Giving Feedback? Here’s What Good Feedback Should Look Like

There’s no perfect employee. We all make mistakes. And as an owner or manager, your employees and subordinates should know it. After all, if the problem persists, your business will suffer in the long run.

That’s why feedback is crucial. After setting up an appointment for feedback, you can give your remote workers feedback to improve their craft.

But the question is, how do you know that you’re giving good feedback? Here’s what good feedback should look like.

 

Clarify What Good Performance Is

Before we start with the feedback, how do you know if your employees did well? And how do they know if they’re at par with your expectations? Well, you should clarify what good performance is.

Are there metrics in place to measure what they’ve done? Set targets and performance measures. 

You can set them up if you don’t have them yet. With this, you can manage the expectations for yourself and your employee.

 

Should Be a Dialogue

The purpose of a feedback session is to encourage better performance in the long run. You have to think, how can they be receptive to the information you will say?

Let the feedback session be a dialogue. Remember, you are managing people with emotions. Give them the chance to have questions and provide explanations. 

If they are comfortable with your conversation, you can even create solutions together that would be beneficial for your business.

 

Do Not Tell Them What To Do Exactly

Speaking of dialogue, you should let your employees think for themselves. It’s not adequate to tell them what to do exactly. 

Better ask questions and probe what they think about the subject of your conversation. And later, let them suggest solutions and guide them to the proper direction that you want to achieve. By acting like a coach, you can hone them for better understanding and decision-making in the future.

 

Harsh Feedback Does Not Help

Sometimes, we are engulfed with emotions, and we can lash out at our employees. But remember your goals! Your goal is not to vent your anger, but to increase productivity for your business. And most of the time, harsh feedback does not help.

You are dealing with people. Harsh feedback threatens their self-esteem. A low-morale employee will not be productive. 

Try using the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) to frame your feedback in a more gentle manner. Whether positive or negative, your delivery will contribute significantly to the session’s outcome.

 

It’s About the Process, Not the Person

Again, we all make mistakes. But remember, the subject of the feedback should be the process and the error, not the person.

During your feedback session, you should focus on what went wrong and how you can achieve the desired result in the future. By attacking the person, do you think he’ll be open and receptive to change? I don’t think so. 

 

Don’t Forget Positive Feedback

Lastly, feedback is not always negative. There’s a common notion that when you’re given such, it’ll be all about your mistakes and what you need to improve on.

For sure, most of your employees did something well at some point. Support what they are doing right. Give positive feedback when it is due.

People want to be appreciated. Appreciate their strengths and good qualities. In this way, you can reinforce it into a habit. 

 

Conclusion

Giving feedback is a daunting task. But with the proper mindset and techniques, you can provide feedback that’s productive for your business goals. Cheers!