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Giving feedback to your employees is critical, yet it can be incredibly difficult at times. When you provide it in a positive, constructive way, it can help an employee overcome weaknesses and develop into a top-performing employee. At the same, when offered properly, it also helps to build trust and loyalty among your team.

To help ensure you’re giving feedback to your employees in a healthy, productive way, here are some tips to keep in mind:

How Can You Give Employees Proper Feedback?

Be specific with feedback.

Don’t give vague or generic feedback, even if it’s positive. Instead, be as specific and as timely as possible. For instance, if you’re correcting an employee’s behavior, make sure you offer feedback right after an incident, not six months later during a performance review. Likewise, don’t just tell an employee they did a “good job.” Offer details about why it mattered and the impact it had.

Offer empathy.

No one wants to give or receive negative feedback. It’s why offering it with empathy and understanding is important. Most employees will take what you’re saying to heart, so being harsh or unkind isn’t necessary. It can also cause a fracture in your relationship if you don’t handle the conversation with care.

Keep feedback private and confidential.

Don’t ever call an employee out in front of everyone, or make public comments that were made during a private performance review. Building trust between your employees is critical and doing this will simply upset them. Sometimes even praise offered publicly isn’t welcome. So before you offer it, make sure you know that it’s to an employee who would like the attention. If not, then do so privately.

Be upfront.

Don’t try to sugarcoat constructive feedback. Be honest, open, and transparent. Get to the point of what you want to say, and then be direct when you say it. If you’re pointing out unwanted behavior or performance problems, offer specific examples.

Make it a conversation.

This should not be a lecture but a conversation. When you’re done speaking, ask your employee if they have anything to add. It’s important to give them a voice and also make sure you understand their perspective. This can provide clarity to you both and ensure, going forward, you’re on the same page.

While feedback is a key part to employee growth, there’s a proper way to deliver it. Follow the tips above and give it in a way that’s productive and fosters more communication, respect, and collaboration.

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If your company is growing and you can’t keep up, let OneSource Staffing Solutions help. We can provide the right-fit people for a wide range of roles, so you can focus on your business. Find out more about how we can help.