Giving Feedback Without Fear: Ten Action Steps To Overcome Appraisal Paralysis

I've created a theory I call the Thumper Theory of Giving Feedback(TM).  We were told as children, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."  Even Bambi's friend Thumper got this advice.  And now we pass this lesson down to the generations who have watched Disney movies.  While this standard advice was given with good intentions, following their advice is not necessarily a best practice for managers and business owners who supervise employees.

Too frequently managers avoid discussing performance issues with their employees.  The most important issues needing to be addressed are ignored.  The impact of this failure to give direct, constructive, timely feedback is enormous - affecting the bottom line of our organizations from many directions.  This fear of giving employees feedback is one of the worst obstacles to managing employees effectively.  This absence of honest feedback results directly in lower productivity, lower employee morale, lower employee retention and lower profitability.

Employees are starving for feedback and recognition as part of their everyday worklife.  They want to be challenged and they want to know how they're doing regarding their contributions to the organization.  If employees aren't being told how they are performing and how their efforts contribute to an organization's success, most likely the organization is experiencing lower morale and higher turnover than it should.

And what about those employees whose performance is holding the entire organization back?  Every time managers avoid giving constructive feedback to a struggling performer, they create a destructive environment.  The problem isn't just the employee who doesn't function at maximum capacity.  It's the additional impact on other employees who are picking up another's slack, who are frustrated by dual performance standards, and who are questioning management's ability to manage.  That is what really pulls the organization down.

The real question is what do managers really have to fear regarding giving appropriate feedback to their employees?  Although there's much hype about employees suing employers for everything management does, that's not the true fear.  The incidence of lawsuits is too low and too recent to be a meaningful deterrent.  The fear surrounds the manager's discomfort, the unknown response and reaction of the recipient employee, and the lack of knowledge of how to give feedback effectively.

The key is to integrate formal feedback tools with regular informal feedback conversations.  Organizations cannot rely on a once-a-year feedback system to do the job.  Actually, the annual performance appraisal should merely be the formal tool that summarizes and documents a whole year of informal feedback.

How does an organization ensure that every manager understands that giving regular, honest, timely, constructive feedback is one of the primary responsibilities of managing employees?  It is often assumed that managers understand that their objective is business output.  However, the "fear" stops managers from achieving the potential increase in output by the mere actions of recognizing employee accomplishments and giving clear feedback on how to succeed in their work.

Implementing Solutions.  What can business owners and managers do to eliminate the paralysis resulting from fear of feedback?

·         Role model effective feedback processes from the top down.  Make it a priority to hold all managers and supervisors accountable.  Discuss the process and the results with other managers and train managers until giving feedback is as routine a part of their day as using a computer.

·         Begin giving job performance feedback immediately upon hiring a new employee.  If managers regularly compliment accomplishments and identify problem areas with the intent to teach rather than punish, feedback will become an expected and routine part of their supervisory style.  Educate all employees during their new-hire orientation to expect feedback throughout their tenure with the organization.  Under the philosophy of feedback as a success tool, the employee and business can only succeed.

·         Be consistent across employee ranks when giving feedback.  Avoid having favorite employees who get all the positive comments and choice work opportunities.  Develop all employees by communicating a balance of acknowledgments for good work as well as identifying areas where improvements can be made.  Every employee needs both types of feedback.  Even top performers need feedback on how to grow.

·         Say "thank you" and "good job" regularly.  Genuine positive feedback is appreciated by everyone.  But don't comment for the sake of commenting, or it will lose its value and meaningfulness.

·         Be specific about the job-related action being recognized.  "Thank you for taking  the time to respond to that difficult customer," has much more impact than "I heard what you did yesterday.  Thanks."  The first statement rewards a behavior the employee can repeat.  The second statement may have the employee guessing about what was done well.  A generic comment doesn't reinforce the future repetition of a specific, job-related activity - which is a key objective of giving feedback.

·         Don't assume that employees know what managers are thinking.  Just because they role model appropriate skills or behavior doesn't mean employees understand that similar behavior is expected of them.  Communicate by word as well as by action.  For example, just because a manager arrives to work on time, doesn't mean the employee understands that their tardiness is a problem.

·         Don't put off giving feedback.  Delayed positive feedback loses its power, while negative feedback becomes distorted.  If managers communicate performance expectations and observations as they occur, there are no surprises and less performance-related stress.

·         Create an environment that encourages two-way feedback.  Chances are managers can also improve how they work.  Ask employees for their feedback ideas on how the manager can better manage.  Let employees see how well their suggestions are integrated into management's work style.

·         Develop a performance appraisal form that directly correlates with each position or cluster of positions.  A form that is too generic doesn't give managers the opportunity to evaluate specific job performance effectively.  Some of the best appraisals correlate closely with job descriptions.  Involve employees in creating their own appraisal forms.  That's a sure method for employee buy-in.

·         Stay away from personal, defensive-creating feedback.  This might include comments like, "You have a bad attitude."  If personal characteristics are getting in the way of job performance, then phrase the feedback in terms of performance results, impact on other employees and specific examples of behavior.

Business owners and managers should thoroughly review the performance management processes and practices throughout the organization.  They should determine whether the way managers appraise employees truly measures up.  Then, the organization needs to develop strategies, train management and consequently create a culture with no performance feedback phobia.

Mini-performance feedback assessment.  It is each manager's responsibility to assess how they and their organization performs in the feedback arena.  Answer these 10 questions:

1. My organization requires managers to conduct regular, annual or semi-annual performance appraisals with their employees.   ___Yes   ___No
   
   
2. My organization holds managers accountable for completing appraisals on-time.    ___Yes   ___No
   
   
3. My organization provides a user-friendly appraisal form for managers to complete.  ___Yes   ___No
   
   
4. Our appraisal form is job-specific, meaning the evaluative criteria correlates closely with the job being performed.   ___Yes   ___No
   
   
5. My organization gives employees the opportunity to have input into their appraisal.  ___Yes   ___No
   
   
6. I understand the performance rating system we use. ___Yes   ___No
   
   
7. My employees understand what they are being rated on and how the rating system works.   ___Yes   ___No
   
   
8. It is expected that before I evaluate my employees I acquire feedback on their performance from other internal and external individuals who work with them.   ___Yes   ___No
   
   
9. Giving employees feedback on their performance in addition to the annual appraisal cycle is how we operate here.  ___Yes   ___No
   
   
10. All supervisors are trained on giving feedback.    ___Yes   ___No

Managers should evaluate how well they and their organization perform on this basic questionnaire.  Organizations scoring 8 or more Yes's are on target for effective feedback processes.  Organizations will 3 or more No's can use these questions to identify gaps in their formal feedback process.  Use these answers as the impetus to put some basic performance systems in place or enhance current systems.  From the top down, management must recognize that the longer the delay in creating and supporting an active feedback philosophy, the tougher it is to change old mindsets and get the best results from employees. 

Copyright (c) 2006 Arlene Vernon, HRx, Inc.

Arlene Vernon, PHR, is a professional speaker, consultant and author on maximizing the human resources in your managers and your people. For more information on how HRx can help you achieve the results your organization seeks, contact Arlene today at HRx, Inc., Eden Prairie, MN 55344, 952-996-0975, www.HRxcellence.com

Visit our Store for Certification Training Programs

Non-Member Price $147.00
Member Price $97.00