Give constructive feedback to develop talented teams
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As a manager, how often do you give feedback to your staff? Feedback is one of the most effective ways to improve performance and develop the talents of others, so if this is something you’ve ever felt hesitant about doing read our top tips below.
Look for opportunities to praise and thank your team for their work – it’s very motivational and clearly demonstrates that you notice what people are doing and the effort they are making to achieve team goals.
Be specific – a general thank you is always appreciated, but if it’s specific your team will know precisely what it is you want them to continue to do or stop doing if it’s making them ineffective.
Be constructive if giving more negative feedback – don’t forget to recognise all that your team member is doing well before launching into something you’d like them to change. So, use the www.ebi acronym (what works well, even better if approach) as this helps to keep your language positive throughout without avoiding the issue you need to raise.
Talk about behaviours and outcomes, not personality. If a team member has handled a problematic call well let them know what you heard and how that approach, in your eyes, lead directly to a satisfactory outcome for everyone. If the call wasn’t handled as well as it might have been again, let your team member know what you heard and explain how that came across to you as the listener.
Be supportive – if your team member hasn’t handled a situation well outline the issue and the consequences then ask them what they could have done differently and how that would have affected the outcome. Help them to think about how they might be more effective in future. Use a coaching approach and help them explore how their performance might improve around this particular issue. Discuss the pros and cons of each idea with them before asking them to choose an approach they are comfortable with that should lead to better outcomes. Only if they are really stuck should you offer your own solutions.
Don’t judge – most people come to work to do a good job. If they don’t handle something well, it will rarely be intentional.
Don’t overload people – whether your feedback is positive or more critical, one or two points is enough for most people to take in and act upon.
Don’t assume your preference for receiving feedback is theirs – some of us need very little praise while others need much more. Some people like regular feedback from their manager so they know their work is in line with expectations and the reassurance they aren’t ‘going off at a tangent’.
If your team member seems embarrassed by praise or even denies they’ve done an excellent job, don’t let that put you off. Instead, use a little humour to let them know that saying thank you is enough!
Does your team make notes when receiving feedback? This is particularly useful when the feedback forms part of a project or performance review. What we note down is far more likely to be remembered and acted upon, and you will have the comfort of knowing you shouldn’t need to repeat yourself in the future.
Do you ask for feedback? If you really believe in the value of feedback, make sure your team know just how genuine a belief this is by ‘practising what you preach’.
TAKE AWAY
Feedback is an invaluable tool for managers to support the development of their team. Whether used after interviews, performance reviews, when repeat problems arise, in coaching or when asked, just follow the guidelines above and you’ll soon find the results are well worth the time taken to notice their performance and in having really constructive conversations.