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How to give feedback constructively

By Zippia Team - Feb. 1, 2023

To give feedback constructively you should go over the employee's job description, pinpoint areas where improvements can be made, and detail the strengths and weaknesses of the employee. Here are some details on each of these steps and others you can take to give feedback constructively to your employees:

  • Go over the employee's job description

    By reviewing the employee's job description you can find the required skills, duties, and objectives of the role. This can give you a strong foundation of information you can use to reflect upon their job performance and inform your feedback. You should also try to understand how well they are collaborating with other team members.

  • Review relevant performance records

    Going over status reports related to the employee's position can be extremely helpful for providing feedback. Many companies do weekly or monthly status reports to keep up with employees' progress and struggles. Try to hone in on milestones, accomplishments, and challenges. Here are some options:

    • Review any previous performance evaluations the employee has been through

    • Review any performance records associated with teams or departments the employee is a part of to see how they are contributing to the overall picture

Keeping detailed employee performance records is a huge benefit to companies, it helps them gauge progress concerning employees in the short and long-term, and it also helps you to know how to frame your feedback.

  • Pin-point areas where improvements can be made

    Consider how your employees have progressed throughout the last review period. Find the areas where improvements can be made and devise forms of delivery for constructive criticisms and the work that must be done towards achieving new goals, objectives, or standards.

  • Detail the strengths and weaknesses of the employee

    Using prior performance reviews, employee evaluations, and job descriptions, create a list of the employee's strengths and weaknesses from these documents. While you always want your employees to progress from the constructive feedback you give them, you should also validate them for accomplishments and areas where they are clearly excelling.

  • Set new actionable objectives and goals

    Actionable objectives and goals help your employees to plan for the period ahead. This gives them the opportunity to improve their performance in measurable ways and also helps them to advance their own careers, as well as the goals of your company. Many organizations use the SMART method for this practice. SMART goals refer to;

    • Specific

    • Measurable

    • Actionable

    • Relevant

    • Time-based

    These are the components of the objectives and goals you should set with your employees to make your feedback as constructive as possible and to get the most out of their performance going forward.

  • Give constructive feedback

    Most employees are going to have areas where they need to improve and skills they need to either develop or hone. Try to keep all feedback constructive. This should not be viewed as a hostile or reprimanding procedure. Remember, you are a mentor to your employees, so it is important for you to help guide them toward the ways they can improve.

  • How to give feedback constructively
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