GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK
from
©Engage in Learning 2014
GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK
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
©Engage in Learning 2014
GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK
ACCESSIBILITY eBOOK
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.
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Tim, Human Resources Manager
Dave, Office Manager
Jenny, Head of Tax
Maria, Management Trainee
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GIVING FEEDBACK
1
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-ofsales 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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2
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.
3
How do you feel about giving feedback?
Q
uestion
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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F
EEDBACK
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.
4
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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Q
What do you think Fred has accomplished? Select all that you think are correct.
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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.
5
What’s the objective of feedback?
Q
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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.
6
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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Q
What has Fred accomplished this time? Your options are:
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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.
7
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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8
Problem or personality?
Q
Which of these statements focus on the problem itself—not on the personality?
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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
“We' would all appreciate it “You're always late to team
if you would arrive promptly meetings. Do you think your
meetings.”
to meetings.”
time is more important than
ours?”
Problem
Problem
Personality
“I've heard complaints that “I’ve had some complaints
you've been unhelpful to our about the way you are
“It’s got back to me that
you are rude and offensive
passengers.”
to our passengers.”
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handling our passengers.”
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Problem
Problem
Personality
“This deadline has put
“It looks as though your
“You've been so slow with
pressure on your time. I
think it would be good to
workload has really been
affected by the deadline.
your work that I'm forced to
hire some temporary part-
get you some temporary
part-time help until the
I'm going to hire some
temporary part-time help
time help for you.”
project is delivered.”
until the project is
delivered.”
Problem
Problem
Personality
“When I make a suggestion,
“Next time I offer you a
“You’re too defensive and
it’s aimed at helping you.
suggestion, try to consider
difficult to help. I give up!
It’s not meant to be a
its merit before dismissing
criticism.”
it as a personal attack.”
Problem
Problem
Personality
“Sometimes you appear to
discount your colleague’s
“If you try to listen to your
colleagues more actively, I
“You’re so arrogant that no
one in the team can get
suggestions out of hand. Try think you'd develop a closer
to listen more actively and
working relationship with
along with you.”
show that you respect other them.”
people’s views.”
Problem
Problem
Personality
“The team is having trouble
“It would make it easier to
“Your handwriting is so
reading the sales meeting
work with your sales
sloppy! Don't you care about
reports. Could you type
them into the computer—it
meeting reports if you
your work? Please type from
formatted them on your PC, now on.”
would help all round.”
rather than writing them by
hand.”
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9
Specific or vague?
Q
Useful and positive feedback is specific and precise. Can you identify the
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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.
10
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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Q
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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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Q
What do you think of Jenny’s performance now? Your options are:
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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.
Q
What should Tim do now? What is the most effective way for Maria to take
uestion
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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F
EEDBACK
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
11
Now it’s your turn
Q
It’s time to put the boot on the other foot. How do you feel when you are on the
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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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12
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.
13
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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Q
What does Martin’s response tell you about him? Your options are:
uestion
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.
F
EEDBACK
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.
14
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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15
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.
16
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
A communication plan is a good way of ensuring continuous Performance
Plan
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
To be effective, Performance Management should be a continuous cycle of
setting expectations, giving feedback and providing guidance, all aimed at
Management
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 &
When you are developing high performers, consider what will enrich or
Enlargement
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.
Your employees need to be clear about their goals and success criteria—
Goals & 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
Your employee occasionally exceeds performance targets. He or she
Performance
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 &
Team members need to be clear about what they’re expected to do as part
Priorities
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 &
Rewards can be tangible (for example: money, vouchers, medals) or
Recognition
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
Part of the continuous Performance Management process. To keep people
Performance
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
Your employee consistently exceeds performance targets. He or she
Performance
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
For some targets, performance cannot drop below a specific standard. In
Values
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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