The aim of feedback is to provide an informative response about the work or progress of certain projects and tasks. Both positive and negative aspects are important here. For this reason, the term “feedback” should certainly not be understood as a synonym for “crisis discussions,” which only address problems and negative points.
Feedback can also play a key role in influencing collaboration within a company. Firstly, it creates an opportunity to praise and recognize others’ work. Secondly, constructive criticism can improve the performance of coworkers and even motivate the feedback recipient. The emphasis here is on “constructive,” because good feedback should not leave the recipient with a bad feeling, but ideally motivate them toward positive change.
Feedback is therefore crucial for optimizing processes in a company and is also relevant for each coworker personally. Most people need feedback to know that their employer values their work. Nothing is more demotivating than impeccably performing every task for months on end and then being reprimanded for a single mistake. For this reason, it is important to provide feedback not just once per year during staff appraisal meetings but on a more regular basis. The completion of a major project or the delegation of individual tasks can be good opportunities for a subsequent feedback meeting.
If you criticize a coworker or employee for their conduct or work during a feedback meeting, this criticism should never take up the whole conversation. A good strategy is to package the negative feedback as nicely as possible, for instance by using the sandwich method, which embeds criticism between two positive points. The coworker will then not just register the mistake, but also realize that good results are seen and appreciated. Otherwise, there is a high risk that the coworker will respond in a defensive or frustrated manner. If existing positive results are not mentioned, the recipient may also find it difficult to achieve more positive results in the future – a disaster for staff motivation.
In a nutshell, it’s all about appreciation and balance. Always keep this in mind whenever giving feedback.