Give Feedback—Good or Bad—to Get Peak Performance

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.

Mr. Jay Forte 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.

Mr. 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.