Giving and Receiving Feedback

Good feedback needs to provide enough informationfor the employee to make a decision on whichbehaviours to reinforce and which behaviours needto change. Both positive and developmental feedbackcan be bad feedback: it is bad if it does not provideenough information to reinforce or discourage certainbehaviours.Having difficult conversationsEveryone will experience a time when they need tohave a difficult conversation with an employee, asupervisor or even peers.Tips for providing difficult feedbackAsk firstStart softDon’t involveothersKeep it simpleWhat’s theimpact?ReachagreementEven if you have a close working relationship with the person, ask if you can share somefeedback. If it’s not a good time, suggest another time or place to share the feedback.Give the person a chance to brace for potentially uncomfortable or embarrassing feedback.Most people are as uncomfortable providing feedback as the person receiving the feedback.Even if others have complained or provided information, do not amplify the feedback or passresponsibility on to others. This only heightens the embarrassment and makes the situationmore uncomfortable.Be straightforward, simple and make sure the person understands you are addressing theissue because it will help the situation at work.Tell the person how changing their behaviour will improve the situation and also let themknow what impact doing nothing would have.Agree on what the person will do to change their behaviour and, if appropriate, set atimeframe.Receiving FeedbackFeedback can be just as difficult to hear as it can be togive. Learning how to be comfortable when receivingfeedback from others on your performance is animportant skill.Feedback can be an effective prompt for personaland work improvement because it can identify skillsand behaviours that you need to learn or developto be successful. Feedback can also be positive byreinforcing and encouraging what you are doing.Feedback can help you develop better workingrelationships with the rest of the team by giving you abetter understanding of how your actions impact onothers.If you are receiving feedback that does not appear tobe constructive, you should ask the person to providesome specific comments that would help you improveyour work or behaviour.You may like to ask for feedback if you are not sureabout your performance or haven’t heard from yourmanager for a while.receiving feedback• You should allow the person to talk andactively listen.• Ask the person for specific details and makesure you understand what they are talkingabout• If the person is talking about a personalcharacteristic or a personal attribute, ask theperson about your specific behaviourJuly 2011 2

Feedback from different sourcesSome agencies will gather feedback from a varietyof sources to use to measure your performance.Gathering feedback from many sources increasesits reliability and provides a more accurate pictureof how you are performing. However, gatheringfeedback from some of these sources requires time,thought and planning and you need to strike a balancebetween the value to be gained by collecting thefeedback and the time required to collect it.Feedback from your managerIt is important to recognise that line managershave different management styles. Therefore, whenreceiving feedback you need to listen to the substancerather than the style of the feedback. Overall, you arereceiving feedback so that you can improve in yourrole and there is no need to feel threatened by it.Feedback to your managerManagers need to continually assess their ownperformance as a manager, including being aware ofhow employees respond to the feedback they give andlistening to what employees say about how they andthe team are being managed.Peers andcolleaguesDirectreportsManagerSELFCustomersJuly 2011 3