How To Deliver Every Type Of Feedback To Employees Using Our 12-Step Framework To Handle Resisters, Excuse-Makers And Head-Nodders Who Don’t Take Action

Dear Resourceful Manager,

If you want to deliver feedback to employees at the perfect moment with the precise balance of praise and constructive feedback and significantly improve employee behavior, performance and accountability …

… while completely preventing people’s natural reaction to resist, make excuses and deny any wrongdoing, then this page will show you how.

Let me explain:

We’ve created – “The Feedback Framework”

A step-by-step field guide any manager can use to deliver the right feedback – at the right time – in a way employees will actually listen to and act on.

It’s based on …

… 114 years of combined “in the trenches” management experience by the ResourcefulManager editorial and research team.

… the collective wisdom, experience and research of the world’s leading thought leaders, authors and research firms – the curation and distillation of hundreds of sources, thousands of pages, tens of thousands of words by our editorial team – converted into new insights and frameworks.

… direct conversations and survey data from executives, front-line managers and employees just like you.

We did all this because effectively delivering feedback is the single most important skill a manager must have – and at the same time – the most neglected and poorly done.

Here’s why:

We suck at giving employees feedback

We should be giving it every day, sometimes every hour. But here are the facts …

• Only 58% of managers feel they give enough feedback to their employees. (And this doesn’t necessarily mean the feedback was effective.)
• 39% of employees report they feel under-appreciated at work.
• Employees are twice as likely to be actively disengaged if they feel they’re ignored by management.

Why don’t we give enough feedback to employees?

We don’t know how.

We don’t have confidence (aka we’re fearful to give it when it’s “negative”).

We think we don’t have time.

The act of giving feedback is tricky. Doing it right requires confidence, knowledge, effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills and, in most cases, good instincts.

And that doesn’t just come naturally to everyone.

Knowing how to deliver feedback effectively – so it’s specific, non-confrontational, and most of all internalized – is key for all managers to keep employees motivated and sharp.

The good news: if you feel your feedback falls on deaf ears or that you lack confidence when delivering “negative” feedback, there are steps you can take to both make the process easier AND ensure your feedback achieves the outcome you and the employee want.

Employees actually crave feedback, but you’ve got to deliver it this way …

More facts:

• 65% of employees say they wished they received more feedback.
• There’s a 14.9% lower turnover rate at companies that promote regular employee feedback.
• Employees are 30% more likely to be actively engaged when managers focus on their strengths.

It’s said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. That’s where feedback comes in.

Without it, the employees responsible for specific outcomes will end up trying to achieve them through ways that don’t work.

We’d all be lost without it.

Managers who are afraid to approach difficult or awkward conversations with employees, co-workers – even their own bosses – run a far greater risk of workplace upheaval if they ignore concerns or issues that require actionable feedback.

Without feedback, good and bad, we’re all operating in a vacuum.

So how do we give feedback the right way?

You have to know the answer to all of the following questions – and put them into practice consistently:

• • Is there such a thing as a perfect time and frequency to provide employee feedback?
  • Do you always follow up in writing when giving feedback?
  • How do you tell employees they are not listening to your feedback?
  • How to couch it in a way they will listen and not be defensive?
  • What do I do when they are not receptive?
  • How do you make them see it as constructive not negative?
  • How do I help someone who completely lacks self-awareness?

• • If one gives feedback, how much documentation is needed?
  • How can I relate across generational gaps – employees older or younger than I am?
  • Does the employee always sign off on feedback?
  • What if they nod in agreement but don’t change?
  • Is there a way to ensure feedback is not taken negatively? What can I do if it is?
  • Are there opportunities which are better than others for giving feedback?
  • What if I am receiving the feedback?

• • How can I avoid setting off an immediate defensive reaction from my employees?
  • How do I build regular feedback into the culture of our organization?
  • What’s the best way to deliver bad news to valuable team members? Especially the emotional or difficult ones …
  • Should I give feedback if it’s based on something someone else told me vs. something I observed? If so, do you tell the person where the feedback came from?
  • Does feedback to my super star employee need to be different from the others? If so, how?
  • How do I provide feedback without sounding like I’m nagging or complaining?
  • Why are some of my employees completely unreceptive to any kind of feedback? How can I get through to them?

• • What if I need to give feedback about poor performance issues? How can I give constructive feedback without sounding too negative?
  • Do I need to document feedback that has been given? If so, is there a best practice?
  • How do we encourage change and keep employees motivated when they are getting negative feedback?
  • What type of feedback can I give employees that will help them feel valued/engaged?
  • How do I give negative feedback without insulting my employee’s intelligence?
  • Why do I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall? How can I get my employees to listen?
  • When is the best time to deliver bad news?

• How do I respond to an employee challenging negative feedback with “yes, but” all the time?
• When should I kick it up a notch and lay down the law so they know I mean business on behaviors that need to improve?
• What’s the most effective way to hold individuals accountable for change based on the feedback they’ve received?
• How can I show my employee “proof” or examples of performance without making it look like I’m “keeping score”?
• Can I ensure the feedback I deliver to my employees isn’t taken personally?
• What if you disagree on performance?
• How can I keep calm during tough talks?

Chances are good you’ve pondered more than a handful of those questions.

I know, because most of them came directly, word-for-word, from the ResourcefulManager community when we asked you about employee feedback.

It’s clear managers know the challenges, know what they need help with – but haven’t found a solution. Until now:

This 49-page, concise Blueprint answers all of the burning questions and concerns you have about delivering employee feedback outlined above. Plus:

Step-by-step guidance, examples, scenarios and specific talking points to say – and not say – that you can use right now to deliver behavior-changing feedback at the right time – in a way employees will actually listen to and act on.

Here’s a table contents of the major sections in this Blueprint & Bonuses:

Which of these two outcomesdo you want …

Imagine you’re in a small conference room with an employee giving them some tough feedback on their behavior and performance:

Scenario 1. You start telling him that he must improve his work as it’s not meeting expectations. Before you can finish your third sentence, a gigantic, figurative wall goes up.

The employee starts questioning you, tossing excuses and denials like grenades. His defenses are in full force. You try to couch the constructive feedback with something positive (a feedback sandwich like you’ve been told to do) – but it comes off as insincere. “You are just saying that!” is the reply you get. All he hears is the negative.

The conversation has spiraled into an unresolvable argument. The situation is worse. Now, you’re wondering if you should have brought it up in the first place. Lose – Lose.

Scenario 2. You lead with a pointed question about a specific assignment that wasn’t executed well or on time.

The employee wants to push back as you notice his body language shift into a defensive posture. You quickly offer to help, but you need to understand what got in the way of delivering the assignment as needed.

His tension dissipates as he accepts responsibility and begins to explain his struggle in a non-confrontational way. The conversation is now in the “safe zone.”

Now you can focus on measurable outcomes and next steps – 100% confident they will get done.

Which would you rather have? Scenario #1 or #2?

It’s obvious.

How well your feedback is received depends on a number of steps executed in the right sequence. Each step in the feedback process builds on the one that came before it. Eliminating barriers first, then bolstering the effectiveness of your message.

“The Feedback Framework” details every step – in the exact order it should be used – and unearths all the landmines that litter feedback discussions. Armed with this, the first scenario becomes a thing of the past – and the second one becomes the norm.