Taking the capital F out of the word feedback
Suit: Backed by the organisation
Oftentimes, the word feedback is associated with ‘reviews’, ‘formal’ and ‘performance management’. But at Let’s Talk Talent, we think it’s time to re-write these word associations and match the word feedback with ‘conversations’, ‘often’ and ‘two-ways’.
Developmental feedback isn’t about waiting until the end of the year to sit down with employees and review their performance. It’s about regular check ins, and making sure you drive people’s responsibility to bring up how they are doing. So the question is: within your specific organisation, is the feedback process a formal and yearly one, or are you able to use regular conversations as a way to diagnose issues and course-correct along the way? If you feel you’re not quite there yet, what are the tools available to you in order to encourage regular informal chats and ensure staff don’t walk in to review meetings with a feeling of impending doom?
There are ways to deformalise performance feedback and set the tone for a culture of regular informal discussions. Mostly, it’s about leading by example. Make sure you give your managerial staff and senior teams the tools they need to role-model the way you would like to see developmental feedback rolled out within your company. Set the tone by developing managers to listen to their team members, encourage two-way feedback and follow up on what was said. Set the structure for regular meetings to take place and offer training and coaching for those who do not feel quite comfortable with this.
So go ahead, lead the way and take back the word feedback to make it something new, less stuffy and don’t hesitate to tailor it to your unique context.
In the meantime, if you’d like to transition from a yearly feedback model to something more dynamic and effective, give us a call or read a bit more on the topic in our blog.
Career Coaching Cards: Explained
This is a new series of blog posts, that explain our Career Coaching cards in more depth.
Our deck of cards contain 52 questions that help guide better career conversations and connect more with the individuals you’re having these conversations with.
Each week we are releasing a question from our deck with a little more information about why we think this question is a good question and what you are looking to get out of it when you ask it.
Download our Succession Planning Whitepaper
Our Succession Planning whitepaper is for you if you want to know:
- Identify your talent and skills shortage.
- Identify the future leaders of your business.
- Use data to proactively build your leadership bench strength.
- Put in place robust processes to engage your future leaders.
- Learn from other companies who have implemented succession planning programs and the impact it’s had.