How we created a Culture of providing Negative Feedback Positively!

Providing negative feedback is not easy. It is one of the toughest conversations to have. We realized that many leaders were avoiding feedback conversations resulting in miscommunication and lack of open culture. We educated & trained all employees and specifically the managers on the Issue based feedback model.

This model focuses on the nature of conversation:

1. Stick to the Issues
2. Deliver it Appropriately
3. Focus on End Goal
4. Conversations should be delivered using Empathetic Techniques.

1. Issue Specific : Focus on issues and not on the person

• Address the issue
• Highlight specific instances
• Encourage receiver to share his/her perspective on the issue
• Feedback should state specific actions the person took or specific pieces of their work
• Describe observable behavior
• Keep feedback RELEVANT

2. Delivery Method : Message feedback as constructive opportunity

• Constructive — Feedback should be framed as an opportunity to improve performance rather than as a “weakness”. This will enable the receiver to accept the feedback rather than blocking the feedback mentally
• Focus on performance outcomes and not on personality
• Assess readiness to check if receiver is in a state of mind to accept feedback
• Single vs. Sandwich approach; prefer ‘single’ unless context requires ‘sandwich’ approach. Lot of discussion has gone on which one is better. Single approach works best when the receiver is matured or an experienced employee. Sandwich works best with highly emotional people or junior members. On many instances the negative feedback is lost with positive feedback and hence the feedback becomes useless.

3. Goal orientated: Focus on how to achieve end goal

Discuss

• What behaviors need to change
• How to achieve and assess improvement
• How/what you as supervisor will provide support in achieving end goal

Do not to try to solve the problems, ‘FACILITATE’ in the problem-solving process

• Help in identifying issue or problem or root causes
• Help generate solutions and consider consequences
• Find value in all ideas & help in building on existing ideas

4. Leverage Empathy: Focus is to make the receiver understand and accept the feedback

• Encourage and invite to talk
• Paraphrase the receiver’s comments
• Verbal and non-verbal acknowledgement and acceptance
• Understand that ‘Empathetic Listening’ happens at three levels — Content (What is being said), Feelings (How is the person saying it), and Value (Why is this important to the speaker)

We realized that the process doesn’t end here. The mechanism will fail if employees do not take the feedback in a positive way. Action needs to taken on the feedback given.

HR needs to create a mind shift in the employees to make them accept the negative feedback and take action items to work on it. This can be done by explaining them:

• Objective of providing feedback is to let them know if they are on track towards achieving goal
• Some people are uncomfortable in giving feedback, their manager is also one of them.
• Focus is on achieving goal.
• IT IS NEVER ON YOU

We started educating employees in deriving meaning out of negative feedback given to them.

• Being attentive — Many times employees are not attentive due to uncomfortable nature of the conversation. In-between words are lost and feedback becomes jumbled up statements
• Not interrupting — Employees should never interrupt during conversation as this will stop the flow of thought of supervisor who might miss some finer points. Supervisor is also going though uncomfortable phase and any interruption will add to his uncomfortable factor.
• Avoid giving excuses for the feedback — This is the worst thing any employee can do. Excuses will put supervisors on defense and he/she will have a tendency to stop giving feedback because he/she will perceive that the employee has taken offence of the feedback.
• Being explicit — Employees needs to ask explicitly on the feedback. There shouldn’t be any confusion on the feedback. Once the conversation is over, then employees can ask for clarifications on the feedback, share his/her own opinions on the feedback.

And finally, we ensured that rule of reciprocity applies to everyone including managers. The managers were asked to be proactive in seeking negative feedback from his subordinates / team members. Employees were made to understand that their managers also have shortcomings and hence their responsibility is to provide feedback to their respective managers.

This process ensured that 2 way open communication channel was created between employees and their managers.