101: Delivering Criticism
In a perfect world, employee performance would always be stellar. In a close-to-perfect world, employees that are under-performing would read their managers’ minds and immediately correct the problem. In the real world, employee performance fluctuates and it’s up to managers to address the problems.
Delivering criticism is never easy, but the following tips should help you do so in the best manner possible.
Delivery Methods. When it comes to pointing out the negative, don’t bookend it with positive remarks. It might feel like a “nicer” approach, but it won’t produce results.
“The ‘sandwich’ technique doesn’t work; it lets you off the hook and its mealy mouthed,” says Alan Fairweather of businessknowhow.com. “Be direct when managing your people and they’ll respect you more for it. You are also much more likely get a change in behavior.”
Constant Communication. An employee’s acceptance of your criticism sometimes hinges on what you last said to him or her when things were going well.
“Some managers and employers still have this daft notion that if people are doing things right then that’s what they’re paid for and they don’t need to be complimented,” Fairweather says. “When you notice someone doing something you like, tell them about it. When you notice them doing something you don’t like, tell them about it. Whether it’s good news or bad, the same rules apply.”
Less Is More. While you may be tempted to air everything that’s bothering you, getting everything out in the open won’t always lead to positive results.
“When you’re giving feedback, focus on one or two things,” Fairweather says. “You’ll only confuse the person if you run off a whole list of attributes or misdemeanors.”
Patience Is A Virtue. You knew the conversation was coming, but the employee under review was likely caught off guard. Keep that in mind.
“Allow time for the message to sink in and allow the person to respond,” says Fairweather. “You can then seek agreement as to what will happen in the future.”
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