Summary Employees are entitled to regular feedback about their job performance.
That applies whether the actual performance is good, bad or indifferent.
The feedback can be provided through your systems.
But you still need to reinforce that feedback face to face.
1.
It's About Performance Performance feedback is about performance.
It's not about behaviour.
Being late for work or throwing tantrums is behaviour.
Missing deadlines, treating customers poorly, failing to meet established reporting standards: these are performance.
When you emphasize behaviour, employees may believe that being 5 minutes late starting work is a greater "sin" than losing a major customer.
2.
Performance Standards Are Essential I won't mince my words.
If you fail to establish clear, measurable performance standards for your employees, you can't measure their performance properly.
And the feedback you provide will be inadequate and incomplete.
In a nutshell: no performance standards: no performance feedback.
3.
Feedback's About Total Performance Look for opportunities to compliment employees when they do well.
Even a brief comment "on the run" will be appreciated.
When discussing the performance of a team or individual in some depth, comment on the overall performance.
Firstly cover the things that were done well.
You want employees to continue to do well what they're already doing well.
Refer to the things to be improved only after that.
Monitoring performance only when it's inadequate demotivates staff and diminishes their enthusiasm.
4.
Be Specific Feedback should be as specific as you can make it.
Generalizations are of little value.
"Jack Spratt of Fish freezing Company was delighted with the help you gave him when their computer was down" is superior to "You did well with the fish company".
It shows that you notice what employees are doing.
And it shows that you're not merely spreading compliments around for "motivational" reasons.
In raising issues of poor performance it's even more important to be as specific and detailed as possible.
5.
Ask, Ask, Ask In formal and semi formal feedback most managers feel compelled to tell employees what the manager thinks the employees need to know.
That may be OK when praising employees for good performance although asking questions will reinforce the benefits.
Firstly discover what happened and how.
Ask what the employee should have done; what could have been the result if they'd acted differently.
You may discover some inadequate systems that need changing too.
Asking creates an opportunity for the employee to reconsider and learn.
Simply "laying down the law" only teaches the employee that you disapprove.
He or she probably knows that.
6.
It's About the Future You want good performance to continue.
You want poor or inadequate performance to be improved.
In either case, you can do nothing about what's already happened.
Either you want it repeated or you want it changed.
Focus on feedback on the future.
And make sure you and the employee set clear measurable performance goals.
7.
Prepare Thoroughly You want your performance feedback to benefit all involved - the employee, the business and you, the manager.
To use the other 6 keys effectively, please prepare thoroughly.
See the feedback as an investment in the future of your business and the development and competence of your employees.
You can achieve those goals only if you prepare thoroughly.
Conclusion Professional performance feedback is an extraordinarily valuable resource for a manager.
It clarifies what you expect, reinforces the value of performance standards, enhances employee self esteem and helps grow your business.
It's vastly superior to a "bitch session" about perceived poor behavior.
Seems worth the trouble to me!