Ever been in this situation before? You have an employee who’s a solid performer, except he or she lacking in one particular area. You want to help them shore up that weakness, but you’re afraid you’ll upset them if you offer feedback about the issue.
If this sounds familiar, and you didn’t confront your employee, then you’re not alone.
In fact, according to a recent Leadership IQ study, more than 80% of managers stated they’ve avoided giving employees tough feedback because they were afraid of a bad reaction. What’s even more interesting is that over half of the employee surveyed (51%) stated that they get too little constructive feedback from their bosses.
That said, offering constructive feedback is a balancing act.
As the boss or manager, you need to get your point across as clearly as possible and in a timely manner. But you need to do so in such a way that’s productive, rather than aggressive or hurtful. Otherwise, your employee could wind up:
- Feeling disrespected and angry.
- Feeling like his or her good work has gone unnoticed.
- Thinking you don’t know what you’re talking about.
- Looking at you like the enemy, rather than an advocate.
- Feeling less motivated and less interested in doing a good job.
- Not understanding what they’re doing wrong and losing confidence in their abilities.
So how can you ensure that feedback is productive? Here are 6 tips.
1. Don’t sugarcoat it.
As one of South Florida’s top staffing agencies, we know it’s natural to want to offer a negative comment about an employee’s performance sandwiched in between two sticky sweet compliments. But you’re sending your employee mixed message when you say, “You’re doing a great job, but…” And as a result, they may not be able to decipher exactly what you’re trying to say.
2. Don’t be overly forceful, either.
On the other hand, some bosses take the “all business” approach, thinking it will reduce the odds of the employee fighting back. But employees don’t like feeling as if the school principal is scolding them. You’re both adults; this conversation should be an open dialogue, not a one-way street.
3. Don’t use provocative language.
Don’t use overly blunt or provocative language like “I’m really disappointed in you,” or “I thought the task I assigned you was a no-brainer.” Otherwise, you’ll trigger your employee’s defensiveness and you won’t accomplish anything productive.
4. Open the floor up.
Once you’ve made your point to your employee, open the floor up for your employee to comment. Ask him or her if there’s anything you can do to make their job easier. The bottom line is that you want to ensure your employee has the opportunity to be open and honest with you about things you can do in order to help solve the problem. Perhaps you’re contributing to it in some way that you don’t realize.
5. Paint a clear picture.
Once you and your employee are on the same page, then talk about how you’ll both go about dealing with the issue at hand. Paint a clear picture for your employee of the actions you both should take, as well as the results you’d like to achieve and when you’d like to achieve them.
6. Consistency is key.
As one of South Florida’s top staffing agencies, we know that if you only provide feedback on an occasional basis, then it’s likely not going to stick. You have to be candid with your employees all the time. Constantly challenge them to do better, but in a calm way so that they don’t feel micro-managed or nit-picked by an overbearing boss.
If you’d like more information about evaluating your employees’ performance, read our blog post about how to conduct better employee reviews.