How to Give Effective Performance Feedback
- 1). Schedule a private meeting with your employee and indicate the meeting is to talk about job performance. Be candid about why you want to have a private discussion. Don't mislead employees because that diminishes the level of trust.
- 2). Review the employee's most recent performance appraisal or describe your observations about her job performance. To give corrective feedback, ask the employee if she is aware of the performance standards for each of her job duties and responsibilities. For example, assume the performance standard for assisting customers with technical questions via telephone is to spend five minutes or less per call. If her call records indicate she spends an average of 12 minutes for each customer call, it's possible that she's unaware of the performance standard or that she's concentrating on delivery of overly detailed, quality-focused technical support rather than productivity in terms of the number of calls she takes each day.
- 3). Explain the performance standards and review areas of the employee's job where he can improve. Give him an opportunity to suggest what resources he needs to improve performance. Providing effective feedback requires employee input. Anything less is simply a work directive without the employee's investment or interest. Employees need to take ownership of the efforts to improve.
- 4). Provide feedback to employees on performance that exceeds the company's expectations as well. Remove the negative connotation from the phrase "employee feedback" by giving positive reinforcement and recognition for employees who demonstrate highly developed skills, proficiency and good work habits. Follow up positive feedback with questions about what jobs or duties the employee may be interested in taking on to further improve her standing. Invite the employee to suggest opportunities for her professional development or additional responsibilities.
- 5). Conduct brief, informal feedback conferences with employees on a regular basis. Every four to six weeks is a good frequency to touch base with employees and let them know how they're doing. Address performance issues when you first notice them, while they are easy to resolve without major adjustments or a performance improvement plan. Likewise, whenever you recognize strong performance, let the employee know right away; don't wait until the year-end performance appraisal to commend employees for good work. Remind employees through your actions and behavior that you are available for support, training and guidance whenever necessary.
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