Question: What makes a piece of performance feedback useful?
When It's Specific
"When asking or giving feedback, it's important to be specific. We like to follow the format of SMART goals: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-sensitive. Rather than saying, "You need to track accounts better," it's better to say, "You can track your accounts better by checking in with customers every two weeks on the status of their project/ask if they have any questions.""
@bigfishpresco
When You Ask What You Can Take Action On
"Make feedback actionable in the effort to improve. If the feedback is, "Sam rambles during in-person meetings with clients," then the follow up could be a discussion or plan with Sam's input that outlines, "Sam will sit in three meetings with Sally and Tom to observe their concise approach in meetings, and Sam will join Toastmasters and attend 10 meetings to brush up on his speaking skills.""
@BamComm
When You Give Feedback in Real Time
"Performance feedback has more of an impact when it pertains specifically to a situation that has just occurred or is occurring in the present. If it gives the individual the opportunity to course-correct in the moment, so much the better. Use micro-feedback tools like Yammer and Twitter or even basic text message to comment as quickly and efficiently as possible."
@alevit
When You Look for 'The Why'
"It's not 'the what' that's helpful (this is what you did wrong). It's finding out the reason why what the employee did was wrong. Understanding why will make it less likely that the mistake is repeated in the future."
@joshaweiss
When It Compares Samples and Past Data
"Performance feedback can be useful in two ways. One, you use it as a comparative sample to other feedback that falls in the same task categories. Second, you can keep the performance feedback for a while and create your own performance chart that utilizes past data."
@thekevinxu
When You Can Measure Change
"We are a data-driven company and put heavy emphasis on analytics and key performance indicators. With that said, it is easy to start measuring and analyzing too much data, so we have a rule of thumb that we only measure what we want and can change. For example, we measure the cost to sign up a retail partner to our program. We want to reduce the cost per store and this is something we can change."
@DustyWunderlich
When It Provides a Roadmap for Improvement
"Performance feedback is useful when it provides actionable recommendations to improve. Useful performance feedback uses roadmaps with predefined dates to check in on progress. This will help ensure that there is improvement."
@RandyRayess
When It Comes From a Reputable Source
"The best feedback comes from reputable people, which are often those within your inner circle of trust."
@moisanlegalpc
When It Comes From a Place of Understanding
"I’m not perfect, and I need the team around me to see/understand what my weaknesses are and offer solutions for both the near future and the long term. If the source understands what your strengths are -- and you both know that one person can’t do it all -- it will be much more impactful."
@MinaChang
