By Jay Forte
Just My E-pinion
We have all seen the Olympic gymnasts and American Idol contestants anxiously wait for scores from the judges. That’s feedback, and whether it is good or bad, we always want information about how we are doing.
Employees are no different. They need to know if they are making good decisions and how they are performing. That means managers must be watching to:
- Catch employees doing great things so managers can provide positive feedback to sustain the performance
- Catch problems as they occur, so managers can use the teachable moment to help the employee improve
Feedback is the way to guide, coach, and educate employees to improve or sustain performance. Done poorly, however, it can do damage. Employees don’t want to be scolded. They want meaningful information to help them improve.
I recommend this five-step feedback process, followed by examples of each step at work. In these examples, your employee Jean was not very helpful to a customer on the phone.
Step 1: Start with a “COOKIE”
Feedback is about people, behaviors, and emotions. So start each performance feedback with a positive comment—a “cookie”—something that shows respect for the employee and alerts him or her to the direction of the discussion.
Example: “Jean, you have some of the best customer service skills in the industry. Our customers are very impressed with our service levels when they deal with you.”
Step 2: Describe the current behaviors and situations
Describe the behavior that you want to reinforce or redirect and the situations where you observed the behavior. Be specific, brief, and direct.
Example: “Jean, I heard you on the phone with Stanton Company. You were short with them, told them to call back when they knew the part numbers they wanted, and hung up without saying ‘Thank you.’ Did I hear this correctly?” (Give Jean an opportunity to respond).
Step 3: Describe impact and consequences
Describe the impact and consequences of the current behavior, noting the effect the behavior had on results, customers, or employees. Be specific and quantify details. The more detailed and accurate the information, the more meaningful the feedback will be. Discuss the impact on the organization, but also try to find a personal hook for the employee.
Example: “Jean, Stanton is one of our best customers. They continually send other customers to us. They were critical in helping us achieve our profit targets, which resulted in bonuses for everyone on the team—including you. Our relationship with them is critical to our success.”
Step 4: Jointly create a plan
Work with the employee to suggest options that would improve a negative event or keep a good event going, and be sure that the employee has a voice in the process. The more input your employees have in the process, the more they own the results.
Example: “Jean, what do you think you should do with Stanton right now?” (Allow Jean to offer ideas and to own the solution.) “Great, Jean, I like that idea. Please get right on it. Please also remember how important the relationship is with each of our customers. They call us because we know what we are doing, and we treat them better than anyone else.”
Step 5: End with a “COOKIE”
Regardless of the nature of the performance feedback (positive or negative), employees will process the message better when the performance feedback event both starts and ends on a positive and personal tone.
Example: “Jean, you are an important part of the great service this team gives our customers. Thanks for making the difference that you do; please keep doing your best to help us be the best in the industry. Thanks.”
Feedback is a learning event that focuses on particular behaviors that need to be sustained or improved. Though this approach is more “human,” it does not coddle employees. It defines expectations and holds employees accountable.
Jay Forte is a speaker and consultant who works with organizations to activate and inspire exceptional employee performance. Jay’s book Fire Up Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition is due out this month. Humanetricsllc.com.
While I agree that feedback, both good and bad, must be given, I completely disagree that you should “sandwich” bad feedback between two cookies! This is pulling the rug out from under your employee. If you start with a positive and then move on to, “…but…” and give the negative feedback, that “but” will likely be the only thing the employee hears. If you start with a positive comment, you are setting the employee up only to knock them down. What a morale killer.
That good feedback should have been given already. Whenever you noticed the employee “doing it right” that feedback should be given immediately. If overall she’s doing a good job, she should be well aware of that already. If she had a performance issue in a particular instance, deal with that and that only. You can certainly do so in a way that does not disrespect the employee, or negate the great job she normally does. “Jean, I have a concern about a particular call I overheard. Do you have a moment to discuss this with me? This is what I heard; I’d like to give you the opportunity to clarify this situation for me.” Listen to the employee (don’t just close your mouth and allow her to speak; LISTEN.) and then offer feedback specific to the performance. You SHOULD end with encouragement and a positive comment about her overall performance, if indeed it is good overall, but DON’T try to ‘soften the blow’ by prefacing the negative feedback with something positive.
Employees see right through that crap, and resent the “gotcha” nature of this tactic.
It’s also important that managers be open to feedback FROM their employees, both good and bad. They need to be just as open to 360 info from any direction on the org chart; defensive denial to negative feedback from their direct reports destroys any credibility they may have, and morale for the employee and the department.
Feedback is like oxygen, we need it to exist. I would like to offer another perspective concerning feedback that I have found vitally important. When employees become “pattern aware” positive changes happen quickly and are sustainable. An example of a “pattern aware” feedback session would include the question “In what other settings do you respond in a similar manner?” That important question opens the door for a more complete diagnosis of behavior and great “aha” moments for finding solutions.
In my coaching and consulting I have found this type of question activates accountability so folks can tear up the bumper sticker “Same S—, Different day”!
I couldn’t disagree more. In my years of coaching, team members quickly learn of the pattern in your ‘cookie’ methodology. Almost twenty years ago, it was referred to as the ‘oreo’ method. I guess some still thinks it’s effective. I do not.
Coaching should ultimately be about changing behaviors. If it’s not changing behaviors, it’s not learning — it’s a communication piece. In my practice, I try to make it a vicarious experience for all. “Tell me what you thought went well” “Here’s what I think went well” “Now tell me what you could have done differently” “Here’s what I think could have been done differently” “What would you do differently next time?” “Here’s what I think you could do differently next time”