feedback is given by a third party and you are just a communication medium. If you are a manager many times you will be hearing feedback from others about your teammates and then you have to convey the same.
You must know how to deliver the feedback appropriately so even if it is negative feedback; the employee should not feel demotivated.
You can always start by “can I share with you a bit of feedback that I have been hearing”
Tips to give effective employee feedback
You must be careful when you are giving feedback to your employees or anyone especially you should beware of the language you use.
Here are some tips that you can utilize while giving your feedback to your employees/teammates.
1. Be conscious of the time
You should always put yourself in that person’s shoes and see if he is in the right mindset to receive feedback. Irrespective of the type of feedback you are trying to deliver, you must see if the person can receive the feedback openly.
2. Be prepared
You must know why you are giving feedback to the person and what outcomes you want from that conversation. You can put forward suggestions as well on how they can achieve the given goals. Your feedback should provide enough knowledge for a person to know if he has to stop certain tasks or continue to work.
3. You can provide exact examples
Telling someone you did a good job or you didn’t is quite vague. It is important to be specific if you want to give effective feedback to your employees, you must be specific regarding your examples.
You can tell “you did this task brilliantly because of the way you handled the client, etc.” This will indicate to the employee what to do and what not to do.
4. Focus on actionable feedback
Avoid giving personal feedback that will do no good and instead give actionable feedback. “You are lazy.” Avoid making such personal comments as they will demotivate the employee, make them defensive, and hinder their productivity.
Try that the goals are futuristic to direct the employees to particular goals.
How can you receive feedback?
As an employee, sometimes you require feedback to know how your performance has been or what you can improve. The more feedback you receive and incorporate into your tasks, the better you perform. You can start by asking for feedback from your team lead, manager, etc. So that you can perform your tasks better.
You can simply begin by asking questions like:
- Is there something that I can improve?
- Can you help me with how I performed?
- Any specific points you liked about my presentation or project?
Sharing feedback is one thing, but receiving feedback well is also one thing. So, you must take feedback for improving yourself and your work. Here are some of the things that you can follow:
1. Just listen
You must be a good listener to receive feedback well. Whenever someone is giving you any type of feedback, make sure you listen patiently; not every piece of feedback will be positive.
2. Be open
You must be open to suggestions, as everyone has room to grow. You need to seek these opportunities to grow and become better.
3. Follow up
If you didn’t understand someone’s review, you can always ask follow-up questions to understand it better. It is always good to ask questions so the other person also knows that you are interested in receiving feedback.
4. Act on feedback
Receiving feedback is not enough and you must act on the feedback as well. Try to make up your goals based on your feedback and see how you can achieve the same.
5. Show gratitude
Giving feedback is a tough task when you don’t know how the other person is going to behave. Hence, when someone is giving you feedback appreciates the person so he or she will be encouraged to give more feedback next time too.
For team leads, to ensure your team is working at its full potential, drop down the valid feedback points. And for the employees make sure you are receiving the feedback and acting on it for your growth.
