5 Reasons Your Feedback Is Hurting, Not Helping

5 Reasons Your Feedback Is Hurting, Not Helping5 Reasons Your Feedback Is Hurting, Not Helping Feedback is an important tool for managers and leaders to help employees grow. Its also something employee want. A 2016 Clutch survey found that 68 percent of employees who receive accurate and consistent feedback feel fulfilled in their jobs. There are two important words in that statement accurate and consistent. Not all feedback can be described as such, which is just one of the many reasons it often hurts, rather than helps. When giving feedback to your employees, keep the following tips in mind to ensure its both heard and helpful.Dont take it personally doesnt take away the sting of critical feedback . Why? Thats because hearing critical feedback strikes at the heart of two core human needs- the need to learn and grow, and the need to be accepted just the way we are. Consequently, even a gentle suggestion to do something differently can leave us feeling wounded, exp lains Margie Warrell, leadership expert for Forbes .To avoid being too critical, use these tips from Emma Seppala , Ph.DYour feedback needs to be specific for it to be effective. This bedrngnis only helps the person on the receiving end, giving them a clear idea of what they need to do to improve, but allows you to be thorough and better prepared. Are you trying to acknowledge someones good work? Identify behaviors youd like the person to change? Or share how he or she ranks compared to the rest of the team? When you know the why behind your feedback, youll be able to better organize your thoughts, your message, and the conversation, says Lea McLeod, with The Muse .Create a templated a pre-feedback sheet. This can be used by leaders and managers, even employees doing peer reviews, to structure the information and meeting. With an outline and a plan, its easier to stay focused in both preparation and execution.Instead of assuming everyone wants to get feedback face-to-face , surv ey the employees you manage to get an idea of how theyd like to receive the information. For introverted people, feedback via online chat or schmelzglas may be easier to take than in person. If the person is too nervous, theyll have a hard time digesting and absorbing the information, rendering it useless. If you have too many employees to learn and remember each of their preferences, poll your team about what format they prefer. Give the top two group preferences as an option for every feedback meeting. For example, if you need to speak with someone, you might email and say, I want to give some feedback on your last project. Would you prefer via email or in-person? This extra step may take time, but your feedback will resonate better with each employee when its received in a way thats most impactful for them.For feedback to be effective, it needs to be given in a timely fashion- when it makes sense for the employee If its not delivered at the right time, the value of the message de preciates. Think of praise and encouragement. Even they lose their effect, if delayed. So, when is the right time? Its simple when people need to hear it, says Emilia Bratu, COO and Co-Founder of Hubgets .One way to ensure feedback is timely, is to keep it consistent with weekly feedback meetings with all employees that you manage. This ensures that theres an opportunity to provide timely feedback each week. It also gives employees a chance to ask for feedback and advice on a regular basis, despite your busy schedule. Feedback without an action is just criticism. If you want employees to improve based on feedback, there needs to be two things accountability and untersttzung. The two work hand-in-hand to make your feedback effective and useful. For example, when the meeting is done, ask how the employee believes he or she can improve to get back on track and make a plan together. The plan can be as simple as, I will ask you if Im uncertain about giving a discount, rather than makin g the judgement myself. By letting them come up with the plan, theyre empowered to hold themselves accountable. You then need to support their plan by providing further accountability and offering to help as needed. You can provide that support in a number of ways, the easiest being a weekly check-in to make sure your employee is sticking with it.Feedback is important, so make it effective . When you have a plan, a why and a way to support the employee while holding them accountable, you help employees grow- rather than simply hurting their feelings. Use these tips next time you need to provide an employee with feedback to be sure youre heard and they find value in it.