Post by moon125 on Nov 6, 2024 3:58:16 GMT
Today we will talk about something that a manager has to deal with almost daily - negative feedback. Why is it important - and why can't you just scold an employee? How not to hurt a person, not to ruin your relationship with him or her, and not to lead to dismissal? Can negative feedback motivate?
Criticism vs. Negative Feedback
Often, negative feedback and criticism are put in the same category. For example, the phrase “You’re a lousy specialist” is an example of extremely incorrect criticism, not negative feedback. The difference is that criticism is most often aimed at the individual and is generally harmful to healthy relationships. Its purpose is to express dissatisfaction, not to help correct the situation.
Feedback is not just pointing out a mistake, it is an analysis of the situation with the aim of offering constructive solutions. It should be specific, reasoned, objective and not interpreted as a psychological attack.
For example, “There were several such-and-such mistakes in Project X. Let’s think about how we can prevent such mistakes in the future?” is constructive feedback with a negative connotation that helps the employee improve his or her work.
It will highlight weak areas that need to be addressed, and it is also helpful and motivating.
Ready-made templates for negative feedback
There are three main methods of giving negative feedback - "Sandwich", BOFF and SOR. Let's figure out how to use them with examples.
The Sandwich Principle in Feedback
The essence of the approach is that:
40% of the time the employee is being praised,
20% of the time - criticize,
40% - motivate.
Situation: designer Yaroslav made a shopify website design website layout that does not comply with the customer's brand book, it needs to be redone. If you delay, the team will not be able to deliver the project on time and will lose their bonus. The manager needs to "talk" about this with Yaroslav.
You can start with gratitude for the work, then move on to a specific problem, and end the conversation with words of support and confidence that the employee will cope with correcting the situation. This will help soften the negative information and show that you appreciate the specialist's efforts.
Important: when you praise an employee, highlight their professional qualities, not their personal ones. This way, you motivate them to continue developing professionally.
An example of a proper "Sandwich": "Yaroslav, I would like to talk to you about the website layout for company X. I see how much effort you have put into this project. The decision to make a catalog of pipeline fittings in the form of a table listing is excellent. However, I noticed that the website layout does not correspond to the customer's brand book. I doubt that he will like this. I am sure that you can still fix this situation before the deadline. This is an important project, if we deliver it on time, the whole team will receive a bonus, so I am counting on your support and efforts. If you need additional resources for this task, I am ready to provide them."
The Sandwich Method visually
The Sandwich Method visually
It is important to remember that a discussion is a dialogue. Therefore, do not get carried away by stating only your own thoughts. Pause so that the other person can share their vision of the situation. To make the dialogue productive, ask the employee questions: “Why did you act this way?”, “What do you think needs to be done to avoid such problems in the future?” etc.
When building a dialogue, a leader should adhere to a coaching, training, and not a “bossing” position. In the first case, he directs, helps to correct mistakes, grow, and realize his potential. In the second, he reports and gives orders, which does not contribute to increasing staff involvement.
An example of bad feedback: "Yaroslav, this layout is terrible. You made a lot of mistakes, and I don't know how you could do this. This is unacceptable, fix it immediately . "
In the first example, we start with a positive comment, then move on to the problem, and end with support and confidence that the employee can cope. In the second example, we start with negative comments, without pointing out specific mistakes, and do not provide any support to correct the situation.
Thus, the Sandwich principle in negative feedback will help the manager to communicate effectively with the subordinate, conveying critical information and motivating him to perform better in the future.
Criticism vs. Negative Feedback
Often, negative feedback and criticism are put in the same category. For example, the phrase “You’re a lousy specialist” is an example of extremely incorrect criticism, not negative feedback. The difference is that criticism is most often aimed at the individual and is generally harmful to healthy relationships. Its purpose is to express dissatisfaction, not to help correct the situation.
Feedback is not just pointing out a mistake, it is an analysis of the situation with the aim of offering constructive solutions. It should be specific, reasoned, objective and not interpreted as a psychological attack.
For example, “There were several such-and-such mistakes in Project X. Let’s think about how we can prevent such mistakes in the future?” is constructive feedback with a negative connotation that helps the employee improve his or her work.
It will highlight weak areas that need to be addressed, and it is also helpful and motivating.
Ready-made templates for negative feedback
There are three main methods of giving negative feedback - "Sandwich", BOFF and SOR. Let's figure out how to use them with examples.
The Sandwich Principle in Feedback
The essence of the approach is that:
40% of the time the employee is being praised,
20% of the time - criticize,
40% - motivate.
Situation: designer Yaroslav made a shopify website design website layout that does not comply with the customer's brand book, it needs to be redone. If you delay, the team will not be able to deliver the project on time and will lose their bonus. The manager needs to "talk" about this with Yaroslav.
You can start with gratitude for the work, then move on to a specific problem, and end the conversation with words of support and confidence that the employee will cope with correcting the situation. This will help soften the negative information and show that you appreciate the specialist's efforts.
Important: when you praise an employee, highlight their professional qualities, not their personal ones. This way, you motivate them to continue developing professionally.
An example of a proper "Sandwich": "Yaroslav, I would like to talk to you about the website layout for company X. I see how much effort you have put into this project. The decision to make a catalog of pipeline fittings in the form of a table listing is excellent. However, I noticed that the website layout does not correspond to the customer's brand book. I doubt that he will like this. I am sure that you can still fix this situation before the deadline. This is an important project, if we deliver it on time, the whole team will receive a bonus, so I am counting on your support and efforts. If you need additional resources for this task, I am ready to provide them."
The Sandwich Method visually
The Sandwich Method visually
It is important to remember that a discussion is a dialogue. Therefore, do not get carried away by stating only your own thoughts. Pause so that the other person can share their vision of the situation. To make the dialogue productive, ask the employee questions: “Why did you act this way?”, “What do you think needs to be done to avoid such problems in the future?” etc.
When building a dialogue, a leader should adhere to a coaching, training, and not a “bossing” position. In the first case, he directs, helps to correct mistakes, grow, and realize his potential. In the second, he reports and gives orders, which does not contribute to increasing staff involvement.
An example of bad feedback: "Yaroslav, this layout is terrible. You made a lot of mistakes, and I don't know how you could do this. This is unacceptable, fix it immediately . "
In the first example, we start with a positive comment, then move on to the problem, and end with support and confidence that the employee can cope. In the second example, we start with negative comments, without pointing out specific mistakes, and do not provide any support to correct the situation.
Thus, the Sandwich principle in negative feedback will help the manager to communicate effectively with the subordinate, conveying critical information and motivating him to perform better in the future.