Giving Feedback Effectively

Giving and receiving feedback at work is a key skill to be able to navigate, both as a manager and a team member. Giving good constructive and actionable feedback will have a positive effect on your people’s performance and behaviour, your perceived credibility as a manager and ultimately your relationship with the team. Being able to give feedback effectively and in the ‘right’ way will also have a positive impact on your client relations, whether it’s giving feedback presentations or end of project reviews, feedback skills are invaluable in these situations and should be part of every manager’s skill set. So how do we give useful constructive feedback? And what are the implications if we do not provide adequate feedback to our team and to our clients?

Giving Feedback Within a Team

Looking at what makes feedback useful to our team, there are a questions we can ask ourself to ensure we are doing the right things.

• Is my feedback specific, clear & timely?
• Am I giving both positive and negative feedback and not just focusing on the negatives?
• Have I identified the cause and agreed a solution?
• Am I focusing on the behaviour and not the personality of the individual?

Team members will respond in a better way if we consider the above questions and are generally just mindful of how our feedback is being received as it is fundamental for our teams’ development, both collectively and individually. The key consideration is ultimately the impact this will all have on the working and team dynamics. A study by Kluger and DeNisi (1996) titled “The Effects of Feedback Interventions on Performance,” published in Psychological Bulletin, highlighted the significance that feedback plays in shaping behaviour and enhancing motivation.

Additionally, constructive feedback helps identify areas for improvement, guiding employees toward professional growth and development. By creating a culture of continuous feedback and learning, managers empower their team members to reach their full potential and contribute effectively to organisational success. The impact of good feedback from a manager is not only beneficial for the individual, but for the collective. It helps create a cohesive and high-performing team capable of tackling challenges and achieving shared goals.

It is important to focus on the positives, rather than solely on the negatives, not only highlighting expectations but also acknowledging employees’ efforts and achievements. This will help to build a positive working environment. This positive reinforcement will boost team morale, which has a huge positive impact on employee engagement and productivity among team members.

Giving Feedback to a Client

When considering how feedback can be effective for a client, we can reflect on our own experiences here at The Survey Initiative, and the things we consider when presenting survey results to our clients.

We must consider how our feedback is received when presenting information back to a client. Unlike giving feedback to an employee or team member at our place of work, there is less responsibility on us to ensure the feedback is actioned and that there has been some form of development off the back of the feedback.

Ultimately, it is our duty to ensure that the feedback we are giving is insightful and backed up by reliable and relevant data. It is important to not just deliver the feedback and then leave. As the researcher for the client, we need to offer support. We can do this by simply being available for constructive two-way discussions with the client, by suggesting next steps and offering solutions, such as focus groups or further research into the key areas and pain points.

As the givers of feedback, we want to encourage our clients to be collaborators with us and within their organisation to bring about meaningful change based on the results, both negative and positive.

When presenting feedback to a client, there a few key points to consider:

• Is the feedback objective and focussing on good, reliable data? It is far easier to have a constructive discussion if it is based on key data points.
• Am I highlighting the key strengths and identifying what the organisation does well? It is equally (if not more) important to highlight the strengths and the positive metrics from the research. This will give the client an opportunity to celebrate success and to ensure that they know where to pass on praise within their organisation.
• Am I clearly identifying the areas where the improvements could be made? These should be backed up by facts and key metrics, using specific examples. It should also be an area that the organisation can realistically make affective change.
• Am I offering actionable, tailor-made recommendations? These recommendations should be practical, feasible and in line with the organisation’s objective. This will provide a solid foundation for successful roadmap.
• Am I encouraging two-way conversation with the client? It is important to allow the client to provide you with context and to discuss the feedback to ensure that there can be a collaborative solution with mutual understanding on the key issues and pain points.
• Am I offering support and assistance? This could be anything from follow-up consultations, workshops, focus groups or any simply just follow up conversations.
• Am I approaching this feedback session in a professional way? It is important to approach the key points, particularly the pain points, with the necessary dignity. It is very useful to have some context before the feedback session so that you can be aware of any potentially sensitive subjects.

To Sum Up…

Reflecting on these two very different types of feedback, it is clear to see how impactful and beneficial it is to have a good understanding of how, when and why we give feedback, whether it’s to a client, a peer at work or to a member of your team. When delivered effectively, the results will be overwhelmingly positive.