Employee motivation, creativity and morale are all in one way or the other linked to the feedback you deliver as a manager. Feedback doesn’t always have to be sugarcoated with a pat on the back to be taken seriously. Even criticism, if delivered in the right manner, can help your employees to be more dedicated and serious on the job.
Not all managers are able to master the art of delivering effective feedback, which is why they make errors in the process and regret them later. In this article, we identify some effective ways for delivering constructive feedback in the workplace. Follow these ways to keep your employees motivated and satisfied.
Be Very Specific
Don’t beat around the bush when you are delivering feedback. As a manager, you should stay focused on the task, and should keep your feedback to the point. You do not want your employee to walk out of the room confused about what went wrong. Comments like, “I wasn’t impressed with your efforts” or “I think the report should be written again” serve no other purpose than leaving employees in the dark and keeping them confused.
You should be specific in your feedback and narrow down all problems. Instead of saying the report wasn’t good, try to narrow it down and pinpoint where exactly they went wrong. Give tips to your employees on how they can improve that specific part of the report. Keep it simple and draw the justified rewards.
Don’t Wait Too Long
Most managers and organizations wait for quarterly reviews or annual appraisals to discuss possible weak points with employees. Try to nip issues in the bud and let your employee know what part of their job needs to be improved. If you don’t tend to errors right away, you will risk creating a domino effect of errors by the time your quarterly reviews or appraisals happen.
Keep it Private
Never ever barge into your workspace to criticize an employee in front of others. This is a cardinal sin and will only wreck havoc to your employee’s confidence. No one likes being cautioned off in front of others, and being part of the corporate culture you should know this better than others. Delivering your feedback in a face-to-face meeting can also allow your employee the privilege to answer back. They can use the opportunity to explain their point of view and why they did what they did. Try to step outside of the office when delivering feedback. Take the concerned employee for coffee or a walk, and discuss the issues with them.
You can get in touch with us at JS Group to talk about all the proven ways to deliver good employee feedback. You can know more about what we offer by getting in touch with us today.
