Giving and receivingperformance feedback

Leadership and Management 2015

Program overview• Understanding feedback

– How feedback works– Person vs task or behaviour focus

• Positive, negative, constructive, neutral, technique and other words for feedback

• Process / tips for giving feedback• Receiving feedback• Summary and close

What is feedback anyway?

• Definition:– The return of information about the result of a

process or activity– An evaluative response

• Translated into the HR context as:– Providing evaluative information to another

employee about their performance

Why do we need feedback?• Feedback is a critical part of the supervisor’s role:

– Provides a road map of work role and expectations– Addresses issues with poor performance– Can help to identify strengths– Gives affirmation for good performance– An opportunity for personal interaction between

supervisor and staff member– Helps staff to evaluate their behaviour– Encourages changes

How does feedback work?• In most cases – poorly!• Things that get in the way of effective

feedback include?– Supervisor unwilling to ‘criticise’– Staff member hostile to perceived ‘personal

attack’– Warm, fuzzy and vague to protect relationships– Focus on the individual rather than the task or

behaviour– Anxiety affecting clear communication

Individual vs task focus• Feedback elicits attention to either the person

or the task• Attention to the person:

– How good / bad am I?• Attention to the task:

– How good / bad was the work?• Focusing on the individual:

– Diverts attention away from the task performance– Invites defensive behaviour

Use a task focus• Task focus addresses what is observable about

outcomes, behaviour and task• Describes how the performance has met / not met

expectations• Is direct and accountable by using ‘I’ statements,

eg:– “I have noticed …”– “I have observed …”

• Is specific, not global, about the gaps (positive or negative) between performance and expectations

Languaging feedback

• Positive feedback – equated with praise• Negative feedback – equated with criticism• Neutral feedback – what does that mean

anyway?• Constructive feedback – cynically

translated into ‘negative feedback’ by most

Golfball game

Feedback is feedback

• Drop the adjectives:– Most people don’t believe them anyway– Those who are receiving feedback will create

their own perceptions about its value• Most feedback is well-intentioned,

regardless of whether it’s negative or positive

The supervisor’s role• Give feedback frequently, not once a year• Create the right context• Invite self-rating before offering feedback• Encourage participation• Recognise effective performance• Focus on problem-solving• Focus on behaviour or results• Minimise criticism• Agree to specific goals and set a date to review

progress (if required)

Okay, but how do I say it?• Content:

– Identify the topic or issue for feedback– Provide specifics of what happened

• Manner:– Be direct and use ‘I’ statements– Avoid ‘need to’ phrases– Be sincere and avoid ‘yes, but’ or mixed messages– Express appreciation or concern where appropriate– Give feedback person-to-person, eg: not solely via email– State observations, not interpretations

• Timing and frequency:– ASAP or ASAR?

Feedback is a ‘gift’• Observations and perceptions are not the

same thing as the ‘truth’• Each person is free to accept or reject

anything• You can receive the feedback in several

ways:– Willing to act on it– Unwilling to hear the other person’s perceptions– Putting it away and forgetting about it

Samples of feedback• Employee has reached rock bottom and started to dig• His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of

morbid curiosity• Works well when under constant supervision and

cornered like a rat in a trap• Employee has delusions of adequacy• Employee sets low personal standards, then

consistently fails to achieve them• Employee should go far – the sooner he starts, the

better

Activity – performance feedback

• Read through the attached scenario and ‘Criteria for leading a meeting’

• In groups, respond to the following questions:– What evidence of performance problems did you

observe?– How would you provide performance feedback,

eg: what would you say?• Discuss with the large group

Reframing• Assigning another meaning or sense to a situation or

context• Not just about shifting from negative language to

positive language• Looks at the situation through a different ‘frame’ or

focus and focuses on problem solving:– The person is not the problem – the problem is the

problem– The person has a relationship with the problem

• Reframing describes that relationship and puts the problem in the centre of the conversation

Facilitative questioning

• Questions that hinder:– Why did you …– What made you …– Do you think …– Is that what you think

…– Don’t you think …– Isn’t it better …

• Questions that help:– Tell me about …– How do you see …– What does that look

like / sound like …– How can I …– What’s your

understanding of …

You can dish it out, but …

• How often do you receive performance feedback from your team?

• What gets in the way of your staff providing you with feedback?

• Think about a time when you wanted to give your supervisor feedback:– What did you do?– How did they respond?

It won’t be offered up• You might want to create opportunities for

feedback:– When you have given someone feedback, ask

them how it was– Ask for feedback after specific situations– Ask what you did well, what you did less well and

what could be done differently• You might not like what you hear, so be

prepared

Strategies for receiving feedback

• Control your defensiveness• Listen to understand• Suspend judgement• Summarise and reflect back what you’ve

heard• Ask clarifying questions and examples

Responding to feedback

• Show your appreciation• Remember that it’s not easy to give any

sort of feedback when there is a power difference

• Practice stress management• If you get upset / angry or disagree, take

time out before continuing conversation

Activity – receiving feedback

• In pairs:– Use the scenarios provided– Take it in turns to give and receive feedback

for 5 minutes each– Debrief with each other for 1 minute– Swap around

• Debrief in large group

Summary• Feedback is a process laden with perceptions and

expectations• Be clear in your language and use helpful

questioning throughout the process• Use feedback to provide meaningful information to

your staff about their performance• Create opportunities for your staff to give you

feedback• Remember that feedback is feedback – it may not

always be the ‘truth’, but it is always useful