How To Give Negative Feedback: 10 Tips To Do It Right

When you realize you have to give negative feedback to a team member or a colleague, it’s understandable if you feel a bit nervous. You may have a few questions such as: How will it affect my work relationship when I deliver feedback that isn’t positive? How do I deliver negative feedback appropriately?

Below is a guide to the importance of constructive criticism and how to turn negative feedback into a positive experience. Read on for 10 tips on how to give feedback effectively.

What Is Negative Feedback?

Negative feedback, also known as constructive criticism, is the conversation where you explain the details of a team member’s performance that did not meet expectations. The point of delivering negative feedback is to make sure a team member is aware of the specific behaviors they need to address. This way, the employee can quickly change these things, and you can forge a healthier work environment.

Why Is Negative Feedback Important?

It may have “negative” in the name, but there are many positive reasons why you should give your team members constructive criticism.

Improve an employee’s performance. Naturally, your team member may think nothing’s wrong unless they’re told otherwise. You may know that from personal experience, and it’s true for your team members, too. When you share constructive feedback, you can clearly state what they should actually be doing.

Set expectations. When you tell a team member what you expect of them after making them aware of the issues, they’ll feel less stressed the next time around. Without as many questions rolling around in their heads, they’ll be more likely to complete tasks the correct way. The result is less confusion, more clarity on your goals, and a general direction for your team to follow.

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Valuable feedback and support. Providing constructive feedback acknowledges your employees and shows that you care about their contributions. Above all, it shows that you want to see them succeed in the workspace.

Builds your managerial skills. When you’re willing to give your team members critical feedback, you help them grow and perform better over time. That makes you a great manager. Plus, the more often you give critical feedback, the less pressure you’ll feel providing it in the future. The result is an open dialogue between you and your team.

Allows employees ask questions about their work. Instead of waiting for performance reviews, giving negative feedback right as problems arise is more effective. When you do so, you provide your team members with the perfect opportunity to ask about your position or the company itself. The more your employees know (and are unafraid to ask), the better their work will be.

Lowers your turnover rates. Delivering feedback effectively can help your employees feel confident and supported. That makes them less likely to quit and look for a new position. And this sort of turnover can disrupt your team’s knowledge base and pull your time away from key tasks toward hiring and recruiting needs.

How Should You Share Negative Feedback?

A conversation about behaviors that need improvement doesn’t mean the talk has to be a sour one to have. Here’s how you can provide negative feedback in a positive light.

Don’t give a feedback sandwich. A feedback sandwich describes constructive criticism delivered between two positive notes. For instance, you might say, “That was a very productive meeting you held, but I don’t think you were being very engaging to your team members. However, your notes and presentation were fantastic.” Combining two positives with one negative can hide the critique, and it could make your employee think they’re doing the right thing.

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Be direct with what you say. Your transparency will determine how well your employee receives the feedback you’re giving. Make sure that, when you deliver feedback, you sound genuine and sincere while being direct with what you say. You might also want to send a short, direct email afterward to ensure the employee understood the conversation. If they still have more questions, email is a great place for them to share their thoughts.

Ask for their thoughts. Most employee actions are grounded in some sort of reasoning, and you can’t see right into their brains. If an employee is dropping the ball, have a conversation with them and ask what’s going on. Maybe they just don’t have enough information to complete the task, and with this lack of knowledge, their actions seem correct to them.

Plan how to fix the issue. To provide feedback effectively, you should do more than tell your employee what they’re doing wrong. Instead, after discussing what they can improve on, you should help them come up with a plan on how to do so. That’s how you help the employee avoid making the same mistake again.You can be an asset to your team member by sharing helpful tidbits, tools, and information that helps them course-correct.

Follow up with your team member. After telling someone what to change, you can’t expect to say it once and move on – the follow-through there is lacking. Weekly one-on-ones give you the space to provide guidance, ask what steps the employee has taken to improve their performance, and answer their questions.

10 Tips On How To Give Negative Feedback

When you provide negative feedback the right way, it can be an extremely powerful tool. Below are ten ways to properly give negative feedback to your employees.

Remain Calm

When discussing employee performance or behavior, you want to remain calm. After all, when you’re upset, it’s hard to say things exactly how you wanted. Your goal should be an open, grounded discussion with your employee that keeps them in a good headspace. Ask how they’re doing, and then clearly, calmly state how they can improve.

Discuss Improvements In Private

You definitely don’t want to criticize your employee out in the open for all to hear – that’ll just make them feel embarrassed. Instead, invite them to a one-on-one meeting in a private area. There, you can discuss what your team member is going astray and how they can fix it.

Give Feedback On Behaviors, Not Individuals

You should only give feedback on your employee’s work-related behaviors or interactions and how they’re completing their tasks. It’s not your place to comment on matters not related to work. Avoid discussing who they are as a person (unless they’re having an extremely negative impact on their coworkers, though that’s rare). Instead, you should talk to the employee about their role within the company and how they’re handling their responsibilities.

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Don’t Sugarcoat

Despite the obvious urge, softening the blow never works. Padding negative comments with positive ones can confuse your team member or cause them to remember only the bright spots of what you said. Instead, speak with your employee honestly and offer concrete, actionable advice for the issues at hand.

Give Feedback Sooner Than Later

If you see a member of your team doing something wrong, you want to act quickly, rather than waiting for another week to pass. When you provide negative feedback immediately, you address the issue before any key details can get all blurry in the rearview mirror. This way, the situation is fresh in both your minds, and you can act on your actions immediately.

Provide Details

If you say, “I didn’t like how you went about that meeting yesterday,” chances are, your employee is going to wonder why. Instead, try saying, “Next time, let’s aim to give more people more time to contribute and shorten the meeting agenda.” This way, you leave no room for guesses. You can best deliver feedback like this at in-person meetings, where you can also teach the employee how to make the improvement you’ve suggested.

Actively Listen To Your Team Member

For your conversation to be productive, you need to set aside time to talk and listen. Maybe instead of directly telling your employee what they need to improve on, ask them how they think they’re doing. Then, provide your input and what you think they should work on. After you share your perspective, ask the employee if they have questions and set aside time to meet again soon.

Develop A Plan

When you sit down with an employee, you don’t just want to tell them what’s going wrong. Rather, you want to plan how to make things right. You can try providing new ideas on how to better approach the issue or teaching them a new skill.

Write Out Your Conversation

If you get nervous when you give negative feedback, you might start talking at a million miles an hour. Writing out the beginning and end of your conversation, as silly as it might seem, can eliminate rambling and help calm those pre-feedback jitters. Although you can’t completely direct the conversation since it’s a two-way street, a script can still help keep your approach focused on genuine, professional feedback.

Set Time Aside For Future Meetings

In the end, you want to see your employees succeed in their careers. That’s not just true from a feel-good perspective – employee retention saves you money and time on hiring new employees. So after you initially provide negative feedback, make time for a few follow-ups where you check in and see how things are going. Start by setting up your next meeting a week later, then continue to hold regular short check-ups afterward.

Negative Feedback Examples

To ensure a continually productive and positive working relationship with your team, below are a few effective ways to provide negative feedback.

Communicate Negative Feedback Effectively With Text Blaze

Providing negative feedback isn’t easy, but it’s important for improving your work environment and your team’s performance. To make giving negative feedback less stressful, Text Blaze offers customizable, easy-to-use templates you can pull up anywhere in your web browser. You’ll no longer worry about what to say next – instead, you’ll start a genuine, honest conversation with just a click.

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