Constructive feedback is a necessary part of being a leader. It leads to a better quality of work and higher rates of productivity. However, constructive feedback can be hard to give. Follow these 5 tips when you find yourself needing to give constructive feedback.
1. Start With the Positive
When you start your feedback with everything that your employee has done wrong, that can be frustrating and harm your employee’s working ability.
Starting with the positive and sharing the things that you liked about the work lets your employee know that they are still doing a good job. Then, you can share what you need to be improved.
2. Be Clear with Your Feedback
No one benefits from receiving feedback that is a jumble of criticisms and half-thoughts. Making sure that your feedback is clear and communicated effectively is important no matter what you’re giving feedback on.
Make your feedback easily understandable so your employee will be able to understand the feedback and be able to provide better work later on.
3. Open a Path of Communication
When you are providing constructive feedback, you might open the door to some questions your employee has about the project or about your specific feedback. Make sure that they have the space to ask those questions and to get additional feedback from you.
Whether it’s emails, a messaging program your workplace has, or responding to comments you left on the document, be sure that you are available to your employee.
4. Don’t Take too Long to Provide Feedback
When you are asked to give feedback on your employee’s work, make sure to give that feedback in a timely manner. First, it makes your employee feel listened to and valued. Also, when you provide feedback quickly, the work is still fresh enough in their brain so they’ll be able to make corrections quickly.
5. Focus on the Project, Not the Individual
It is surprisingly easy to make your critiques on a piece centered on the employee who worked on the project instead of the project itself. Make your critiques project-focused so it doesn’t seem like you are attacking your employee.
When you focus on the project, you are better able to provide feedback that will improve the project overall. Your employee will also be a lot more receptive to your constructive criticism when you aren’t attacking them instead of the work.