Positive Performance Staff Feedback

Posted by Admin

Have you ever had to give feedback to staff, peers or even to supervisors? It may have been as simple as answering” How was that presentation?” to as complex as a performance review.

You will have or at some time will be on the receiving end of feedback, either at a performance review or have sought it from a colleague or supervisor on completion of a project.

How you give that feedback can have a tremendous impact on how your staff will respond to future project requests, it could impact on the effectiveness of your organization, your team or your business.

Think back to the various performance feed-backs that you may have received and how you responded. I am sure there would have been many times when your response, your career or your personal development has been adversely affected by poorly given feedback.

It is very easy for managers or supervisors to focus on the faults and these faults then become the first things raised in the interview.

Consider how you would feel if as soon as you sat down you were told “This hasn?t been done; that is an unacceptable standard and you are always late!” Our first defensive mechanism when facing attack is to get aggressive. This is not a good start to encourage improvement in performance. After that it is all down hill. It is like a steel wall coming down between the manager and the staff member. It does not matter then how much the manager praises or acknowledges good work, the staff member is no longer listening.

It is extremely unlikely that faced with such a situation you would respond favorably to being asked to undertake another project. Oh, you might perform it but you would not put much effort in.

On the other hand if you were given feedback that started with an acknowledgment of the good work and hard effort you put in to a project – “Thank you for all the extra time you put in to this project”, “I appreciate the amount of research you have done”, you would be much more receptive to suggestions for improvement. You would be eager to participate in another project and eager to contribute to the organization, company or team goals.

It is all a matter of communication, of knowing the outcome, how to put the words together and how to make an emotional connection with your staff member to make your communication effective.

It?s Time for THE SANDWICH

This method allows you to raise issues with staff members without them becoming aggressive and rejecting your suggestions out of hand. What motivates people to improve? Usually it is a sense of recognition and appreciation. If we can harness that then we have a perfect way to offer Positive Performance Feedback.

First, it doesn?t matter who you are, everyone does something effectively. By recognizing that general fact and commenting on it at the start we tap into the person?s sense of appreciation. By getting them on side we create a willingness to accept our request for improved performance. You now have a positive and receptive atmosphere in which to discuss suggestions for improvement.

Next, concentrate on the specific activity or performance that is under review. Again there must be some parts of the project which were performed satisfactorily so highlight those and explain why they worked well. Again, effort has been recognized and appreciated. This builds on the rapport established at the beginning. This is your first slice of bread.

Having acknowledged the positive and established a receptive atmosphere you can then look at the areas of performance which do need to be addressed and improved and these can be mentioned. By avoiding blame or accusations such as : You didn?t do ? you failed to ? Etc” you can approach the problem from the positive side. “What you did was excellent and I am sure can be enhanced if you thought of adding?., changing ?. Updating ?.spend a little more time on ? Etc” It?s all in the communication and how you say it! You have now added the ham and mustard.

No one objects to suggestions for enhancing work performed, and will often add suggestions of their own to improve the project or performance.

Summaries the interview by mentioning the main points again, and then leave the staff member on a high with a final complimentary statement of what they are doing well. “Thank you for taking the time to summaries just the main points of your report, I am sure that with your excellent research, it will be a valuable document for the planning committee.” You have added the final slice of bread to complete a perfect sandwich, with nothing left to fall out.

If you can master the art of giving Positive Performance Feedback you will have a very valuable tool to add to your Personal Development Toolkit. It will contribute to increased staff efficiency and productivity, to increased morale in your company, and achievement of team, company and business goals. However, remember you don?t use the same tool for everything. Choose when it is appropriate to use and when you may have to be black and white. For example in a life threatening situation e.g. health and safety issues you may have to be more direct, more black and white.

Give it a try and see the immediate benefits, practice and polish your technique until it becomes second nature.