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7 Actions for Giving Negative Feedback to Employees · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Giving negative feedback to employees is one of the most feared tasks of managers.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Forty-three percent of 2,700 leaders surveyed found giving corrective feedback is a stressful and difficult experience, and hence the majority of managers don't give negative feedback.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Looking at the negative feedback from the employees' perspective, an Office Five survey from thousands of companies suggested that 83% of employees really appreciate feedback, regardless if it's positive or negative.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a Gallup poll found that employees receiving negative feedback were 20 times more likely to be engaged than those receiving no feedback at all.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: These stats tell a story of employees everywhere shouting, please give me feedback.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So having established that employees really do want feedback, let's go through seven actions that you can take to make giving negative feedback easier on you and more useful to the employee receiving the negative feedback.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, give negative feedback in private.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, give feedback quickly.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Third, tailor your feedback style to each person.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, explain the impact.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, negative feedback must teach and improve.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, actively listen to their feedback.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then seventh, plan actions together.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the podcast, I will let you know where to find seven different feedback models or frameworks for you to try.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: This will give you ways to structure the feedback you deliver, hopefully making it easier for you to deliver negative feedback.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and I've been a hiring manager for over 20 years in corporates and household names through to SMEs.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've learned that giving negative feedback in the right way is genuinely appreciated by nearly every employee.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Practice giving corrective feedback with the employee's development and skills improvement in mind.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Make the effort and you'll get back a lot in return.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhanced.training shares business and people management expertise to help you improve your performance and that of your team and business.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And do visit us at enhance.training and take a look at the courses and resources for you to improve your management skills and the outcome your team delivers.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: The first action in giving negative feedback to employees is give negative feedback in private.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Negative feedback should not be given in public or with any audience other than the person who is receiving the negative feedback.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine how you would feel if your manager exposed what you did not do well to the wider team.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Anger, resentment, embarrassment to name a few.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Always organise a private meeting in a meeting room or take a walk outside with a person.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Organising a private meeting gives you some time to collect your thoughts, structure what you're going to say, and note the examples before you sit down to give the negative feedback.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: A good way to start the conversation is for you to ask the employees' permission to give them feedback.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: This gives a sense of control and equality to the other person, and after saying yes, they're also much more likely to listen and take in what you say.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: The second action in giving negative feedback to employees is give feedback quickly.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: As a rule of thumb, give feedback within 24 hours of the event, action or choice that you're giving negative feedback on.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: I would of course suggest you give feedback a lot more quickly than this.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Give yourself at least 10 minutes after the event to reflect on what you want to say.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you are annoyed or have emotionally reacted to the situation, take time to let your own emotions calm down before giving feedback.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to be shooting from the hip as such.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: The longer you leave feedback, the less impact that feedback will have.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Other events happen, other things occupy our thoughts, and our memory of exactly what happened fades or is forgotten.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: The impact of feedback reduces the longer you put giving feedback off.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure your feedback is given quickly after the event.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Give yourself some time to compose your feedback and then deliver it.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: The third action in giving negative feedback to employees is tailor your feedback style to each person.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone is different and how you give feedback to each individual should be tailored.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: For example, an expert who is confident in what they do is going to be more eager to hear negative feedback as it's an opportunity to get even better.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Beginners who have just started the role would benefit from a lot more encouragement on what they are doing well rather than too much focus on what is not going so well.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Be as direct and clear as possible with each individual.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: You can't afford for them to get the wrong message or ignore your feedback by downplaying its importance.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Make your message clear and ask the individual to repeat back the message to you if you are worried they haven't taken it in.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: I suggest you be kind with your feedback, be sensitive in the tone of your voice you use and your actual choice of words.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure your body language is encouraging and pleasant without taking away from your message.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Tell your message to the person in front of you.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth action in giving negative feedback to employees is explain the impact.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Many people don't realize the full impact of what they have done, or they choose to ignore the impact on others.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: When you are giving negative feedback to employees, you're essentially asking them to change.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: To improve the chances that they will put the effort in to make that change, highlight the impact of their choices on themselves, others, the team, and the business.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: For example, talk about the financial impacts, the impacts on relationships, the impacts on feelings, the impact on teamwork and so on.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: The bigger the impact, the more important it becomes for them to change and increases the pressure on them to do so.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: A word of warning: be realistic when you are highlighting the impact.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Don't exaggerate or play emotional guilt cards too strongly or use other tricks.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Doing any of these and getting caught doing so, your credibility and your trust with the other person will be damaged.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And these are the kind of things that spread around the team quickly too.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: This will hinder your effectiveness in managing the team.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: I prefer to get the other person to tell me what the impacts are by asking them questions and then staying silent until they answer.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Done well, this is a great technique and beats just telling them.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Try it out.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth action in giving negative feedback to employees is negative feedback must teach and improve.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: There is no point in giving negative feedback unless it helps the other person improve their choices, behaviors, or results.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Giving feedback to express your annoyance, anger or other emotions is not going to help the situation.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: When you do give feedback, you want the other person to take in what you're saying and make the change you are requesting.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Telling the other person to change is unlikely to work.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: You need to persuade them, you need to show them it is in their personal best interest to change.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: A consultative process could be outline the actions, behavior and choices made and then go through the impacts.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: This sets the scene and the context.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then go through other options for what they could have chosen or the other actions that they could have taken.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I prefer to get them to first come up with as many of these options as possible.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Only then will I outline any other options that I've thought of.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: This does take more time and a slightly different skill set than just telling them.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: The advantage is the other person has thought of many of the options and they are actively involved in the process.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: This massively improves their buy-in to the process and the feedback.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Then the options discussed can be compared with the action or choice that they took and of the behavior they displayed.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can highlight how each of the options explored is better or worse than the original action choice or behaviour.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Going through this process leaves the other person with several alternative approaches, hopefully ones that they came up with.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: This gives them plenty of learning opportunities.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you have had the opportunity to highlight why their original approach was not as good a choice as these other alternatives, providing negative feedback in a much more constructive way.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, there are times when you just have to tell them to stop doing something.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: A more direct approach is probably more useful.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Disruptive behavior is an example.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Ask them why it happened.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Go through the impacts of the behaviour, touch on the consequences of repeating the behavior, you know, it could be personal improvement plans or disciplinary processes, etc.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then ask them to stop the behaviour.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Give them alternative options of the behaviour if this is appropriate.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure your feedback is as specific and detailed as possible, and use examples as much as possible.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: This makes the feedback useful.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Do not make general comments when giving negative feedback to employees.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Keep everything detailed and specific and focus on the choices and actions, not the person themselves.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Ensure any negative feedback given teaches and helps the other person improve.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: The sixth action in giving negative feedback to employees is actively listen to their feedback.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Throughout your meeting to give negative feedback to employees, watch their body language, their facial expressions, and of course listen to what they say.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Behavioral issues, for instance, often have their roots in other issues.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Ask the employee what caused them to behave in the way they did.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Do not accept I don't know as an answer.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: It is possible the employee may not initially be aware of the reasons themselves.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Ask questions to help guide the employee to giving you a constructive answer.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: With negative feedback on choices or actions, ask questions to understand why the original choice was made or to action taken.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Actively listen through the exploration of options.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: As a manager, I often learn loads in these sessions about how the other person thinks, about their preferences, their strengths, their weaker areas, etc.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Active listening is a great skill.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Active listening encourages the other person to tell you information directly or indirectly.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And as a manager, this is priceless.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: The seventh action in giving negative feedback to employees is plan actions together.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, coming out of the meeting with a set of actions that the employee has agreed to is a good sign of a successful meeting where you have given the negative feedback to the employee.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Don't just tell the employee the actions that you think they need to take.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: If they nod or agree, how do you nearly know that they actually agree with these actions?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Or more importantly, they'll actually put these actions into practice.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: They might just be agreeing with you to get out of the meeting.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: A more productive approach is to ask the employees what actions they're going to commit to.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Coach them to one or more actions.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: They have to think of the actions, articulate them, and then persuade you to agree with them.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: This type of process is much more likely to result in the employee owning and therefore doing their actions.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Ask the employee what actions they're going to take and then wait for their response.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Keep asking questions to lead them to a mutually agreeable set of actions.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a simple example could be Manager.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: What actions are you going to take as a result of this meeting?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Employee.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Manager.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Which of the options you came up with do you like the best?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Employee.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: The second one seems to be most sensible approach to me.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Manager.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: To take the second option, what is the first step you need to take?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you can continue this approach.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Keep responsibility with the employee for their actions.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: This gives you the best chance of getting their buy-in and the actions being done.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, follow up to make sure the actions are happening too.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is a sensible step for any manager to take.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: So there we have seven actions you can take to make delivering negative feedback a lot easier for both you and your employee.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: For seven frameworks to help you structure your conversations, go to our articles on our website and find the article about giving negative feedback to employees.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: We share seven different feedback models or frameworks that you can try out.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: I found that one framework works better in one situation and another framework in a different situation.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: And of course you'll have your favourites that work better for you.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Try them all out.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: In summary, giving negative feedback to employees is difficult to start with.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: We're all worried about offending the other person, damaging our relationships with them, making the situation worse, etc.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Employees want and need feedback so they can improve what they do.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Practice giving negative feedback in a kind, considerate way that teaches and improves what the employee does.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Practicing will increase your confidence and skill in this area.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Giving negative feedback in the right way on the right occasions helps everyone.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, we have gone through these seven actions.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, give negative feedback in private.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Second, give feedback quickly.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Third, tailor your feedback style to each person.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, explain the impact.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, negative feedback must teach and improve.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, actively listen to their feedback.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: And seventh, plan actions together.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any questions, please drop me an email at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.