At the center of both personal and professional development is feedback. It can have a significant impact on an employee’s performance and behavior within their team.
When giving any kind of employee feedback, you want to make sure to touch on three key things: their behavior (what the employee did), its outcome (what resulted from the employee’s behavior and how it impacted the team and company), and the next steps (how to maintain positive outcomes, improve average outcomes, or work to solve negative ones).
By addressing the three key components of effective feedback, you have a much better chance of having an impact on the employee. To help you out, we put together 10 real-life examples of effective employee feedback and our best tips for making it more impactful.
1. If an Employee Didn’t Deliver a Project on Time
While this could be disappointing, there’s not much you can do about it. There’s no point in getting mad, but you can try to find a solution to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.
Here’s What You Can Say
“The project wasn’t delivered on time, do you have any idea why? As you know, we’re trying to get everything organized for the new website, so if you’re late on a project, it slows down the rest of the team. For the next project, let’s make sure you have more time and resources to finish as planned.”
Whatever the reasons for the project being late, you can try to address them on an individual basis. Helping your employee plan their work will help you detect future issues earlier without micromanaging.
2. If an Employee Didn’t Set Realistic Goals
Your employee is probably disappointed for not having reached their goals, so you don’t want to discourage them further. You do want to focus on how they can set better goals in the future to give themselves the best chance at success.
Here’s What You Can Say
“Seriously, great job with your goals this quarter. You accomplished a lot, and it’s okay that you didn’t hit every single goal, but I can see that it’s taking away a bit from your sense of achievement. I think your goals might be too aggressive. Maybe you can try setting fewer big goals and more small goals, or narrowing your goals down a bit to make them more attainable and measurable.”
In this situation, the issue is more that the employee set unrealistic goals and not that they didn’t do everything they set out to do. Hopefully it’s a learning experience for future planning.
3. If an Employee Seems Disengaged
There are a number of reasons your employee might be disengaged, so you’ll want to figure out what the cause of their disengagement is. From there, you can work together to find ways to help boost their motivation.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I noticed you seem a bit distracted and less motivated than usual and it’s affecting your outlook on your work. Are there any skills you’d like to develop or special projects you’d like to work on? Let’s set up a time to discuss your roles and responsibilities and make sure you’re content here.”
Professional development and a sense of purpose are crucial to employee engagement. By showing your employee that you want to help them grow and try new things, they’ll feel truly valued, which should increase their engagement in itself.
4. If an Employee Doesn’t Take Initiative
This could also be the result of disengagement, but it could also stem from a lack of confidence or empowerment. You want your employee to feel safe to take on new things, and not afraid of failing.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I notice that you haven’t been taking much initiative on new projects. I’d love to see you in a leadership position, and I think it could be a great way for you to develop in your role. I’m here to support you in any ideas or approaches you’d like to try. Even if things don’t go according to plan, we’ll learn from it for next time.”
It’s possible that your employee just needs a little nudge or some reassurance. Affirming your confidence in them will hopefully give their self-confidence a boost, too.
5. If an Employee Made a Mistake
Mistakes happen, and when they do, usually the person responsible already knows that they messed up. Instead of giving them a hard time, try finding what can be learned from the mistake for next time.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I know you feel badly about what happened, but let’s not dwell on it. What do you think could have been done to prevent that outcome? Let’s try to find a way to learn from this moving forward and make sure you have the right support so it doesn’t happen again.”
Chances are, if your employee received proper training, the mistake was an oversight. You want to give them the opportunity for more training if they need it without giving them a lecture. Fostering an environment where employees feel safe to take risks and make mistakes leads to more innovation and big ideas.
6. If an Employee Was Rude to a Co-worker
Ideally, everyone works well together and collaborates smoothly. But tension between co-workers is a natural thing that can happen on any team, and sometimes you’ll have to do some conflict resolution. If one of your employees is rude to another, you want to address it right away and try to mediate the situation.
Here’s What You Can Say
“Stacey mentioned something you said earlier that bothered her. I don’t think she was comfortable bringing it up with you so I offered to talk to you about it. I’m curious, can you fill me in on what happened? I’m assuming it was a misunderstanding, but of course I want us all to get along.”
Depending on the severity of the situation, the best thing is to let them work it out themselves. Encouraging a climate of open communication could help your employees to address small issues before they blow up.
Of course, once certain lines have been crossed you may have to intervene or seek out the help of HR.
7. If an Employee Doesn’t Get Along With Anyone
This is a bit more troubling, so it’s really important to focus on the behavior rather than the person. You want to address why the employee is rubbing the other team members the wrong way, not make them feel alienated.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I just wanted to let you know that a few people on the team have talked to me recently about you raising your voice when you’re frustrated. I wanted to chat with you directly about it to see if there was anything we can do. I wonder if you would consider working on how you express your emotions at work. Is that something you’d be open to? I’d be happy to help you figure out the next steps.”
This can be tough to handle because if the employee feels like they’re being ganged up on, they might become resentful or hostile towards the team. At the same time, it could just be a lack of self-awareness, and simply drawing their attention to it could really help them to improve their behavior.
8. If an Employee Is Gossiping
Unfortunately, gossip doesn’t stop in the school yard. It’s important for managers to take control when people are gossiping because it can really impact morale. If you’re aware of an employee that is gossiping, it’s important to talk to them privately.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I was a bit surprised to find out that you’ve been talking about this issue with other employees. I understand where it’s coming from and I’m sorry you have these feelings towards this issue, but I want you to know that you can always come and talk to me about these concerns. When you talk about it with other employees it creates a negative energy in the office. I want to keep all my employees happy and feeling safe, and I know you want the same, so let’s get on the same page and try to talk this out.”
You want to make your employee understand that discussing the issue with their co-workers is inappropriate, but you don’t want to discourage them from voicing concerns. By suggesting the two of you talk about it and offering to address it with the team, you re-establish appropriate boundaries for dealing with the situation.
9. If an Employee Has Poor Time Management
Time management can be tough for anyone, and requires a lot of readjusting and optimization. When you talk to your employee about this, acknowledge that it can be tricky in a fast-paced environment, but encourage them to find strategies that work for them.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I’ve noticed that you struggled to manage your time for the last three tasks. It impacted the rest of the team because they were waiting for some parts of the project from you. We can figure it out, but let’s make sure you’re set up to optimize your time going forward. I’ll set up 15 minute meetings in the morning so we can all share what we’re working on and what we got done the day before.”
These kinds of daily check-ins can be such a time saver, especially when you’re all working on the same project. As peoples’ work shifts, you can adjust accordingly as a team.
10. If an Employee’s Performance Has Declined
There are many reasons that could be behind poor employee performance, and it’s better not to make assumptions. The main goal is to figure out what the underlying cause is so you can help the employee to improve.
Here’s What You Can Say
“I’ve noticed some changes in your work habits and results over the past week or so. I know how productive and results-driven you usually are, so I wanted to check in with you and see if there was anything you were having trouble with that I might be able to help you on. Or, if there’s anything you want to talk about, I’m always here to listen. I know we can solve this together and I have faith that you can get your performance back up.”
Empathizing with your employee and showing them that you believe in them will help them to feel supported, and hopefully from there you can help them get back on track.
Giving effective employee feedback as a manager can be difficult, especially when you’re dealing with a situation you’ve never faced before. Just remember the three key components and you’re bound to get your message across.
This article was originally published on Officevibe. It has been republished here with permission.