Continuous, Constructive Feedback

Posted on June 7, 2007  Comments (4)

Employee performance: Continuous, constructive feedback yields results:

Be specific. If you simply say “Good job, Frank,” Frank won’t know exactly what he did to get that atta boy. Therefore, he can’t consciously work to repeat that behavior. Instead, say something like “Frank, that new procedure you developed for handling service calls has really improved customer satisfaction. Thanks for coming up with it.”

Include coaching. Annual reviews often are used as the only performance communication tool. They give the associate a “grade,” but do they have a well-crafted development section? Do they have a plan for how you are going to partner with them to help them grow? If they do, how often do you visit the plan throughout the year to make sure it’s on track?

Exactly right. As I have discussed I don’t believe in the annual performance rating (Performance Appraisals – Is Good Execution the Solution? – Performance Appraisal Problems…) so I would just skip the grade. The correct strategy, communicate and coach continually. Have defined process that are clear to everyone. Have clear expectations for what people are suppose to do and have methods to make problems visible so they can be addressed.

Related: Performance without Appraisal – posts on performance management – Ritz Carlton and Home Depot – Customer Focus at the Ritz

At your hotels, there are opportunities every day to provide constructive feedback for your associates’ success in the different aspects of their jobs. Whether it is technical (i.e. can’t get the bank to balance / the chicken cordon bleu isn’t to spec) or behavioral (i.e. time management / consistent follow-through), knowing these things along the way allows them to grow and support the big picture. Communication also builds trust between you and your team.

More good points. This stuff is not exactly rocket science but so few organizations do this well – even as obvious as it is.

4 Responses to “Continuous, Constructive Feedback”

  1. Can I Give You Some Feedback? at KnowHR Blog
    June 7th, 2007 @ 9:45 am

    [...] Or was Curious Cat Management Blog Talking about another “Frank” this morning in their Continuous, Constructive Feedback article? The feebackee (I just made up that word) is named “Frank”, so I like to [...]

  2. Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog » Performance Appraisals are Worse Than a Waste of Time
    December 13th, 2007 @ 8:40 am

    That is just a start on the problems with annual rating of people. On page 101 of Out of the Crisis Dr. W. Edwards Deming states the following as one of the seven deadly diseases…

  3. Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog » Performance Appraisal Problems
    November 6th, 2008 @ 12:51 am

    I strongly suggest chapter 9 (Performance Without Appraisal) of The Leader’s Handbook, by Peter Scholtes, for those thinking about this topic…

  4. Curious Cat Management Blog » Deming and Performance Appraisal
    December 1st, 2008 @ 7:07 pm

    Dr. Deming made several points relative to performance improvement (not appraisal):
    1. Hire good people – one of the most critical decisions we all make.
    2. Train and educate them – even if they come from the best universities and are at the top of their class.
    3. Coach them, constantly, don’t wait for an annual appraisal to correct an issue or behavior…

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