Giving good feedback is key to helping employees grow and making a team successful. Yet, many managers find it hard to give constructive advice. This is often because they focus too much on being kind rather than giving the feedback needed.
Matt Dailey, a software engineer, faced this issue when he couldn’t effectively talk to an employee who wasn’t doing well. Studies show that giving feedback can really help employees do better and feel more motivated. This leads to them working harder and staying with the company longer.
Key Takeaways
- Feedback can increase employee competence, performance, morale, and engagement by up to 89%.
- Employees who receive more feedback are 1.2 times more likely to stay with the organisation.
- Specific feedback is more valuable than general praise, leading to better understanding and behaviour improvement.
- Providing feedback in a more informal setting can alleviate pressure for both giver and receiver.
- Encouraging a feedback-friendly culture can enhance communication and talent retention within teams.
The Benefits of Feedback at Work
Getting feedback, reviews, evaluation, appraisal, critique, commentary, remarks, assessment, response, and input can make you better at your job. It helps you make smarter choices, work better with others, and get more done. Studies show that getting lots of feedback leads to being happier at work, being more engaged, and being more satisfied with your job.
Increased Competence and Performance
Good feedback can make you perform better at all levels. It helps you make better decisions and succeed. PwC found that nearly 60% of workers want feedback every day or week. For those under 30, this number jumps to 72%.
Asking for specific examples when feedback is unclear can help you understand it better. This makes the feedback more useful.
Improved Morale and Engagement
Positive feedback and praise make workers happier and more likely to stick around. A survey found that 72% of workers think being recognised has a big impact on their engagement. Feedback is linked to more engaged employees. Workers who feel safe sharing feedback can stop problems from getting worse.
Feedback Delivery: Best Practices
Giving effective feedback is key for any manager or team leader. To make feedback work, it’s vital to use best practices. The Situation-Behaviour-Impact (SBI) model is a great way to do this.
Use the Situation-Behaviour-Impact Model
The SBI model talks about the situation, the action taken, and the effect it had. This method helps the person understand why the feedback is given. It makes the feedback clear and actionable by focusing on facts and outcomes.
Avoid the “Feedback Sandwich”
Many managers use the “feedback sandwich”, praising and criticising in one go. This can hide the real feedback. Instead, go for radical candour. Show you care about the person and challenge them directly.
Employ Radical Candour
Radical candour means explaining why you’re giving feedback. It lowers defences and makes people more open. Showing you want to help them grow builds trust and open communication. This method is more effective than indirect feedback.
| Feedback Technique | Key Benefits |
|---|---|
| Situation-Behaviour-Impact Model | Provides context, focuses on facts, and highlights consequences |
| Avoiding the “Feedback Sandwich” | Ensures the critical feedback is not overshadowed by praise |
| Employing Radical Candour | Builds trust, demonstrates care, and increases receptiveness |
Using these best practices, managers can give feedback that is clear, helpful, and leads to positive change at work.
Creating a Feedback-Friendly Culture
Making the workplace a place where feedback is valued is key to ongoing growth, better communication, and more engaged employees. To do this, companies need to make sure everyone gets equal chances to give and receive feedback. They should also make sure feedback comes at the right time. This is really easy using Perform as peer to peer feedback can be given or requested whenever the time is right.
Level the Playing Field
It’s important to be open and human when giving feedback. This approach helps reduce defensiveness and builds trust. By showing vulnerability, leaders can get their team to be more open to feedback.
Provide Timely Feedback
Organisations should give feedback right away, not just during formal reviews. This helps fix problems quickly and lets employees improve. Just asking if people want feedback makes them more open to it.
Recent surveys show how vital a feedback-friendly culture is. Employees who are more engaged often get feedback regularly. In “high-trust” companies, there’s less burnout, stress, and more productivity.
By making feedback fair and timely, companies can create a culture that values and seeks feedback. This leads to better performance, communication, and more engaged employees. These are key for success in any organisation.
The Consequences of Poor Feedback
Research shows poor feedback practices can cause harm. One employee was told by their manager they wouldn’t be taken seriously because of their young look. This hurt their self-esteem and damaged their relationship with their manager.
Many companies don’t have a strong feedback culture. Leaders often struggle to give specific, helpful feedback. Instead, they usually give generic praise.
Poor feedback can lead to big problems. It can make employees less engaged and less productive. Without good feedback, people might leave their jobs because they feel not valued and unsupported.
Also, not giving feedback can make the work environment worse. It can create a climate of fear that stops people from being creative and innovative. Feedback can actually make things better, but sometimes it can make them worse too.
Feedback can be less effective when it focuses too much on the person and not enough on the task. Experts say that feedback is often talked about too much without being properly understood. A lot of research shows that how well feedback works can vary a lot.
| Consequences of Poor Feedback | Impact |
|---|---|
| Decreased employee engagement and productivity | Common outcome in organisations without proper feedback mechanisms |
| Higher turnover rates | Linked to the absence of effective feedback practices |
| Negative impact on organisational culture | Creates a climate of fear that hinders innovation and creativity |
| Feedback interventions (FIs) | Improve performance on average by a factor of 0.41, but over one-third decrease performance |
In summary, poor feedback practices have big downsides. They can lead to less engaged and less productive employees. They can also harm the work culture and make performance unpredictable. Companies need to focus on giving good feedback to create a positive work place.
Giving Feedback: An Essential Skill
Providing effective feedback is key. It needs careful planning. As a pro, think about what and how you’ll say your feedback. Choose the right way and place to share it. It’s vital to focus on actions, not personal qualities. Check our our manual for managers.
Prepare Intentionally
Before giving feedback, think about the situation and what the person needs. Decide on the best way to share your thoughts, like one-on-one, in a group, or in writing. Get your ideas clear and have examples ready to support your points.
Be Specific and Considerate
- Think about the person’s feelings and give feedback kindly to build trust and help them grow.
- Stay away from vague comments and focus on specific actions that can be better or praised.
- Use “I” statements to make your feedback clear and based on facts.
- Make sure to also give positive feedback to keep the person motivated and confident.
Learning to give feedback, reviews, and assessments well is crucial. It helps your team keep improving and growing. With careful thought and attention, you can help your team do their best.
Receiving feedback, commentary, reviews, evaluation, and input
It’s vital for employees to get feedback, but leaders should also look for it. They should have regular feedback sessions and build strong relationships with those who give constructive advice. Using 360-degree feedback tools is also a good idea. When you get feedback, try not to get defensive. Instead, show the traits you want to see, like being open-minded and self-aware.
Actively Seek Feedback
Leaders should make a point to ask for feedback from their team, colleagues, and customers. Here’s how:
- Have regular feedback sessions where everyone feels free to speak up
- Build strong connections with those who give honest feedback
- Use 360-degree feedback tools to get opinions from different people, like subordinates, peers, and bosses
Demonstrate Receptiveness
When you get feedback, it’s key to show you’re open to it and ready to get better. Here’s how:
- Don’t react defensively or dismissively to feedback
- Listen carefully and try to understand what’s being said
- Talk about how you’ve used the feedback and the good changes you’ve made
By asking for feedback and being open to it, leaders can encourage a culture of ongoing improvement. This makes employees feel important and gives them the confidence to share their thoughts.
Normalising Feedback in the Workplace
Regular, constructive feedback is key to a high-engagement work culture. Honest, consistent feedback is vital for strong team engagement. Leaders should give clear, specific feedback and value employee input to boost engagement, retention, and communication.
Many organisations find it hard to make feedback normal. A survey showed 70% of nonprofit leaders see feedback as “information to correct a problem” or prefer calling it “advice” or “suggestions”. Experts recommend a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative feedback. This balance makes people feel valued, leading to better performance. Negative feedback can stop learning and make people defensive.
To make feedback normal, leaders should regularly praise and appreciate their team. A former executive talked about having quarterly feedback sessions. They asked about strengths, areas to improve, and what could be done differently. By being open to feedback and focusing on the positive, leaders build trust and value, improving team performance.
Studies show the perks of regular feedback. 60% of employees want feedback daily or weekly, and 72% under 30 prefer regular check-ins. Companies with frequent feedback see a 14.9% drop in employee turnover. But, 40% of employees become disengaged with little or no feedback.
After the pandemic, employees want more recognition, growth chances, and to feel valued, trusted, and empowered. By making feedback normal, leaders can create a culture where employees feel valued and motivated to help the company succeed.
Conclusion
Effective feedback is key to boosting employee skills, work performance, and happiness. Using methods like the Situation-Behaviour-Impact model helps leaders give feedback that improves things. It’s important to avoid the “feedback sandwich” and be honest and direct.
It’s also vital for leaders to show they value feedback and lead by example. This encourages the team to do the same. By making feedback a normal part of work, teams can grow and improve together.
Feedback is crucial for ongoing improvement and learning. It helps in making better decisions and growing professionally. A good conclusion should highlight the main points, explain why they matter, and suggest ways to use the ideas in the future.
Putting a focus on giving good feedback helps teams reach their best potential. It creates a workplace where everyone grows, takes responsibility, and respects each other. The conclusion wraps up by underlining the topic’s importance and its role in expanding our knowledge.
Source Links
- Nine Tips for Giving Better Feedback at Work – https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/nine_tips_for_giving_better_feedback_at_work
- How to Give Effective Feedback in the Workplace – https://www.ddiworld.com/blog/effective-feedback-in-the-workplace
- Feedback Culture: What It is and How To Build It | ThoughtExchange – https://thoughtexchange.com/blog/feedback-culture/
- Subject Guides: Skills Guides: Giving & receiving feedback – https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/skills/feedback
- Working in diverse teams – https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=68107§ion=2
- How to give and receive feedback effectively – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5709796/
- Performance feedback: an evidence review, Practice summary – https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/evidence-reviews/performance-feedback-evidence-review_tcm18-111378.pdf
- Conclusions – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
- Research Guides: Organising Your Social Sciences Research Paper: 9. The Conclusion – https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/conclusion
