How to give constructive feedback to employees

These are some examples of constructive vs. destructive feedback: 

• DESTRUCTIVE: “You’re way behind on your goals this quarter. You better do something about it.”
• CONSTRUCTIVE: “I’ve noticed that this quarter seems a bit more challenging in terms of your goals, though I see you’re working hard. Is there anything I can support you with? Any roadblocks? How about we schedule an informal sparring session to exchange ideas?”

• Be kind and empathetic.
• Constructive feedback must be respectful. Make sure you’re sharing it in an appropriate setting — which might mean a private one. For positive feedback, don’t shy away from doing it in public. Recognition is key to employee engagement, development, and retention.
• Never point fingers — accusations will take you nowhere. Show that the feedback comes from a good place, and focus on behavior. Don’t make it about the person.
• Be timely. Don’t let too much time pass after a situation or project you’d like to share feedback on. This will ensure the topic is fresh in your minds and your suggestions are actionable.
• Don’t address several topics at once. This will only overwhelm the other person. Being timely will help you avoid this kind of feedback overload.
• Ongoing feedback is important, but don’t make it so frequent that it becomes a tool for micromanagement.
• Share a balanced perspective between sharing constructive, development-oriented feedback and highlighting positive behaviors and results.
• When relevant, present documented processes. This will help you focus on how something should be done instead of a mistake already made.
• If suggesting that an employee improves different skills, consider current OKRs and development goals to prioritize what to focus on. Could one of these skills support a current goal? Don’t address multiple areas at the same time.
• To share learnings in a lighthearted way and increase trust, some managers implement a “fail of the week” section in their weekly team meetings. Needless to say, be the first to share your “fails” if you choose to do this.

• Have you considered segmenting the data in your report? This would make visualization and data comparisons easier.
• Your main argument is interesting, and I’d suggest expanding it further and delving deeper into the topic.
• I feel that the introduction wasn’t descriptive enough for readers who aren’t familiar with the topic. It would be great if you could make it a bit more detailed and provide more context.
• I’ve recently watched an excellent video on the topic. I’ll share it with you — I think it will provide interesting insights and make this task easier for you in the future.

Note: Being specific is also crucial for positive feedback. Telling someone what specifically makes something they did “great” can encourage them to keep focusing on that area of excellence. So don’t stop at “great job!” every time.
 

Once you’ve completed the steps above, this is how you should start delivering your feedback. Clarifying your intent means explaining the “why” behind sharing your opinion on a topic. Let them know why this is important in a sentence or two.

Part of what makes giving and receiving feedback uncomfortable for many people is that it might be based on your opinion. Of course, if addressing a conflict situation within the team, common sense makes appropriate and inappropriate behaviors clear. But when evaluating a project, there’s no going around the fact that you’re sharing your perspective. 

So be honest about this and use sentences like “I feel that…” and “I think that…”. Tell your report what your opinion on a matter is, what you think or feel about it, and share your interpretation/perception.

And it’s a good idea to start with what’s working and show that you’re thankful for their contributions instead of going straight for a problem.

Work on your communication skills to nurture transparency and be ready to listen actively to what the other person has to say. You may identify things you hadn’t considered before and gain helpful insights on the situation/topic.
‍

As explained in step 2, think of ways you can support the employee before giving constructive feedback and keep these suggestions in mind. To foster accountability and build trust, you’d ideally wait until your report shares their need for support first (but don’t expect this to always happen, and don’t shy away from sharing helpful suggestions).

This won’t apply to every situation, but it will be very helpful for some. For example, agree on the next steps so that your report can revise a project or a timeline for them to complete a course.

Reach out to them not too long after sharing the feedback and ask them if they have questions, how they feel about what you discussed, and if they need support.

Be consistent with your feedback. If you only share it once in a blue moon, it’ll be much harder to establish a feedback culture. As you do that, keep leading by example and asking for other people’s feedback as well.

Leapsome is the only platform that closes the loop between performance management, employee engagement, and learning. 

Keeping track of the feedback given and received within your team can help establish a beneficial feedback culture in your organization. Watch this video to learn more about using continuous feedback analytics in Leapsome.

‍

Feedback should be continuous and timely. Besides performance reviews, you can share it in your weekly 1:1s, via instant feedback, and in other contexts. 

But if there’s nothing to address, don’t think of something random just for the sake of giving feedback. There’s no fixed recurrence you should follow. And remember not to do it so often that employees feel micromanaged.

‍