Delivering constructive criticism to employees can be a tricky skill to master. To help, a London-based project management training organization, Knowledge Train, offered a food-inspired approach to serve up this type of communication.
The company blog post lists the “ingredients for your constructive criticism sandwich—To be eaten in this order,” starting with a buffer of bread (aka positive comments about the situation.)
What do you think of the “Constructive Criticism Sandwich”?
With all due repsect, there is reason this is known as the “poop sandwich” approach. Coating “performance coaching” inside of praise dilutes the message that needs to be given.
It’s the follow-through with “issue-specific” training that helps the employee stay focus and not loose sight of problems areas needing improvement. Otherwise, the sandwich would be diluted. I like this approach.