Why is giving feedback to your employees such a difficult task?
It shouldn’t be, if you know how to prepare!
A well-functioning team always achieves more than individuals on their own. Part of being a good manager is being able to manage this team. Sometimes this is easy and sometimes it can be a challenge. One thing that I have found is that, no matter what the situation, people find it difficult to give their employees feedback — whether it be good or bad.
Feedback is key to a successful working relationship. People need to know what you want and they need to know what to change.
Feedback is something you should aim to give regularly, whether it is a well-planned scheduled session or just purely two minutes at the end of a meeting. When it comes to giving feedback, the one point I always start with is “be open and honest” in the feedback you are giving. This sounds simple but you would be surprised how difficult people find it.
Being honest requires some preparation. While this is not the same as preparing for a formal counselling session, before the discussion you need to spend time figuring out what is the key message you want the person to take away and how are you going to deliver it.
Get yourself clear on:
- What the person does well.
- What you want them to do more off.
- Key talents needed for organisation success and what your organisation (and team) needs from them.
- Where they are less efficient, letting you down or underperforming.
- What their role is in your team.
Of course, this is not a complete list. Figure out the messages you want to give. Work each answer down to a clear, simple sentence. Be prepared to give a specific example if asked to explain.
You need to deliver these messages very succinctly. Focus on the tasks more then the personality. Remember the aim is to give them clear ideas about what you want them to do differently or more of.
If you are planning to have a formal feedback session, you should also use the time to ask the questions and get some answers. For example, ask them what feedback they give themselves.
