Whether you manage a small team or serve as a key decision-maker in your organization, giving feedback to employees is a significant part of your leadership responsibilities. Providing useful and effective feedback is a crucial skill, but one many leaders struggle with. A recent survey found that 67% of managers regularly delay or avoid giving critical feedback to their employees. This hesitance, whether due to discomfort or fear of managing emotional reactions, can undermine a leader’s effectiveness and even lead to employee burnout or disengagement. Additional research has even shown that employees crave feedback—both positive and negative—and organizations with a culture of continuous feedback report 14.9% lower turnover rates.
But what makes feedback valuable, and how do employees want to receive it? Fortunately, crafting and delivering effective feedback is a skill leaders can develop. No matter the size of your team, if you manage others, here’s what you need to know about giving feedback to your employees.
Types of Feedback
Different situations call for different types of feedback, and managers should be well-versed in all of them. In general, the most common types of feedback that leaders can give are:
Positive/Appreciative Feedback – Including praise, recognition, or a simple “thank you,” positive feedback focuses on what the employee is doing right. It can be as informal as “thank you for staying late to finish that project” or as grand as recognizing an employee for their direct contributions to the organization during a team meeting.
Evaluation Feedback – Typically a more formalized form of feedback, evaluations are conducted on a regular, usually annual, basis. This feedback measures an employee’s work against predetermined goals, outcomes, or benchmarks. This is the most common type of feedback for a performance review.
Coaching/Developmental Feedback – This type of feedback should be more employee-driven and focused on an employee’s specific career goals and trajectory. The leader’s role is to guide the employee’s professional development, asking questions and collaborating to identify solutions and action items.
Constructive Feedback – Constructive feedback is what many managers find uncomfortable, but is often what employees prefer to receive, even above praise. Not to be confused with negative or destructive feedback, constructive feedback offers observations on an employee’s past performance, along with suggestions for improvement and growth.
Effective Feedback Tips
Once you have an idea of the feedback you want to give your team, you’ll need to tailor your message and decide how to deliver it. No two conversations will look the same, but the more you practice the following feedback strategies, the more comfortable you’ll feel giving useful feedback.
Be Specific
Vague feedback isn’t helpful or constructive, and general statements can be confusing. Employees want to know exactly how they can improve, so the more specific you can be, the better. Provide examples and observations, and keep your feedback focused on one improvement area at a time. Staying specific will help ensure your employees don’t get overwhelmed.
Example:
“I noticed some of your colleagues were disengaged during your last presentation. Next time, try smiling, making eye contact, and asking questions.”
Be Objective
Even if you’re tasked with coaching an employee through a potentially emotionally charged situation, such as a complaint about behavior, it’s important to remain as objective as possible when providing feedback. Leave your personal feelings out of it and stick to the facts.
Example:
“You’ve submitted your last few reports after the deadline, which has caused some frustration amongst the team. Let’s work together to get you back on track.”
Be Empathetic and Kind
While objectivity may be necessary and useful in certain circumstances, leaders need to remember that their employees are people first and foremost. Handle difficult situations with kindness, and always assume your employee has good intentions and wants to succeed. Sometimes, poor performance can be the result of external factors, and the employee may need support to get back on track.
Example:
“I noticed you have been struggling with following up and getting your projects to the finish line. If something is going on, let me know, and we can work together to evaluate your projects to make sure you have the resources you need.”
Be Timely
Don’t wait until the annual performance review to pile on the praise for your employees’ performance. Small, frequent check-ins to let them know how they’re doing are more valuable than saving your feedback for one long conversation. The sooner you can provide feedback after a particular situation, the better.
Example:
“You did a great job presenting your report to the team yesterday. I appreciate how thoroughly you prepared.”
Be Balanced
Aim to give an equal amount of positive and constructive feedback whenever possible. Too much constructive feedback can cause an employee to feel singled out or insecure, while too much positive feedback (or a lack of feedback altogether) can leave an employee unsure of where to go next.
Example: “I appreciate how you went above and beyond to make sure the client was taken care of when they needed an adjustment to the proposal. However, next time, loop me into that kind of conversation sooner so we can involve the rest of the team and address issues like that before they occur.”
Creating a Culture That Supports Feedback
While ensuring leaders feel confident giving effective feedback goes a long way toward creating a supportive workplace culture, peer-to-peer feedback is just as important. Managers should encourage their team to recognize their peers through informal conversations, handwritten notes, or a formal recognition platform like Reward Gateway.
When employees feel supported by one another at work, they are more comfortable receiving and sharing the knowledge and skills that help them grow and develop in their careers. As a leader, set an example for your team by demonstrating what effective, valuable feedback looks like, and encourage your employees to do the same. Not only will this increase your team’s confidence in your leadership, but it will also improve collaboration, morale, and help everyone keep moving forward.
