Feature

Mastering the art of feedback

Sudipta Dev analyses why managers need to be skilled in giving timely performance feedback to their team members.

How often do you communicate to your team about their performance? Do you wait for the performance appraisal time to address issues? If the answer is ‘yes’ then you far from being a smart manager (though not an uncommon one). Evaluation time is often associated with negativity as managers confront their juniors on what the latter should not have done or have fallen short of achieving. A good manager must never wait for six months or a year to give feedback to his team members. Whether the feedback is negative or positive, it should be on an ongoing basis. It is a skill that they have to master with a lot of caution.

Performance appraisals should not spring any surprises apart from the happy news of a good raise. There are at least 16 reasons why people don’t perform the way you want, according to Ferdinand Fournies, author of Why Employees Don’t Do What They’re Supposed to Do and What To Do About It, “The one who loses most when an employee fails is the manager; the one who gains the most when an employee performs well is the manager.” Consequently, it is the manager who must intervene to assist the employee to perform appropriately.

Understanding the feedback process

Appraisals have nothing to do with feedback, asserts Minoo Dastur, Chief Operating Officer, Nihilent Technologies. “Feedback should be given all the time—in the context of objectives—and throughout the year. These should be in planned sessions. There should be at least three to four feedback sessions (formally around the person’s growth).” Employee appraisals are pure HR tools, and the cycle for both should be separate.

It is important to understand the purpose of the feedback process. “Feedback is a part of the cyclic process towards improvement. Hence, there is probably no ‘right time’ as against the ‘wrong time’, if the feedback is geared towards improvements. If the feedback intends to be judgmental then it needs to be timed. Positive feedback perhaps has no ‘proper’ time; it is human nature to be happy hearing praise or encouragement. Hence such feedback may only motivate not otherwise,” explains Harish Bhattiprolu, Director, Sales, Kenexa Technologies. He points out that prudent management practice would distinguish between those issues which are tied to strategic performance and those which are rather tactical and of everyday nature. “Those which are important for performance evaluation must be highlighted at the performance appraisal. However, routine or everyday observations and operational feedback may be given continuously,” adds Bhattiprolu, reminding that it is quite important to apply adequate discretion in raising issues.

Caution is however the key. Suhas Nerurkar, Presi-dent, TVA Infotech feels that while feedback has to be at least once in three months and in some cases immediate if needed. However, it is not a good idea to give feedback too often over trivia—as this gives the employee a feeling of being watched. “Furthermore, feedback should never be given in the middle of a crisis. It should always be done when pressures are relatively lesser,” points out Nerurkar.

Delay in communication

A delay in communicating with a team member about issues concerning his work is considered an unpardonable offence on part of the manager. Agrees Sai Gundavelli, CEO & President, Solix Technologies, “Delayed feedback is unpardonable. Every individual works for the benefit of the organisation. The manager shouldn’t wait till the end to declare that the employee was doing the right thing or not. He should spontaneously and constructively keep track of the developments to ensure he doesn’t miss the boat along with his staff.” He acknowledges that managers often dread and struggle with the performance appraisal process—sometimes over how to communicate and sometimes in trying to understand the effect of the feedback they are providing. “It is a key skill a manager has to have to ensure that his or her appraisal style and wording of different pieces of performance feedback result in a constructive open discussion that helps avoid any pitfalls in the appraisal process.”

Whether feedback is negative or positive, it should never be delayed. “Delayed negative feedback becomes meaningless, as by then many more mistakes would have been committed by the employee. Positive feedback if delayed is a lost opportunity to build morale as the impact is best when immediate,” explains Nerurkar. He however feels that sometimes it is prudent to hold off negative feelings to cool off the crisis.

For a professional, both negative and positive feedback are equally important. Charuhas Khopkar, Senior Vice-president, Aftek Infosys, asserts that the methodology of giving these two types of feedback needs to be different. “For both types of feedbacks, the delay is directly proportional to the damage regarding the values of an individual.”

It is not a good idea to give feedback too often over trivia—as this gives the employee a feeling of being watched Suhas Nerurkar President TVA Infotech	Delayed feedback is unpardonable. The manager shouldn't wait till the end to declare that the employee was doing the right thing or not Sai Gundavelli CEO & President Solix Technologies	If you have a culture of communicating with subordinates or if the feedback comes from their peers (like in 360 degrees), the impact is effective Minoo Dastur COO Nihilent Technologies

‘No surprises’

The performance appraisal process should not have any surprises for both the appraiser and the appraisee. Of course, it is always hoped that that the latter will be pleasantly surprised to get the good news of a hike beyond his expectations. Bhattiprolu believes that if a consistent practice of suitable appraisal is followed it must not lead to ‘surprises’. “If it does, then it may be summarised that this is not consistent with the actual performance review. It is not uncommon for associates to be given unexpected ratings. It is also true that an associate would perform his tasks assuming that he is on the correct path, to be completely surprised by the review saying that he was barking up the wrong tree. This not only leaves a lot to be desired from the associate, but also brings the evaluation mechanism in great doubt. Timely and accurate review shouldn’t leave room for surprises.”

Avoiding negativity

Often managers delay criticism for fear of confrontation. Most experts would agree that delivery of negative feedback is an art. “It must be given in the context of the ‘effect’ of the negative work. For example, if a person comes late for meeting, it must be explained to the person that this is wasting time of others and hence unfair to them, rather than harping on organisational values or motherhood discipline issues,” states Nerurkar.

He reminds that empathy towards employees is the key, “If I know that the other person understands my side of the story, then I am more likely to take a negative feedback in the right spirit. Many managers treat their team members as ‘juniors’, and act that way. This prevents bonding and creates distrust (typical of most older organisations).”

Dastur highlights the need for great communication skills if the feedback happens to be negative. “If you have a culture of communicating with subordinates or if it comes from their peers (like in 360 degrees), the impact is effective. Abroad they have a system of getting peer groups together for the process,” states Dastur. According to Khopkar, one of the best ways is to gather, analyse all the relevant data, event log(s) and be unbiased towards any individual while giving negative feedback. “Any negative feedback should not be based on the ‘opinions’ or ‘views’, as every human being is different.”

The aim of performance appraisal should not be to give negative feedback to people, but to evaluate their performance. A great deal of sensitivity is needed from the manager while doing a review. Most organisations today give training to appraisers so that they do not fall victim to the common mistakes they are likely to make. “In its nature, performance appraisal is to be oriented as a positive act, which benefits all concerned. However, if the objectives are diluted towards trading blame and responsibility or towards pinning down a person with the feedback, the negative connotation is palpable. Smart managers would not let the performance evaluation process get a negative connotation,” states Bhattiprolu, adding that performance appraisal is an extension of the MBO—management by objective style. Hence, if the objective setting is not accurate or not translated adequately, it can result in skewed results and negative environment. If it is implemented with the right spirit, it can result in a nurturing environment that recognises and rewards potential, while eliminating non-performance.

sudipta@expresscomputeronline.com