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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

7 Guidelines for Critiquing Performance Without Damaging Relations

Quick Tips

You can call it “constructive,” but sometimes feedback is just negative. You don’t want to demoralize employees, but you have to correct mistakes promptly and firmly.

Here are the guidelines:

1.   Don’t delay. Address the problem right away, while it’s still fresh in your minds. You’ll minimize the potential for arguments about what happened.

2.   Talk in private. Criticizing an employee in front of his or her colleagues and friends can be embarrassing, and it’ll damage your efforts to improve performance. Whenever possible, move the conversation someplace where others can’t hear.

3.   Clarify and confirm your expectations. Sometimes the problem starts when employees don’t understand what you want them to do. Review the job description and your instructions. If the employee is confused, don’t criticize the performance, but make sure he or she understands what’s required from here on out.

4.   Remain calm. If you’re angry, wait until you can control your emotions to discuss the situation. Anger will make employees defensive, and it interferes with your ability to focus on performance, not personalities.

5.   Describe the problem in specific terms. Don’t leave any room for doubts or misunderstandings. Explain the problem and its impact on the organization and other people in clear, emotion-free language.

6.   Describe the correct behavior. Again, using neutral and specific terms, tell the employee what you want. Discuss how to fix the mistake, and how to avoid repeating it.

7.   Praise any improvement you see. Negative feedback should be followed by positive reinforcement as soon as possible. Don’t make a big deal out of it, but when you see the employee performing correctly, let the person know you’ve noticed and that you appreciate it.

All the success!

PM in the PM

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