7 Tips for Giving Valuable Feedback in the Workplace

Constructive feedback is a communication tool used to create positive change in the workplace by giving individuals specific suggestions to improve their work habits. It specifically focuses on providing feedback that comes from a place of clear good intentions. If the recipient knows you are on their side, you’ll be better able to avoid misinterpretation.

If you want the best chance at achieving positive results and improving your employee’s performance, here are some tips you can follow whenever you offer feedback:

1. 1. Focus on the issue. Proper constructive criticism should always focus on the situation or issue caused by the person, rather than focusing on the person’s character.
2. 2. Be sincere. Whether you’re giving positive comments or negative criticism, effective feedback must be earnest. State how you feel about the issue, and pay attention to your tone of voice and body language so that the person not only hears your sincerity but feels it too.
3. 3. Avoid the sandwich method. A feedback sandwich is when you sneak in a negative statement between two positive ones in order to soften the blow. Contrary to popular belief, however, this is an ineffective performance management technique. It will often cause the recipient to focus solely on their accolades and your constructive criticism can get lost in the shuffle.
4. 4. Be specific. Give specific feedback focused on one issue rather than addressing multiple incidents at once.
5. 5. Allow a response. Good feedback operates best as a two-way street. The recipient will feel comforted by knowing you’re also open to receiving feedback, so ask them what they think about the issue you’ve brought up.
6. 6. Recommend a solution. Once the individual has had a chance to respond, offer up specific examples of the next steps they can take to solve the issue.
7. 7. Provide a summary. To end the feedback session, give the individual a brief summary of the discussion in order to make sure they properly received the message. You can also encourage them to check in with you at any time to follow up on anything that may have been unclear.

Applying the concepts of constructive feedback may seem overwhelming once you’re actually face-to-face with someone, but it becomes easier with practice. Here are three examples of how you can give constructive feedback in specific situations:

1. 1. If an employee is consistently late to team meetings: “I’ve noticed it’s becoming a pattern for you to arrive late to meetings. This bothers me because either we wait for you and it delays everyone else’s schedule, or we start without you and miss out on your contributions. How do you feel about this? You’re an asset to our team, and going forward, I need you to be more punctual. I suggest trying to set extra calendar alerts to remind you of our meeting times.”
2. 2. If an employee isn’t preparing enough for their presentations: “Based on your last two presentations, it’s clear you’re not putting enough hard work in to prepare. This disappoints me because it reflects poorly on the entire company when clients see a lazy presentation. What do you think? I know you’re capable of doing better, so from now on I expect you to spend more time designing the aesthetics of the slides, double-checking your grammar, citing your sources when necessary, and creating visual aids to back up your points.”
3. 3. If an employee appears to have lost their drive to perform at a high level: “I’ve noticed this quarter that you seem to be having a hard time staying motivated and that you haven’t been putting as much effort into your daily tasks. You’re normally one of our all-star team members, so I just wanted to see if there was something specific bothering you or if there was anything I could do to help you rediscover your spark? I’d be happy to try giving you some new responsibilities if you think some variety might put you back on track. My door is always open, so I encourage you to check in with me once a month to let me know how you’re feeling.”

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