As a manager, you have a lot of things on your plate. You multitask daily and still you find that you can’t always meet the demands. But there is one thing that should be moved closer to the top of your priority list. How often do you give feedback to your employees? And how do you share that information? Here are the reasons why feedback should be given often and how to go about doing that in your company.
The Importance of Feedback
Feedback on the job is the single most effective way for someone to understand how their work is impacting the organization. Without feedback, problems can persist and even fester. But feedback isn’t just about providing corrections, it should also contain positive reinforcement of the good things your employees are doing.
Share Right Away
When you wait too long to share feedback, the damage may already be irreversible. We’ve seen it many times. A company will wait until a 90-day review to let their new employee know the work isn’t being performed up to standards. But if your new employee had known on day two or by the second week, they would have been able to make the correction. Saving information only creates frustrating work environments.
Make it Individual
When you do need to provide feedback based on the actions of one person, make that feedback individual. So often managers will hold meetings to call out specific behaviors caused by a single individual or group. This makes the information feel hostile to the employees not involved. Instead, practice a “call in” culture and discuss the feedback only with the people involved.
Receive Feedback
And keep in mind that if you’re going to give feedback, both good and bad, you need to expect to receive some as well. In fact, you should make it easy for your employees to provide feedback to you. Have an open-door policy, be willing to listen, and make changes on the feedback provided. This will help improve morale and employee satisfaction.
Follow Up
Lastly, throughout the feedback process, know that it’s equally as important to follow up. If you talk to someone about their performance, check back in a week or a month to see how they’re doing with it. Without this essential component, feedback becomes and ineffective tool for improvement.
Do you want to improve the way you give feedback to your employees? Harvard Resource Solutions can help, so call now.
