How to provide constructive feedback

Sometimes people have a difficult time giving feedback. Whether you're a supervisor and need to talk with your employees or someone who must provide constructive criticism to a co-worker, this can be a touchy situation. It is, however, necessary in order to help individuals grow and to foster upward momentum on the career ladder. Here are some tips for giving constructive feedback:

Plan your talk
In order to give helpful feedback you should schedule a time and place to meet. Quick tips in the hallway can be useful, but don't allow you to get into the meat of potential issues. Schedule a time with your employee or co-worker to talk about successes, failures and ways to improve. How often should you meet? A recent Harvard Business Review study found that millennials would like feedback about once a month.

Think about what you want to discuss beforehand and come up with an agenda to highlight your talking points. Maybe add time to discuss a particular project the person is working on, as well as several minutes for them to ask questions of you. If you have noticed any particular problems with their work, be sure to bring them up and brainstorm together to find possible solutions. 

Have evidence and examples
If you approach a topic and don't have the evidence to back up your claims, you may find the conversation goes nowhere. Some people get defensive when receiving feedback and immediately deny any issues that arise. This is why it is important to have a solid list of examples of the problem arising. Maybe the employee isn't providing quality customer service or customer outreach. Make a list of incidents when that was true to reference in your conversation. Work through each scenario, discussing what they could have done to promote a better outcome. The employee will learn ways to handle the issues in the future and will likely be glad that you took the time to talk about them.

Give positive feedback
Even if you are telling someone about a shortfall they have, you can add in positive feedback so they do not feel they are being attacked. Say a staff member was late five times last month. During a one-on-one meeting, let the employee know that it is not appropriate for them to be tardy so often. If they tried to make up for their lack of punctuality by staying late, you can thank them for their efforts. Just be sure to let them know they need to be on time in the future.. This helps to acknowledge that you know they are making an effort to make up for their mistake. Also talk about things that the person is doing well at the office. Maybe they made a big sale or scored an important client. Feedback meetings are meant to provide positive reinforcement for the things the person is excelling at, as well as to help with any problems. Instead of making the entire talk a negative experience, boost your employee's confidence by acknowledging their strong suits.