GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK - Engage in Learning€¦ · GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK...

©Engage in Learning 2014

GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

from

©Engage in Learning 2014


TABLE OF CONTENTS

GIVING FEEDBACK........................................................................................................................................ 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Giving feedback is part of the job ................................................................................................................................................ 3

How do you feel about giving feedback? ..................................................................................................................................... 3

What’s does criticism accomplish? ............................................................................................................................................. 5

What’s the objective of feedback? .............................................................................................................................................. 6

What does constructive feedback accomplish? ...........................................................................................................................7

Be objective ................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Problem or personality? .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Specific or vague? ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Feedback in action ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11

RECEIVING FEEDBACK ................................................................................................................................. 16

Now it’s your turn...................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Accepting feedback ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Positive approach ....................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Unfair feedback.......................................................................................................................................................................... 18

NEXT STEPS ............................................................................................................................................ 19

Summary.................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Check it out ................................................................................................................................................................................ 19

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY .......................................................................................................... 20


ACCESSIBILITY eBOOK

1/24 ©Engage in Learning 2014

WELCOME

What this eBOOK is for

This is an accessibility and reference book to accompany the Giving and Receiving Feedback online

course.

You can use it with a PDF reader to cover the same course content as you’ll find in the eLearning.

You can also use it to refresh your memory in the workplace.

Video Scenarios

Video scenarios are used to illustrate some of the concepts and ideas in action. They are indicated

with this icon:

Characters you will meet in the scenarios include:

People who work at Goldstar Car Rental.

Front Desk Employees Workshop

Lorraine, Customer Services Manager

Fred, Maintenance Manager

Martin, Customer Services Agent

Charlie, Mechanic

People who work at Blather & Sharpe Accountants.

Tim, Human Resources Manager

Dave, Office Manager

Jenny, Head of Tax

Maria, Management Trainee


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GIVING FEEDBACK

Introduction

How does poorly delivered feedback affect your colleagues? Follow an unfortunate sales

person as she reports her sales figures to her manager to find out.

The manager is holding a document, at

armslength, as if it were toxic.

He says, “I’m not sure I understand. This

document consists of … what?”

The sales person says in a small voice, “Sales

figures?”

The manager begins to shout. “You call these sales figures? I would call them lack-of-

sales figures. But why am I surprised? You and your team have never shown a scrap of

initiative, not a shred of creativity, not an inch of backbone or a speck of stamina, not a

scintilla of …”

He trails off as he notices that, in response to

the criticism, the sales person has shrunk to the

point where she is invisible.

Her manager is deeply insulted. “Jones! Where

are you? You don’t get out of it that easily …”

This scenario shows how disastrous it can be when feedback is delivered badly! It makes

people feel small and insignificant. But, when it’s delivered effectively, it can be a

constructive part of the Performance Management process.

We are going to give you pointers on:

how to give constructive feedback

and

how to deal positively with feedback you receive.

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Giving feedback is part of the job

Charlie and Lisa, mechanics at Goldstar Car Rental are carrying a very heavy box inside.

Charlie, groaning and straining, asks Lisa, “You got it?”

Lisa, struggling too, says she has. “I’ve got it, yeah.”

Charlie checks. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Returns Lisa. Charlie’s really not

convinced. He checks again, “So … you’re ready?”

Now Lisa is irritated. She snaps, “I said I got it. I got it!”

They start to move, drop the box and there’s a loud and expensive sounding crash.

Fred, their manager, rushes out and says, “I heard the noise. Please tell me it wasn’t t

he brand new shipment of audio systems with digital

FM tuner, 28 station pre-sets, 124 watts RMS with

selectable Loudness, Bass and Treble?

Lisa reassures him uncertainly, “No…” But Fred isn’t

reassured, “It was, wasn’t it?”

Charlie confirms the worst. “Yeah.”

Giving feedback about poor performance is part of every manager's job. Everyone on your

team, you included, needs to know how to give and take constructive feedback.

How you handle situations that involve critique can make the difference between building

strong relationships with your team and damaging them permanently.

How do you feel about giving feedback?

Question

How do you feel when you have to give feedback about poor performance? Your

options are:

A. I'd rather do it in writing than in person.

B. I have trouble controlling my anger or frustration at the situation or person.

C. I try to be as specific as possible.

D. I only point out really major mistakes.

E. I feel uncomfortable giving feedback about poor performance.

F. I don't know how to get started.

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FEEDBACK

If you answered Yes to option A.

Delivering feedback with an email or a text means you’re both more likely to jump to

conclusions, not get the facts, misunderstand the sensitivities … and blow your

relationship!

If you answered Yes to option B.

Here’s an angry response from Fred – how would you

feel if you were Charlie?

How could you be so stupid and clumsy? Do you know

how much those things cost? I ought to take it out of

your wages?

Showing anger and frustration makes it much more difficult for both of you to talk over

the mistake or problem. Take time to compose yourself or delay the discussion if you

think your emotions will get the better of you.

If you answered No to option C.

It’s better to be specific when giving feedback. That gives both parties something

concrete to focus on and is the best way to approach a problem. Before you begin, know

what you want the other person to do as a result of your feedback and have an idea how

to go about getting it.

If you answered Yes to options D, E and F.

You’ve shown a preference for avoiding giving feedback. But that is a disservice to you

and the person who's made the error. How will they improve and develop? How will you

grow the best team?

If you answered No to options D, E and F.

You've shown you’re not afraid to give guidance and feedback, which is good ... provided

you’re not overly critical and don’t focus on insignificant things.

Here’s better way to deal with the situation Fred finds himself in.


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Calmly assessing the situation, Fred asks:

“Why didn’t the delivery people bring it

in?”

Lisa explains. “Well, they were in a hurry and we

thought we could do it.”

Fred acknowledges their good intentions.

“OK. The thing is, when something is delivered, you should always let them bring it

in—because then we’re insured.”

Charlie understands. “Right,” he says.

Fred continues meaningfully. “The new GPS navigation systems arrive tomorrow.”

Charlie reassures him. “We won’t even breathe on the shipment till it’s inside.”

“Good.” Fred smiles.

When you need to guide a staff member, you'll both benefit from delivering the news in

the most productive way.

What’s does criticism accomplish?

Fred is the maintenance manager at the car rental company. Lately he’ been

dissatisfied with the way Charlie is leaving the inside of the car when it has

come in for service. Here’s how he handles it.

Fred challenges Charlie. “Charlie. You’re not doing

a good enough job. Every time you service a car, it

has to be cleaned on the inside again. “

Charlie is bewildered. “Really?” is all he can

manage.

Fred gets into his stride and lets fly. “Yes! Look at this one! You haven’t used the foot

well protectors and it looks like you’ve used the front seat as a rubbish bin. We can't

let cars go out like this!”

Charlie says defensively, “I thought I was doing it just like everyone else.”

Fred lays into Charlie some more. “No you're not. No one’s as messy and lazy as you

are. Are you eating lunch in these cars? I can't let this go!

Poor Charlie looks crushed.

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Question

What do you think Fred has accomplished? Select all that you think are correct.

Your options are:

A. Embarrassed and humiliated Charlie.

B. Motivated him to do it correctly.

C. Increased Charlie's confidence.

D. Built feelings of value in Charlie.

E. Pointed out his mistake.

F. Demonstrated exactly how to fix it.

G. Showed Charlie who is manager.

FEEDBACK

The best options are A, he embarrassed and humiliated Charlie; E, he pointed out the

mistake – forcibly; and G, he reinforced that he is manager and Charlie an employee.

Fred’s approach created bewilderment, then anger and resentment in Charlie. It’s

unlikely that anything positive will result in this exchange because Fred seemed more

interested in making Charlie feel bad than in actually fixing the problem. Fred's

technique is extremely counter-productive.

What’s the objective of feedback?

Question

Fred misused his power and upset Charlie. Obviously, Fred didn't understand the

purpose of giving feedback about a performance issue. What do you think it is?

Your options are:

A. To get the mistake corrected.

B. To make sure the mistake won't happen again.

C. To help the person learn from the mistake.

D. To establish open communication between manager and employee.

FEEDBACK

The best option is C.

Option A, getting the mistake corrected, is certainly an objective, but it's really

secondary.

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Option B, making sure it won't happen again, is certainly one of the objectives, but that's

really secondary.

Option D, establishing open communication, is necessary to deliver corrective feedback

effectively. Openness should result in the daily communication between manager and

employee.

The primary objective is to help the person learn to do better, Option C. This improves

job performance immediately and in the long run. People can make mistakes, sometimes

twice, so look for positive trend rather than immediate perfection.

What does constructive feedback accomplish?

Here are Fred and Charlie again. This time,

Fred has a different approach. See if you

can identify its benefits…

Fred opens the conversation. “Charlie, most of your

work is very careful and I've been impressed with

your output. Your volume is always consistent. I just

wanted to let you know about a little problem I’ve

found.”

“What's that?” Charlie responds.

Fred explains. “You do tend to leave the inside of the cars in a bit of a mess.”

Charlie is surprised. Fred continues, “Yes, have a look at this one. If you look carefully,

you’ll see foot marks in the foot well and crumbs on the seat.”

Charlie looks closely and agrees. “Oh yeah, you’re right. I guess I forgot the paper

protector. The thing is, I eat my lunch in here while I do the checks … to save time.”

Fred suddenly realizes what has been happening’s face. “I appreciate you’re effort

you’re putting in. If you could use seat and foot well protectors then.”

Charlie’s happy to cooperate. “Right, I will.” He says.

Fred rounds the conversation up. “Thanks Charlie. I know you’re conscientious. I’ll pop

back later … see how you’re getting on.”

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Question

What has Fred accomplished this time? Your options are:

A. Embarrassed and humiliated Charlie.

B. Motivated him to do it correctly.

C. Increased Charlie's confidence.

D. Built feelings of value in Charlie.

E. Pointed out his mistake.

F. Showed Charlie how to fix it.

FEEDBACK

The best options are B, C, D, E, and F. This time, Fred's approach was positive and

productive. He didn’t blame Charlie for his mistake and, in the process, found out that

Charlie was giving up his lunch hour to get the job done.

Wouldn't it be nice if things always went this smoothly? Later on you’ll see exactly how he

achieved these results.

Be objective

When you want to give feedback to correct a performance problem, focus on

the actions or inactions, but not on personal attributes. For example, if

Charlie is constantly losing car parts or tools, tell him …

“I'm concerned about your organisational skills. If you could organise your

workplace, you’d spend less time looking for things and wouldn’t have to

give up your lunch hour to make up the time.”

Not—

“You are a very disorganised person.”

Remember to focus your comments on the problem, not the person.

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Problem or personality?

Question

Which of these statements focus on the problem itself—not on the personality?

Your options are:

A. Please make more effort to arrive on time to team meetings.

B. This deadline has put pressure on your time. I think it would be good to get you some

temporary part-time help until the project is delivered.

C. You're rude and offensive to passengers.

D. You’re too defensive and difficult to help. I give up!

E. You’re so arrogant that no one in the team can get along with you.

F. The team is having trouble reading the sales meeting reports. Could you type them

into the computer—it would help all round.

FEEDBACK

Options A, B and F focus on the problem. If you correctly identified them, well done,

you’re already aware of how to frame feedback positively already. If you didn’t, practise

this essential skill, because it will really help you deliver feedback effectively.

People find it hard to take feedback that they see as criticism. By focusing on the

problem and not the personality, you are helping to keep things cool and calm. Feedback

that’s poorly phrased and delivered with explosive anger or obvious frustration is almost

bound to be counter-productive—it raises the level of tension and lowers the level of your

professionalism.

The following examples may help you.

Problem Problem Personality

“Please make more effort

to arrive on time to team

meetings.”

“We' would all appreciate it

if you would arrive promptly

to meetings.”

“You're always late to team

meetings. Do you think your

time is more important than

ours?”


“I've heard complaints that

you've been unhelpful to our

passengers.”

“I’ve had some complaints

about the way you are

handling our passengers.”

“It’s got back to me that

you are rude and offensive

to our passengers.”

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“This deadline has put

pressure on your time. I

think it would be good to

get you some temporary

part-time help until the

project is delivered.”

“It looks as though your

workload has really been

affected by the deadline.

I'm going to hire some

temporary part-time help

until the project is

delivered.”

“You've been so slow with

your work that I'm forced to

hire some temporary part-

time help for you.”


“When I make a suggestion,

it’s aimed at helping you.

It’s not meant to be a

criticism.”

“Next time I offer you a

suggestion, try to consider

its merit before dismissing

it as a personal attack.”

“You’re too defensive and

difficult to help. I give up!


“Sometimes you appear to

discount your colleague’s

suggestions out of hand. Try

to listen more actively and

show that you respect other

people’s views.”

“If you try to listen to your

colleagues more actively, I

think you'd develop a closer

working relationship with

them.”

“You’re so arrogant that no

one in the team can get

along with you.”


“The team is having trouble

reading the sales meeting

reports. Could you type

them into the computer—it

would help all round.”

“It would make it easier to

work with your sales

meeting reports if you

formatted them on your PC,

rather than writing them by

hand.”

“Your handwriting is so

sloppy! Don't you care about

your work? Please type from

now on.”


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Specific or vague?

Question

Useful and positive feedback is specific and precise. Can you identify the

statements that are specific enough to be useful? Your options are:

A. You need to spend more time in planning and preparation.

B. Please spellcheck your emails before you send them.

C. Go through the agenda and meeting pre-work before the next meeting.

D. It would help if you were more assertive.

E. I think you’d benefit if you improved your time management skills.

F. Your reports would be better if the executive summary fit on just one page.

FEEDBACK

The best answers are B, C and F. They say what will help the person fix the problem –

spell check, review the agenda and fit the summary on one page. ‘A bit more time’ could

mean 5 minutes or 5 hours; ‘a bit more assertive’ or ‘improve time management skills’

could mean anything.

If you had difficulty identifying them, consider how you could make the vague statements

more useful. Then choose a particular piece of feedback you’ve given or are about to give

and consider how you can ensure it’s specific and problem-focused.

Feedback in action

At Blather & Sharpe, the Tax and Audit departments are merging. Dave, the

office manager, is in charge of moving both departments into one space.

Jenny, the head of Tax Accounting, has a complaint.

Jenny opens the conversation. “Dave, one of our

clients couldn’t get through to the conference room

this morning because the corridor was full of desks

and chairs.”

Dave apologises. “Yeah, sorry about that. The office

furniture was delivered before the flooring was down

so we had put it there. It’s going down and it’ll be

clear by this afternoon.

Jenny delivers her parting shot, “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again!”

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Question What did Jenny do well? Your options are:

A. She focused on the problem not personality.

B. She gave specific feedback.

C. Her feedback will result in long-term performance improvement.

D. She got to the root of the problem.

FEEDBACK

The best answers are A and B. She focused on the problem not personality and she was

specific. But because they didn’t get to the root of the problem, it’s not clear that this

piece of feedback will result in long-term performance improvement for Dave.

Here’s an alternative approach.

Jenny opens the conversation. “Dave, one of our

clients couldn’t get through to the conference room

this morning because the corridor was full of desks”

and chairs.” Dave apologises.

“Yeah, sorry about that. The office furniture was delivered before the flooring was down

so we had put it there. It’s going down and it’ll be clear by this afternoon.

Jenny asks if Dave has a schedule for the move.

“You mean a breakdown of everything that needs to be done before the 21st. Yeah, I’ve

got that.”

Jenny pursues her point, “but have you got a schedule of dependencies? What needs to

be done before something else can begin?”

Dave replies ruefully, “Like “Don’t deliver the furniture before the flooring is down?” I

haven’t got that on paper no—I thought it was it too obvious.”

Jenny makes a suggestion. “Do you think that a chart that shows the critical milestones

would help?” Dave acknowledges the problem. “I guess we could be more organised.”

Jenny takes some of the responsibility. “I should have gone through this with you before

I asked you to take on the project. But it’s not too late.”

Dave takes a positive step forward. “OK. I’ll go through the task list and see if I can put

things in some kind of logical order …”


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Question

What do you think of Jenny’s performance now? Your options are:

A. She involved the employee in a discussion of the problem.

B. She and the employee agreed on what the problem was.

C. She assumed some of the responsibility.

D. She helped Dave define the problem.

E. She helped Dave come up with a solution.

FEEDBACK

She did all of these things. The crucial difference between this and the previous

discussion was that Jenny asked questions (option A). Questions helped Dave focus on the

problem and work out what the root causes might be (option B). They helped him take

more ownership of defining the problem and defining the solution (options D and E).

Option C, taking some of the responsibility is also a useful way of building a working

relationship.

Sometimes, even when you do involve the

employee in defining the problem, the issues

aren’t addressed. Tim, Human Resources Manager at

Blather & Sharpe Accountants, is talking to Maria, a

trainee.

Tim raises the issue. “Maria, we’ve had another

complaint that you haven’t been keeping up with the

client draft accounts. We did talk about this.”

Even though Tim had brought this up before, Maria hasn’t made a positive effort to fix

the root cause.

Question

What should Tim do now? What is the most effective way for Maria to take

responsibility for getting the problem fixed? Your options are:

A. Threaten. (E.g., If you don’t make any improvement, I'll have to look at moving you.)

B. Ask questions. Try to get Maria to acknowledge that the problem lies directly with her

behaviour.

C. Use a stern manner to tell Maria how seriously he regards this issue, and back up the

message with his voice and body language.

D. Mention the problem again and hope this time it will have an effect on behaviour.


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FEEDBACK

Option A: threats aren’t appropriate. They

break down any sense of working together

and reduce the employee’s commitment.

Tim continues, “If you refuse to take your

responsibilities seriously, there isn’t really any point

in you remaining here.”

Maria looks panicked. “What do you mean … ?”

Option B is the best approach. It will take

some thought and effort but it’s likely to

produce the best long-term results. Maria needs to

do some serious self-analysis and Tim is in a good

position to guide the way. Tim needs to get her to

acknowledge her role in the problem and to suggest

ways she plans to overcome it.

Tim continues, “I’m wondering why there’s still a problem. Do you find the work

tedious? Maria responds quickly, “No, it’s just the time of year, really piles up.”

Tim probes a little further. “So you’re feeling the pressure.” Maria opens up a bit,

“Yes, because I am also doing the company newsletter.”

Tim is seeing the problem now and makes a suggestion. “I know. But the draft tax

accounts have to take priority. Do you think you should drop the newsletter?”

Maria sees the problem too. “Oh no. I know that the day job has to take priority but I’d

hate to have to give up editing the newsletter.”

Tim acknowledges her preference. He asks, “Yes, I understand. Are you getting any

help with that?” Maria replies, “Not really, we’re supposed to be working as a team,

but everyone is just so busy …”

Tim offers a solution. “OK—well then, I will have a word with your colleagues to make

sure that everyone is pulling their weight. Meanwhile, you need to accept that your job

won’t get done unless you do it. Can I count on your commitment from now on?

Maria agrees. “Yes. The newsletter waits until I’ve done the draft accounts.”


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Option C is a highly directive approach, “Do

what I tell you to do” is not likely to gain

any commitment from Maria. And it doesn’t give her

any opportunity to explain what’s going on. A

forceful tone of voice can break down any sense of

team work that has been built up and can make you

seem like a bully instead of a problem solver.

Tim continues, “This would be a serious problem at any time of the year, but in April,

it’s inexcusable. You’re employed to do a job, so just please, get out there and do it.

Maria bristles and says under her breathe, “Don’t I get to tell my side of the story ?”

Option D didn’t work before … there’s no

reason to think it will now.

Tim continues, “I just thought I’d better mention it

again. I’m sure you’ll knuckle down now without

any problem.”

Maria smiles in relief.

If you have a team member who is reluctant to accept responsibility for a problem, try

using questions to help them examine their role in the problem. It will help them come

up with their own solutions which they are more likely to take the responsibility to

implement.


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RECEIVING FEEDBACK

Now it’s your turn

Question

It’s time to put the boot on the other foot. How do you feel when you are on the

receiving end of constructive feedback? Your options are:

A. I get defensive.

B. I take it personally.

C. I try to learn from it.

D. I immediately think about how I can improve.

E. I hate to admit mistakes.

F. I make excuses.

G. I welcome having mistakes brought to my attention.

FEEDBACK

For options A, B, E and F, give yourself a score of 1 point.

For options C, D and G, give yourself a score of 0 points.

Now add up your points and read your feedback below:

If you scored 0 or 1:

You have a very positive approach to criticism. If you wish, you can quickly review the

rest of the points in this eBook

If you scored 2 or 3:

You may not be getting the most out of the feedback you get from the people around

you. Keep going with this eBook for some pointers.

If you scored 4 or more:

Hearing feedback need not be as upsetting as you find it. Pay close attention to the

points in the rest of this section.

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Accepting feedback

Feedback is an opportunity for you to learn how to improve your performance. Without

feedback, you can’t change and grow.

Taking an adult approach to feedback demonstrates you are willing to learn and take

responsibility for your actions. This puts you in a good position when more responsible

and senior jobs and tasks are up for grabs.

Taking a childlike approach demonstrates quite the opposite and leaves a lasting and poor

impression. Counter-attacking, over rationalising, making excuses are good examples of a

childlike approach.

If criticism is unfair, stand up for yourself. Be objective and specific. Avoid assigning

blame to anyone. Explain calmly what your position is.

Make sure you understand the feedback, so that you can really address it.

Positive approach

At GoldStar Car Rental, Lorraine is raising

an issue with her customer service

representative, Martin.

Lorraine begins. “Martin, we’ve been through this

before. You can’t keep the rest of the line waiting

while you socialise with every customer.

Martin replies breezily, “Customer service is what we’re all about.” Lorraine comes

straight back, “And part of that service is speed and efficiency.” Martin is pompous. “I

see every customer as an individual.”

Lorraine retorts, “Try telling that to the individuals at

the end of the line who are anxious to collect their

cars.”

Lorraine walks away. Martin turns round with a scowl

and ‘greets’ his next customer. “Yeah? Whaddaya

want?”

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Question

What does Martin’s response tell you about him? Your options are:

A. He accepts responsibility for his actions.

B. He’s behaving like an adult.

C. He wants to improve his performance.

D. He’s interested in ensuring customer satisfaction.

FEEDBACK

Martin hasn’t accepted responsibility, he’s behaving like a child, shows no desire to

improve and is not really paying attention to customer satisfaction.

Your response to feedback reveals a lot about you. It demonstrates whether you are

ready for accountability, ready to take on more senior and responsible tasks. Make sure

your response shows you’re willing to learn and grow. Resist the urge to excuse and

rationalise your actions. Check you understand exactly what is being said and show how

you’ll address the situation. If you hear “It wasn’t my fault!”, “Don’t blame me!” or “I

never told you because you didn’t ask!” issuing from your mouth, you risk appearing like

a rebellious and uncooperative child—an impression that will be hard to overcome.

Unfair feedback

Sometimes you may get criticism that’s unjustified. Don’t just take the consequences

when things really aren’t your fault. Do stand up for yourself and calmly explain the

situation. Be factual and specific and avoid assigning blame. If the person delivering the

feedback is in some way responsible, then point this out as objectively as you can.

Instead of:

Manager: “Why did you distribute a document that was incomplete?”

Employee: “Well you weren’t available to ask; I had to make the decision myself.”

Or …

Employee: “I was let down by the Marketing Manager.”

Try:

Employee: “I made the decision to do it this way because I couldn’t get the information

on time and couldn’t consult. I planned to include the new information in a separate

document—which I noted in the introduction.”

Remember, you’re explaining your position, not counter-attacking.

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NEXT STEPS

Summary

Giving and taking feedback is a key Performance Management skill.

Get mentally fit for feedback, whether giving or receiving it: don’t look on it as

something confrontational, it’s all about performance improvement.

Deliver feedback positively;

Be objective.

Focus on the problem not on personality—and

Be precise.

Treat it as an opportunity to work together to identify root causes and come up with

effective solutions. Ask questions that help the employee do most of the work and accept

responsibility for improving performance.

Show your character when you get constructive feedback. Show you are an adult, ready

to accept responsibility for your actions and ready to improve.

Check it out

Can you:

Identify constructive and negative feedback and their effects?

Frame feedback constructively and adjust to the individual’s style?

Encourage self-discovery and problem solving?

Approach receiving feedback calmly and positively?

If not, make a plan to address these points in your workplace.

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT GLOSSARY Active Listening ‘Active listening’ is an important tool in communication. It helps you and it

has a big effect on the person you’re listening to—it signals that you respect

them and their views. Make sure your body language says, “You have my full

attention”, and give it. Evaluate what you hear; don’t tune out; check your

understanding; take notes if it helps.

Communication

Plan

A communication plan is a good way of ensuring continuous Performance

Management. It might be formal or informal. You’ll agree the

communication plan formally, in a review. However, individual tasks need

communication, too—for example: “Let’s meet tomorrow afternoon to

check progress”.

Continuous

Performance

Management

To be effective, Performance Management should be a continuous cycle of

setting expectations, giving feedback and providing guidance, all aimed at

helping people fulfil their potential (within the context of the organisation’s

needs). It’s an on-going process that is inextricably linked with motivation,

communication and leadership.

Criticism Sandwich When giving feedback to an employee, try to avoid the ‘criticism sandwich’.

This is where you offer a piece of praise, followed by a bit of negative

feedback, and then follow that with another piece of praise.

Development Plan Team members need to know what training or coaching they can expect to

receive, in order to help achieve their performance objectives. Agreeing the

development plan is usually a formal process, during a review. However,

don’t forget any training or coaching requirements for day-to-day tasks.

Enrichment &

Enlargement

When you are developing high performers, consider what will enrich or

enlarge their jobs. Job enrichment gives more responsibility over the same

number of tasks. Job enlargement adds more tasks, but does not increase

the level of responsibility.

Equity When working out reward and recognition for your employees, be fair. If

you’re not, you’ll both demotivate and upset people.


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Evaluation If you spend time evaluating your employees thoroughly you'll have a better

understanding of what has really been achieved, as well as the skills,

knowledge and the potential that reside in your team. As a manager, it

helps to know what they can do! Armed with this understanding you can

plan more confidently and authoritatively for the period ahead.

Expectations To decide expectations of what your want your employees to achieve: first,

work out the purpose of the job; then identify key activities for the job;

third, establish how you will measure performance; finally, decide an

acceptable standard of performance.

Feedback To deliver feedback positively: be objective; focus on the problem, not the

personality; be precise; work together to find the solution; encourage the

employee to accept responsibility. Be aware of how you receive feedback,

too: be open to accepting responsibility; and show you’re ready to improve.

Formally Review

Performance

Part of the continuous Performance Management process. A formal

performance review is crucial. It enables you to consider an employee’s

performance over a specific time period, evaluate that performance against

the pre-defined standards of performance, and write performance plans for

the future.

Goals & Success

Criteria

Your employees need to be clear about their goals and success criteria—

their objectives, and what they need to do to meet (or exceed)

expectations. Objectives should support the organisational goals, and they

must be SMARTS. While overarching performance objectives can be set at a

formal review, you will also set them for day-to-day tasks and short-term

projects.

Improvement

Objectives

A performance objective falls into one of four categories. Improvement

Objectives are designed to better an employee’s previous performance.

See also ‘Innovative Objectives’, ‘Routine Objectives’ and ‘Required

Objectives’.

Innovative

Objectives

A performance objective falls into one of four categories. Innovative

Objectives deal with single tasks or assignments, which will not be

repeated. These might be to solve a particular problem, or to refine a

process.

See also ‘Improvement Objectives’, ‘Routine Objectives’ and ‘Required

Objectives’.


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Intermittent High

Performance

Your employee occasionally exceeds performance targets. He or she

intentionally puts in extra effort and hours or applies their skills more

rigorously for a particular period or project.

Monitor

Performance

Part of the continuous Performance Management process. You can help

employees stay on track by monitoring performance. Regular monitoring

makes it easier to spot any issues and address them in a timely way. It also

gives you opportunities to provide feedback and to offer coaching and

support.

Objectives An objective falls into one of four categories: Improvement Objectives;

Innovative Objectives; Required Objectives; and Routine Objectives.

Objectives might also be referred to as: goals, expectations, targets.

Outcomes When establishing performance objectives, we want to know what will

happen to us if we meet or beat them—the outcomes. On the whole people

would rather know what will happen to them even if they don’t achieve

their objectives, too.

PATSS When you are designing rewards for your employees, think PATSS. Make sure

the rewards are: Personalised, Appropriate, Timely, Specific, Sincere.

Performance

Management See ‘Continuous Performance Management’.

Performance

Standards

Performance standards are set for the job, not for the person—a standard

that all your team members need to reach. An individual needs the skills

and knowledge at least to be able to meet the performance standard. In

other words, it’s the minimum required to be able to do the job.

Plan Performance Part of the continuous Performance Management process. When you plan

performance with your team members, you define the behaviours you

expect them to perform and the standards by which you will measure their

performance. You can define your expectations in terms of actions or

behaviours, or in terms of outcomes or results.

Praise People are more likely to repeat good behaviours that are recognised and

praised. When you praise:

Be specific about what the good performance/behaviour was.

Show why the performance/behaviour is appreciated.

Be honest and sincere.


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Problem Solving A useful model for solving performance problems is:

1. Get agreement.

2. Diagnose the root cause.

3. Encourage self-analysis and responsibility.

4. Explain the consequences.

5. Work through the solution in detail.

6. Monitor performance.

Questioning Good questioning skills are an important part of Performance Management.

Open questions find out general information and allow the person to offer

thoughts, opinions, and ideas.

Reflective questions reflect or summarise what the other person is saying.

Hypothetical questions help you explore a person’s problem solving skills,

concrete knowledge, and people skills in potential situations.

Asking a leading question is like putting a ring through the other person’s

nose and tugging on it. Leading questions have only one acceptable answer:

the one you want to hear. Therefore, be very careful about using these.

Required

Objectives

A performance objective falls into one of four categories. Required

Objectives are passed down by management and are not open for discussion

or negotiation with the employee.

See also ‘Improvement Objectives’, ‘Innovative Objectives’, and ‘Routine

Objectives’.

Responsibilities &

Priorities

Team members need to be clear about what they’re expected to do as part

of the job. They also need to understand the priorities in the job. For

example, in customer-facing roles, any part of the job that involves

customer interaction should be a priority.

Sometimes priorities might appear to clash. If team members aren’t clear

about them there’s a risk they’ll prioritise the wrong things.

Reward &

Recognition

Rewards can be tangible (for example: money, vouchers, medals) or

intangible (perhaps personal thanks from a senior manager, or being named

employee of the month in the newsletter).

Rewards for one person can also motivate others. If people see the payback

that success can bring, they will be motivated to succeed themselves.


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Reward

Performance

Part of the continuous Performance Management process. To keep people

motivated they need to know what will happen if they do well and what will

happen if they don't. Clearly defined outcomes help keep people motivated

and give them a sense of purpose.

Routine Objectives A performance objective falls into one of four categories. Routine

Objectives deal with duties and tasks which are performed to maintain

current performance.

See also ‘Improvement Objectives’, ‘Innovative Objectives’ and ‘Required

Objectives’.

SMARTS Performance objectives should be SMARTS: Specific, Measurable,

Appropriate, Realistic, Timed, Stretching.

Standards Performance standards are set for the job, not for the person—a standard

that all your team members need to reach. An individual needs the skills

and knowledge at least to be able to meet the performance standard. In

other words, it’s the minimum required to be able to do the job.

Sustained Good

Performance

The employee consistently meets performance targets. You and the team

can rely on him or her to get the job done.

Sustained High

Performance

Your employee consistently exceeds performance targets. He or she

naturally performs at a level higher than the job requires. It represents a

step change in the person’s personal effectiveness and skill levels.

Targets: Absolute

Values

For some targets, performance cannot drop below a specific standard. In

fact, performance has to be on target or better than target to be evaluated

as ‘Meets Expectations’.

Sometimes it’s not possible to exceed expectations. The conditions simply

have to be met exactly.

Targets: Range Of

Values

For some targets, performance can range between a set of values if the

individual is to meet expectations (e.g., “Marketing spend falls within £245

and £255”).

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