There is a lot going on in the world of feedback. In fact, constructive feedback is now often seen as the way to keep innovating as an organization, improve teamwork and get employees to perform optimally. Not surprisingly, more and more companies want to "do something" with it. Giving constructive feedback is one of the best ways to increase productivity. But despite all those positives, giving feedback can be very uncomfortable. A trade off. To give you a hand, we've compiled 10 key things that you just not to do when giving feedback:
1. Not giving feedback
The first rule is immediately the most important. Many people prefer to avoid feedback, including constructive feedback. However, ignoring problems often doesn't make them go away. And so at some point you have to get around to giving (constructive) feedback anyway. Choose the right time to give feedback, but don't wait too long. Make sure it doesn't come as mustard after the meal, but take enough time for it. Our tip: No matter how scary it is, just do it. Withholding feedback often only makes things worse. To make it easy on yourself, start by asking for feedback or giving a compliment first.
2. Giving feedback from anger
Giving feedback in the moment: great! But make sure your emotions don't take over. An example: a colleague gave a presentation and it got completely out of hand. First, she was late and then she forgot half the presentation. Inside you are boiling with anger. And probably your colleague is not having his/her best day either. And yes, it is good to get back to this, but this is totally useless when anger is involved. Take a walk around, let the anger subside, think carefully about what you are going to say and then step up to the other person. Being well prepared will help you control your emotions better.
E-book: Feedback
Do you want to get started with feedback? In this e-book we give you inspiration, tools and tips & tricks to make you a feedback pro too.
3. Giving negative feedback in public
No one likes to be publicly humiliated. Quick feedback to correct or help someone along is fine, of course, but do you want to give constructive feedback on a big, important point? Then it's nice to do it privately, a lot less painful. After all, your goal of constructive feedback is to improve, not to make things worse.
4. Give only negative feedback
Not just naming areas for improvement is constructive feedback. Feedback can also be positive. It turns out that negative feedback is remembered more often than positive feedback. Research shows that 65% of employees have received no recognition in the past year. Shocking! Do you only give your employees or colleagues feedback when they are not doing well? Then they will feel that they are not appreciated and will not be quick to improve themselves. Besides, the purpose of constructive feedback is to make each other better and support each other in the process of growth. Do you use this approach? Then you are building a safe and trusting relationship with each other.
5. Save all feedback until the progress or review meeting
Throughout the year, let employees or colleagues know how they are doing, what could be improved and what is going well. It is no use waiting until the progress or assessment interview to do this. The sooner the employee knows about it, the sooner he/she can act accordingly.
6. Dodging the conversation
Constructive feedback is a powerful tool to improve teamwork and encourage personal growth. However, it can lose its impact when you don't follow up on feedback. A mobile app like Treams makes it very easy to send feedback or ask for feedback. It makes it approachable and easier, but ultimately it's important to "live" the conversation to go deeper into the content. A tool is just a tool. Ultimately, the higher goal is to work toward an open and positive feedback culture.
7. Not giving an explanation
For example, "top job done!", "the presentation was not that good. The recipient cannot do anything with feedback that is not concrete and specific. What was done top notch? What was not good about the presentation? Feedback without explanation causes people to become helpless and not know what they can change to get better. Do you really want to make someone better? Then let them know what they can improve and how they can do it. Use concrete, recent examples so the other person knows what to do differently in the future.
8. Giving everyone feedback in the same way
It is a natural reaction to give people feedback in the way you yourself would like to receive feedback. However, this does not work the same way for everyone. Constructive feedback is not a one size fits all. What works for one personality may work out very differently for another. Get to know your colleagues well and know what you can and cannot say to the other person and in what way. In doing so, always look at the situation from the other person's point of view. Why is the person doing what they are doing and why are they not succeeding? Safety and trust is crucial here.
9. Speaking for others
"I notice that ... and Pete and Johnny think so too." So that's how not to do it. Address the other person in the I form and don't involve others. This makes it less offensive. By speaking from the I form, you speak for yourself and talk about your own opinions and feelings, which can (almost) never be wrong.
10. Not thinking about the feedback you give.
Giving feedback through an app like Treams gives you plenty of time to think about what you want to say. Think of constructive feedback writing as slow thinking. It's a form of paying attention to each other to take your time and find the right words. Of course, there are plenty of times when you can give feedback face-to-face. Then it's nice to put your compliment in the app afterwards so your colleague can read it back later.