Receiving and Giving Feedback in the Workplace

Approximate reading time: 12m 49s

 

How do you deal with feedback in the workplace? Feedback is a key tool for improving work performance and employee motivation.

Feedback should be given regularly, preferably every two weeks, and should be constructive and supportive. It helps us identify what we do well, what we can improve, and how to focus on achieving our goals.

The benefits of feedback include improving work performance, increasing motivation, boosting satisfaction and productivity. It also provides an opportunity to be heard and to express your concerns.

Sign up for our business trainings, which will improve your skills and contribute to success!

5 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD FEEDBACK

Here are five key characteristics of good feedback:

1. 1. Specific: Feedback should focus on specific actions or behavior, not be general or vague. This helps the recipient understand exactly what triggered the feedback.

   2. Timely: Feedback should be given on time, preferably immediately after the event or action. When it is fresh in the recipient's memory, it has a greater impact.

   3. Compassionate: Even when feedback is negative or corrective, it is important to deliver it respectfully and without blaming. The right tone and approach can help the recipient accept and learn a lot from the feedback.

   4. Sincere: Feedback should be sincere and genuine. The recipient should feel that you are speaking with honesty and conviction in what you say. This builds trust and understanding.

   5. Regular: Do not limit feedback only to problems; provide it regularly. Regular feedback not only reinforces motivation, but also provides ongoing opportunities for improvement and development.

Avoid the trap of giving feedback only when things go wrong; try to give feedback when things are going well.

The power of feedback increases when it is given regularly or continuously. This offers many opportunities for positive  delivery of corrective guidance that helps people improve.

 If you are interested in our services or have additional questions, you can contact us at tel.:  +359 878 685 304, e-mail: office@nitbg.com.

11 TIPS ON HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO AN EMPLOYEE (for managers)

Purpose of feedback

Prepare yourself and think through the feedback you want to give and how you are going to say it.

What do you want to talk about and why? What have you observed?

Describe clear examples of what you noticed, why it is good or not good, and how it can be done better or differently.

Likewise, when you plan to give praise, point out the actual action or result you are pleased with in order to motivate the person to keep doing it.

Another way to prepare is to gather information from different sources, such as other managers, colleagues, and clients.

As a manager, your first desire should be to help the employee succeed at work. That is why feedback should be aimed at motivating employees to do their work in the best possible way and to reinforce that their work adds value to the team, department, and organization.

 Learn how to motivate the team with the training “Staff Motivation”.

Stay calm when the employee makes a mistake

At work there may be moments when an employee has made a serious mistake and your reaction is to reprimand them immediately.

In such a situation, and in fact in any feedback scenario, it is extremely important to stay calm and control your emotions.

An angry outburst can make the recipient defensive, irritated, argumentative, humiliated, belittled, demotivated, and even cause them to withdraw or mentally block out the comments you are giving.

If you feel angry, take some time to calm down, then hold the feedback discussion objectively and respectfully.

 Course “Conflict Management”.

Find the right time and place

Create the right mindset for discussing feedback.

You can use opening phrases such as: "I would like to give you feedback on this month's sales report" or "When you have time, I would like to discuss with you the xyz project you are working on," or "Would it be a bad idea if we set aside a few minutes for me to give you some feedback?"

To maintain confidentiality, avoid interruptions, and allow for a deeper discussion, find a place where you can talk privately.

Take time to understand the other person's point of view

If it is a performance issue, ask questions to understand what may be causing the problem.

You may have your own assumptions, observations, or conclusions, and then the other person may offer a new set of reasons, circumstances, or challenges that you were not aware of and that help you see the situation in a different light.

This also gives you the opportunity to rethink and adapt your feedback based on the new information you have just learned.

You may even decide to postpone the discussion in order to do additional research or analysis.

Allow for explanations and questions

Giving the other person a chance to speak, explain things, and ask questions is an important part of the feedback process.

Sometimes emotions can run high or egos can be hurt, and conversation helps break down the information received, analyze it from different perspectives, and even help someone calm down.

An important part of the feedback process is the opportunity to present your own point of view. You can also ask for clarification on things that were not clear, or look for additional details or examples.

Describe the next steps for tracking actions

After giving feedback, finalize by suggesting guidance on what should happen next.

If you are giving positive feedback, encourage the person to keep working and offer advice on how to make things even better.

If you are giving corrective feedback, outline how the employee can make improvements to address the gaps, and invite them to suggest steps they can take to bring about positive changes or prevent mistakes from being repeated.

Schedule future progress check-ins, offer your help, such as coaching recommendations or training, and thank the employee for their time.

Provide feedback on performance

What are the performance goals? Do you both understand the goals equally?

What challenges or obstacles prevent staff from achieving their goals? What can the manager do to help? Or what does the manager do that hinders progress? Is the workload too heavy? Are priorities overloaded, incorrectly arranged, or unclear? Is there a lack of guidance? A lack of teamwork? Resources? Skills? External circumstances? Personal problems? Communication problems?

Speak candidly about what is not working well in order to get to the heart of performance issues.

Understand what kind of help is needed and discuss how the agreed goals can be achieved. If there are skill gaps, encourage professional development.

You can even suggest workplace skills exchange programs, where people offer the skills they are interested in learning, and then an employee with skills in that area is assigned to train others.

Build relationships with employees

Building relationships with employees is an ongoing activity that the manager or leader must carry out continuously.

The manager should take time to understand what employees do, what their strengths and opportunities are, the areas in which they regularly experience difficulties, and the best ways to motivate them.

When an employee feels that their manager has invested in their professional growth and success, they are more likely to listen to and trust feedback, even when it is critical.

On the contrary, if the boss simply throws out feedback without a strong relationship, it may not be accepted with trust, may be ignored, have little impact, or less corrective potential.

 Course “Leadership Basics”.

Criticize, but constructively

Without feedback, someone may continue making the same mistake over and over again.

Constructive criticism aims to help a good employee become even better and develop their skills, abilities, and work results. It also helps an employee who is struggling to get back on track.

Criticism or helpful advice can be quite painful.

Giving constructive feedback means pointing out something that is not working well, outlining examples that demonstrate the problem you are talking about, using a respectful tone, asking the employee how they can resolve the situation, offering clear guidance or suggestions for improvement, emphasizing a schedule for implementing changes, and mutually agreeing on how progress will be monitored and evaluated.

Work proactively with your employee to help them strive for higher goals, support them in what they are already good at, identify a few initial key areas to work on together to improve performance, and when those are achieved, move on to other areas and remember to give employees a pat on the back when they do a good job.

Encourage employees to share their achievements

In any typical workday there are numerous good things employees do, and it is worth mentioning and recognizing some of those achievements.

Regularly, in forums such as team meetings or one-on-one meetings, encourage employees to share something they are proud of achieving during the day, week, or month.

Sharing achievement stories can help inspire, energize, and motivate others, while the staff receive recognition for their hard work.

Similarly, create a culture where colleagues actively recognize and appreciate each other's efforts and hard work.

Conduct regular performance reviews

They are known by many terms, such as performance appraisal, evaluation, or performance review, which are traditionally carried out annually or semiannually.

They offer a formally documented opportunity for the employee to assess their performance against pre-agreed annual goals, and likewise their direct manager also evaluates the employee against the same goals.

One of the challenges of annual performance reviews is the long period of time between setting goals and carrying out the evaluation. Some organizations adjust the review cycle to ongoing reviews, monthly reviews, quarterly reviews, and even semiannual reviews.

On the other hand, performance reviews are usually detailed, with rating systems and comment sections that offer feedback on how a person is performing against the set standards, as well as identifying areas of high achievement and areas for improvement.

The review should be carried out in combination with other methods of ongoing review, such as weekly, biweekly, or monthly check-ins with your manager, as well as regular team or department meetings.

  If you are interested in our services or have additional questions, you can contact us at tel.:  +359 878 685 304, e-mail: office@nitbg.com.

7 TIPS ON HOW TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK IN THE WORKPLACE (for employees)

Analyze how you take criticism

One of the first things you should analyze when it comes to feedback is to do a self-assessment of how you take criticism.

It is important to think about how you have reacted to feedback in the past, especially critical feedback. Are you open to receiving feedback, or are you sensitive to constructive criticism?

Of course, it is painful to receive feedback that you have failed in one area or another.

However, if the motives of the person giving the feedback are pure and if they deliver the feedback in a respectful manner, it helps reduce resentment and makes you think about how to turn the situation around.

Actively seek feedback

Make seeking feedback part of your routine self-assessment.

Regularly ask your manager how you are doing and how you can exceed expectations.

Discuss with your colleagues ways you can strengthen your work relationships and how you can help each other achieve performance goals.

Also ask internal and external customers for feedback on the type of service you provide.

Strive to discover areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction and how you can continuously meet expectations.

Be willing to learn

The ability to recognize your shortcomings or weaknesses and the willingness to do something about them is of utmost importance.

Sometimes we may have internal sirens warning us that we are heading in the wrong direction, and feedback serves as a red light or a "Stop" sign to warn us that we have gone the wrong way.

Show willingness and understanding to change direction and move toward the right path.

Although receiving critical feedback may be painful in the moment, since it is unpleasant to be told you are not doing well, we still need a reality check to get ourselves back on track.

Look at the big picture of what went wrong and ask yourself what you could have done better and what you can do better going forward.

Manage your emotions well

There are times when someone may unintentionally or intentionally give you feedback in a bad way, in a judgmental or offensive way, or with a bad tone, including sarcastic comments.

Gather as much strength as you can in these circumstances to keep your cool and find a way to separate or sift the good or corrective feedback from the bad delivery.

There are also other cases where even when the feedback is given appropriately, the criticism may still anger you, make you feel disappointed, or make you feel as though you are being blamed.

Try to listen carefully to the feedback and resist the urge to argue. View feedback as an opportunity to discover better ways of acting.

Ask clarifying questions

Ask if something is not clear. The feedback session is an opportunity to clear up misunderstandings and press the reset button.

The new information you receive will help you reprogram your future actions and behavior.

Similarly, ask for suggestions or recommendations regarding the desired change.

Overcome the fear of receiving feedback by viewing it as a necessary part of growth and development and imagining yourself succeeding in your role.

Choose to be a better version of yourself and generally strive to make small improvements every day.

Show your commitment with gratitude

Thank the person who took the time to give you corrective feedback.

If you have agreed on specific actions or a schedule for resolving the issues identified during the feedback, strive to provide periodic updates on your progress.

If you encounter challenges or need help, be ready to speak up in a timely manner to resolve any obstacles.

360-degree feedback

This involves having other people review your performance, such as your manager, colleagues, direct reports, other managers, and external stakeholders such as customers or users.

Receiving feedback from several sources is very useful because you can analyze whether there are recurring or repeated comments aimed at specific things.

When two or more people point out the same thing, whether positive or negative, it means there is a need to take a close look at that area.

  If you are interested in our services or have additional questions, you can contact us at tel.:  +359 878 685 304, e-mail: office@nitbg.com.

3 TIPS ON HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO YOUR BOSS

The importance of upward feedback

Just as managers give feedback to employees, it is vital that feedback also goes back up to managers.

Direct reports are in a good position to give feedback because they interact regularly with their managers and can comment specifically and provide information about their supervisor's management and leadership abilities.

Bosses who are open to feedback do themselves a favor, because it offers a learning opportunity that helps them develop and build their skills and abilities.

Better managers lead to better employees, higher job satisfaction, greater engagement, higher morale, and greater productivity.

Feedback also offers an opportunity to share ideas with your boss.

Companies can help by creating a culture that encourages and supports giving feedback to managers.

Preparing for feedback

Take some time to think through the feedback you want to give your boss.

Consider the reasons you are offering feedback, outline the issue with examples, suggest workable solutions, and aim to keep the discussion professional.

Tell your boss that you want to give them feedback so they can prepare mentally.

When caught off guard, they may become defensive. When you give advance notice and explain why you are giving feedback, they may be more receptive and even appreciate the fact that you are taking the time to talk with them.

Giving feedback

The next step in giving feedback to your boss is to decide on the communication channel; it can be in person, by email, phone, video conference, instant message, text message, anonymous surveys, etc.

Face to face is ideal; it offers an opportunity to present your observations and comments and to answer questions.

Manage your nerves and emotions. Also be aware of your nonverbal communication cues, such as facial expression, tone, eye contact, body posture, and your overall body language.

If you are providing written feedback, make sure it is clearly written, then review and edit it appropriately.

Appreciating the boss:

Bosses also need encouragement and appreciation. Sometimes it may seem like they are doing an ungrateful job with many demands on their time and attention, and a kind word can lift their spirits.

Here is a simple way to send positive feedback to your boss by email:

RE: Appreciating my boss

Dear Boss,

I just want to take a moment to tell you that I appreciate you and the work you do for our team and our organization.

Your efforts add value and make the work of the rest of us easier and more focused.

Keep up the good work you do, especially when you take the time to listen to our concerns and help us consider different alternatives.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Team member

 

5 TIPS ON HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK TO A COLLEAGUE

Constructive criticism of a colleague

When preparing to give constructive criticism to a colleague, you may feel some discomfort because you do not want to hurt the other person's feelings, but at the same time you believe that corrective feedback can help.

Constructive criticism can help in areas such as communication, decision-making, customer service, getting along with others, productivity, problem-solving, teamwork, cooperation, willingness to learn, and procrastination.

When a colleague is falling behind in one or more areas and this affects or threatens to affect work relationships and productivity, then difficult and caring conversations are necessary.

The discussions should point out what is not working well, how it affects others, and suggestions for correction and improvement and for continuing to work as a valuable member of the team.

Constructive criticism should help a good employee become even better, expand their skills and abilities, and inspire them to strive for even higher goals.

Find out what type of feedback your colleagues want

Different people need different types of feedback. A useful strategy is to start by asking your colleague what type of feedback they want, i.e. requested rather than unsolicited feedback, and also how often they need feedback.

When you know the exact feedback someone is looking for, it puts you in a position to look for and offer helpful comments and examples on a specific issue, behavior, or topic.

The next step is to find out people’s preferred method of receiving feedback. For example, some people prefer face-to-face feedback, while others prefer email, phone, instant messages, etc.

Positive things to say about a colleague

Positive support is powerful, valued, and reassuring. There are many cases when colleagues do a great job or go beyond their limits to meet tight deadlines, but no one says anything or recognizes their hard work.

Make an effort to notice and praise your colleagues when they do outstanding work. Point out how well they handled a specific task or how their contribution helped the impact of a given effort.

Also tell them about their best qualities that you admire, and even use the opportunity to learn some skills from them.

Listening to colleagues' ideas

Take time to listen to colleagues' suggestions and ideas and give them your full attention while they speak.

Ask questions to learn what your colleague's vision is for their new ideas, what they think the end goal is, what benefits should be gained, and the potential challenges in achieving the goals.

Offer advice or opinions on how to improve the ideas.

Giving feedback to team members

Meet regularly with your team and give the team reports; for example, after the team has worked on an activity, hold review meetings for tasks, projects, or events.

Give team members compliments, share feedback on what worked well, what did not work well, and what can be improved in the future.

Listen to the challenges they face in carrying out tasks, such as dealing with a difficult client, meeting tight deadlines, or coping with limited resources.

Also find out which aspects of the project or activity employees enjoyed working on.

Encourage colleagues to share tips, best practices, documents, templates, work plans, etc. with each other instead of reinventing the wheel.

Likewise, invite someone from another team to offer their tips and guidance on similar projects they have done in the past, what their preparation work was, and what successes and failures they encountered.

Conclusion

Giving and receiving feedback is a two-way process, and we benefit both from receiving feedback and from providing helpful feedback to others. Feedback points out the things we do well and should continue doing, and it also makes us aware of or reminds us of the areas in which we need to do better.

  If you are interested in our services or have additional questions, you can contact us at tel.:  +359 878 685 304, e-mail: office@nitbg.com.