Our Thoughts
5 Steps for Giving Productive Feedback
Jun 4, 2014
Have you ever been at work and questioned yourself whether the work you have completed is right or wrong? Or have you ever been in a situation when you were not aware of your performance at work? Productive feedback is very important within the workplace and it is up to not only the employer to make communication clear but the employee to express any concerns that they may have about their performance good or bad. The following are five tips that can help the process of productive feedback:
Be Available
Set time aside when employees need to ask questions or seek approval for something they are working on. If there is no time during the busy workday schedule time away from work such as going out of the office for lunch or traveling to an event together. When there are questions or concerns from employees be able to answer them or help that person have a better understanding.
Be Aware
Have knowledge of what your employees interests are. Is there a better project that you could be utilizing their knowledge on? Get to know your employees on a personal level so that you are able to connect with them. Being concerned and informed can help, if there are issues going on in the work place you should know or go and find out.
Be Positive
Have weekly rewards or have employee’s set goals, this will allow everyone to get involved and also opens up dialogue among one another. Giving positive feedback reinforces the foundation of any working relationship. It has been proven in research studies that the most effective feedback is given in a ratio of at least seven positives to one corrective message. Get into the habit of providing specific feedback. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to say, “Hey, great job on your sales presentation this month.”
Be Specific
Employee reviews provide a great outline of the individuals process and what they need to work on and how well they are doing. Did you give your team clear expectations? It’s not fair or relevant to hold someone accountable for a specific job function when they didn’t know about it. You must be clear and specific, and share the idea of each objective to improve success.
Follow up!
If you have recently made suggestions to an employee and notice changes in their work, let them know. When you follow up and recognize the effort they’ve made you show that the work is important.
Communicating effectively in and outside the workplace is key to employee retention and accomplishing the company’s objectives. The importance of business messages makes effective communication skills a critical business tools and an essential attribute for manager and business owners.
