8 Ways to Give Helpful Feedback at Work
Miscellaneous / / May 06, 2022
Effective techniques that will be useful to both bosses and subordinates.
Why is it important to give feedback
Constructive criticism and detailed reviews make us more competent. Feedback improves efficiency, helps to work better in a team and positively influences the ability to make decisions. And this applies not only to individual employees, but also to entire departments.
StudyC. Portath. Mastering community, in which more than 20 thousand people took part, showed that competent feedback increases efficiency by 89%, improves engagement by 63%, increases job satisfaction by 79%. In addition, employees who receive more reviews are 1.2 times more likely to stay with the company.
The best wayD. Novak. Recognizing employees is the simplest way to improve morale / Harvard Business Review to raise the morale of the team - to celebrate its achievements. Gallup Poll showedEmployees want a lot more from their managers / Gallupthat 67% of subordinates whose strengths were regularly emphasized were completely immersed in their work. And if the boss noted only weaknesses, only 31% of employees remained focused.
Another study demonstratedM. Losada, E. Heaphy. The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of business teams: A nonlinear dynamics model / American Behavioral Scientistthat high-performing teams give each other nearly six times more positive feedback than teams with modest success rates.
Honest and well-formulated feedback strengthens work relationship. When team members help each other develop, they create a kind of feedback loop in which everyone receives and gives useful recommendations. The more often this happens, the more cohesive the team becomes and the more favorable the working atmosphere.
How to give feedback the right way
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant identifies several ways to constructively evaluate the work of others.
1. Use the situation-behavior-impact model
It is especially suitable for discussion and resolution conflicts. First, describe the situation and behavior of the employee, trying to be brief and refrain from rude language. And then share your opinion and explain how everything that happened affected other participants in the events.
2. Avoid "information sandwiches"
Many people like to start feedback with a compliment and end it on a positive note, inserting a not-so-pleasant assessment of the work in between. So it turns out "information sandwich".
According to Adam Grant, this is not the best strategy, because people most often remember the beginning and end of a conversation. So the bleak but necessary "middle" with feedback is simply lost.
Another disadvantage of this approach is related to the natural for us expecting the worst. After the first compliment, we are already tensing up and getting ready to crush our work. Therefore, it is better to abandon the “information sandwiches” and formulate feedback in a different way.
3. Show care
Experts recommend showing concern before moving on to direct criticism. To show participation, you can carefully listen to the interlocutor or thank the employee for the work done.
Take note😊
- How to praise employees so that the whole team works more efficiently
4. explain the reasons
Pilot study among American studentsshowedD. Scott Yeager, V. Purdie-Vaughns, et al. Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide / Journal of Experimental Psychology: Generalthat feedback was 40% more effective when it began with the phrase “I am giving you the following comments because I expect a lot from you and I know that you can meet my expectations.”
According to Adam Granat, when we first talk about our intentions, this allows us to reduce the level of the interlocutor's defensive reaction. This technique helps to turn feedback into a kind of challenge without going too far.
By the way, a similar approach can be used with children, anticipating the “debriefing” with the phrase “I demand more from you, because I know that you are on it able».
5. Maintain a balance between negative and positive
People are afraid of bad grades. To smooth things over, Adam Grant advises not to be shy about being vulnerable and showing your humanity. For example: “I myself learned a lot from the comments of colleagues and friends. And now I try to be just as useful to others.” Or: “Now that we have been well done together, it wouldn’t hurt to improve each other’s work and share feedback.”
6. Assess the situation
Not everyone wants to receive feedback on their work, especially from colleagues, so you should make sure that such comments are needed at all. For example: “I've noticed a few trends in your work over the past couple of months. Do you mind hearing feedback?"
If a person understands that he has the last word, this helps him to be more open to outside opinion. However, if you see a serious problem, it is better to give feedback immediately or soon.
7. Stay alone
Not everyone likes to hear feedback about their work in front of the team, even if they are positive. Some are embarrassed and prefer face-to-face conversations. If you're not sure how best to praise an employee, ask them in person.
8. Watch facial expressions and gestures
Sometimes it's not just what you say, but how you say it that matters. During one researchD. Goleman, R. E. Boyatzis. Social intelligence and the biology of leadership / Harvard Business Review two groups were studied. In one of them, participants received negative feedback with positive non-verbal cues: a head nod and a smile. In the other, they listened to compliments from a man with squinted eyes and furrowed brows.
Surprisingly, people from the second group rated their work much worse, despite the fact that they received positive information. This proves that our facial expressions, gestures and other emotional signals are no less important than wordingthat we choose.
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