It's also important to establish productivity measures for your employees and educate them about how to meet or exceed these standards. Let everyone know that you'll provide ongoing feedback based on their output as it relates to the measures and job expectations that you've set.
- Precise communication enhances your feedback. By providing descriptions rather than rendering judgments, you enable employees to draw their own conclusions.
Example: "Your report contained 12 typos, and it was missing a summary page and evidence to substantiate your claims" is better than "Your report was sloppy."
If your goal in delivering feedback is to help the employee improve performance by changing specific behaviors, then follow these steps:
- 1. Describe specific, observable behavior in judgment-free terms. Example: In today's staff meeting, you told Jon and Sara that it was their fault that the team missed its goal.
- 2. Ask for the employee's input before you draw a conclusion. Example: Did you mean to say that it was their fault?
- 3. Assess the impact of the behavior and its consequences. Example: I understand your reasons for saying that. The issue here is focusing on finding fault rather than working positively as a team.