Guidelines for Giving Effective Feedback

By Mary Jo Asmus, Aspire Collaborative Services

Feedback is defined as “…the transmission of evaluative or corrective information to the original or controlling source about an action, event, or process” Feedback does not necessarily mean imparting information around the “negative”, but rather should also be provided to reinforce “positive” behavior. There is an art to providing feedback that will support employees in making positive personal and professional changes that are in the best interest of your business. The following guidelines can assist managers in providing effective feedback:

1. Timely: Information should be provided as soon as it is reasonably possible following the situation/incident. It doesn’t do your organization or the employee any good to save up these discussions until the formal performance evaluation process.

2. Ask: Start by asking the employee if you can provide some feedback; this gives the individual buy-in and gives you permission (the chances that they will deny your request are small).

3 . Specific: Feedback should be specific; focus on a specific incident or observation. It is easier for most people to react to a specific comment.

4 . Focused: Feedback should be focused on one or two items at a time in order to center the discussion and prevent the employee from feeling overwhelmed.

5 . Behavioral and descriptive: Describe (rather than judge) the behavior that you observed. Next, express the effect on you or your organization: “When you interrupted me at yesterday’s meeting, it made me feel that my comments were unimportant”. Or, “When you interrupt others, they don’t get a chance to provide their opinions and we had agreed to work as a team to allow all opinions to be expressed”.

6 . Contextual: The specific behavior discussed should be placed in context, when possible, with the expectations already understood for that individual. In the case of the comment depicted above, if the behavior has been discussed before (i.e., it has been part of a performance evaluation), remind the individual.

7 . Balanced: Always look for, and celebrate, the positive. Employees want to be reminded of what they are doing that is right.

8 . Actionable: Outline specific practical actions that can be taken. Encourage the employee to come up with her own solutions.

9 . Review: Review feedback with the employee and make sure that she understands: “Do you understand this feedback? How do you see it?”

10. Follow Up: Make sure you follow up with the employee at a later date – either to praise them for making a change or to begin the discussion again.