Question:
Its appraisal time, this time of the year in my organization. Since I am new in my current position, I need some advice on how to give feedback effectively to my direct reports.
Answer:
The process of giving feedback to your team should be an ongoing affair and should not only be reserved for annual performance appraisals. In order to have a healthy working relationship between you and your direct reports, it is important that your feedback is specific, timely, ongoing and constructive. Here is how to ensure that you provide effective employee feedback:
Specific:
Make sure that your feedback is information-specific, issue-focused and based on observations. Aim to deliver both positive and negative feedback, along with information on what needs to change and why. Ideally, give specific examples of when the behaviour in question was noticed.
Timely:
Give feedback as soon as possible, preferably right after the behaviour is exhibited. Research indicates that when feedback is given well after the occurrence, the value of the constructive feedback is lessened. However, for instances where emotions are running high, it’s best to give yourself some time to let them settle so that you can communicate effectively.
Ongoing:
As mentioned earlier, don’t reserve your feedback for annual appraisals, make them a weekly, if not daily, occurrence. While relaying feedback, make sure you express the right emotion. If what you have to say is positive, express appreciation. If what you have to say is negative, express concern. Some behaviour may be the result of habit, so you need to be patient while trying to change or redirect it.
Constructive:
Always remember – the goal of feedback is to help the employee improve their performance. So you need to ensure that you include helpful coaching and suggestions for how to act differently next time. One example would be using the ‘Improve and Praise’ model to give constructive feedback. This can go something like “Ahmed, you need to make sure that you send across your sales reports on time like everyone else. And by the way, good job on closing the deal with XYZ account!” It’s great that you’re asking, because at Bayt.com, our research reports prove that effective communication is very essential.
Here are some statistics from Bayt.com’s ‘Employee Motivation at the ME Workplace’ poll: - 73.7% MENA professionals say that transparent communication channels are very important and affect their loyalty towards the company, as well as their motivation levels. - For 16.5% of MENA professionals, relationships with their boss/management/colleagues was the number one loyalty motivation, coming third in the list after salary (27.9%) and growth opportunities (18.7% ). - 13.5% of MENA professionals claimed that more recognition and appreciation would boost their job loyalty.
