Biggest Feedback mistakes in Hybrid / Remote Work environment — How to fix them?
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
– Winston Churchill
How feedback is formulated and delivered can completely change how it is received and interpreted. Feedback is an essential part of every employee’s toolkit and crucial when giving and receiving employee feedback. Employee feedback can be peer-to-peer, bottom-up, and top-down. Feedback can be positive (appreciative) and negative (corrective). Both types are essential for employees and managers equally.
The 7 common mistakes to avoid when giving feedback
Let’s see what you should avoid when giving or receiving feedback.
- Lack of specificity — Feedback should have a clear, specific, and factual focus. Keep the feedback authentic, and try to keep your personal feelings aside. It is good practice to mention concrete examples when addressing the issue: “I know you’re taking on a lot at the moment, but you failed to send the project report in time and did not communicate that you had issues finishing the report in time. If you have issues finishing the project on time, please come to me, and we will find a solution. Let me understand the impediments, and let’s talk about ways to help you manage your time more effectively (e.g., prioritization)”
- Lack of common understanding — In a virtual setup, it is tempting to think you can provide the feedback in writing instead of discussing it with the recipient face-to-face (saving yourself from an unpleasant meeting). Unfortunately, you cannot save yourself from that, negative feedback is usually uncomfortable for the givers and the receiver. But employees and peers want a chance to respond to your feedback. Give them that and check for clear, comprehensive, and common understanding. If you are the leader, then follow-up actions and commitment also should be agreed on.
- Bringing others in — As a manager, it is natural that you will examine your team members’ performance from different angles, which usually means asking key players to give feedback about their colleague’s professional work. It is totally right, but you have to formulate the feedback, and you have to articulate it! It is not fair to bring and mention others in your feedback. You are the conductor, not the conduit.
- Sugarcoating/sandwich approach — Embedding negative feedback and criticism into positive comments (“sandwich approach”) to make sure you don’t hurt (too badly) the other person’s feelings. Studies have shown that this type of behavior at giving feedback will result in confusion and could distract the receiver from the essential problems that must be fixed. If you are the receiver, you are usually just waiting to get to the real point — to the negative feedback — and don’t value the “positive” part before the actual feedback, and prefer to be handled like an adult who can take the feedback. Most of the time, the only one who feels better from this approach is the feedback giver. This behavior is commonly seen in freshly promoted managers or managers who want to avoid conflicts. Avoid mixed messages! A Harvard Business Review study suggests that the transparent approach is more effective than the sandwich approach. The feedback giver should be transparent about the strategy. If the feedback is corrective, it should not be camouflaged or sandwiched between some good comments.
- Wrong setting — Keep corrective feedback private, and don’t be afraid to praise in public. Don’t humiliate employees in front of others!
- Not being timely — Feedback can be helpful and constructive if it is given in time. Both feedback types (negative and positive) work best if they are provided close to the event. Let’s say your employee worked hard and prepared for weeks for a customer presentation. The presentation was superb, and the customer also appreciated it. If you give this feedback 6 months later, it loses all the appreciative edge and is worth nothing. By contrast, if you give this feedback after the presentation in private, you show that you value all the hard work put in and thank the colleague. The colleague would feel like a valued member of the company and become more engaged, and next time they will put in all the necessary effort again. With this in mind, don’t wait until your performance review or 360 feedback. Give feedback as soon as possible!
- Being unprepared — Feedback must be brief, concise, and easy to understand ( for more information, check the What makes good feedback section? ) if you are unprepared and have not given enough thought on the feedback it will not be delivered and received as intended. Please spend a few extra minutes phrasing your feedback and check the tips in the next section to make it great, valuable feedback.
- +1 Sweeping the issues under the rug — Especially in a virtual setup, it is easy not to deal with the issue by not giving feedback. You are not bumping into each other. Thus, you are just neglecting the problems by not dealing with them. As a manager, it is crucial to have your one-to-one meetings set up regularly. The frequency can vary from 2–4 weeks, depending on the team size.
What makes good feedback?
We all know feedback is crucial to our professional (and personal) life. It helps us grow and allows managers to use it during performance review sessions. At every level, the employees crave feedback. So why is it so difficult to give and take feedback? In the next section, we’ll explore the characteristics of good input and what we should pay attention to.
Insightful/Specific
First and foremost, the feedback should be specific and insightful, containing all the relevant information on what the colleague did well or poorly. General feedback without specificity would look like “you did well” or “nice job”. On the other hand, let’s see a good feedback example:
“The sales funnel slide in your presentation was thoroughly crafted and thoughtful. It significantly improved the customer’s conversion issue. Well done!”.
General feedback creates the impression that you don’t care and have yet to think in depth about their work (for more insight, check The 7 common mistakes to avoid when giving feedback: Not being specific and Unprepared).
Timely
Feedback can be helpful and constructive if it is given in time. Both feedback types (negative and positive) work best if they are provided close to the event. Don’t wait until your following performance review or 360 feedback. Give feedback as soon as possible!
Be transparent
Don’t sugarcoat your constructive feedback with some mixed good points. Make your “negative” feedback corrective and give your positive feedback separately. Please don’t mix them and ensure the recipient understands whether it is negative or positive feedback.
Constructive, Collaborative
Constructive feedback focuses on helping the recipient to solve the issue and grow. It seeks to address the problem and find a positive collaborative way to deal with it. The feedback that is constructive focuses on problem-solving and personal growth. Here is an excellent example of constructive feedback:
“Dave, you haven’t sent your customer report yet. You are always punctual. How can I help? Let’s talk through the impediments you are experiencing.”
Instead of focusing on the problem (missing report), you seek ways to support and help your team members.
Actionable
One of the characteristics of well-placed feedback is that it’s actionable. Always discuss the necessary follow-up actions with the receiver if the feedback needs follow-up. It is vital if you are the manager of this colleague. These actions have to be straightforward to follow up. If you are a manager at your next one-to-one meeting, bring it up and see how the recipient has progressed. If you are the recipient, it is always a good idea to bring it up by yourself to show that you are working on the issues proactively. Usually, it leaves a bad taste in managers’ mouths if the action items are not progressing and they have to push everything. Next time, prepare your progress and next steps and bring it up yourself. It will do wonders, trust me.
Importance of feedback loops in hybrid and remote work
“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
– Elon Musk
Managers can establish feedback loops by regularly checking in with employees to provide feedback while also asking for constructive feedback about other employees. This works best if this is a preplanned activity and it is regular.
For example, you check in with your team’s lead developer every 2 weeks to better understand how the team members perform. You do this with the other members, and you will have a pretty accurate picture of what is going on in your team. Based on the constructive feedback you collected, you can finetune your team’s and each individual’s continuous improvement plan.
Feedback loops give remote managers a more comprehensive understanding of how an employee works. Feedback loops give managers more information to
- Coach employees
- Motivate them to achieve their goals in alignment with the company’s goals
- Help them identify and leverage their strengths
Conclusion
All things considered, giving and receiving feedback is a crucial skill that can be improved by doing it regularly. Please remember that (processing) feedback helps your personal and professional growth. With that in mind, you shouldn’t be afraid or nervous about providing or taking well-thought feedback using the described formulas 🙂.
