Basic feedback skills make performance management "light and easy"

Managers need the skills to have casual conversations - as opposed to confrontations - about minor performance and behaviour problems, says leadership consultant Steve Fearns.

Too often, what should be a simple conversation between a manager and an employee blows up into a confrontation because "we go in with all guns blazing", he told HR Daily.

The right type of conversation, however, ensures employees are aware of what the issue is, and allows them to take responsibility for addressing it. It is much more effective than a confrontation and direction about what is the right thing to do, he says.

Fearns, who outlines processes for providing feedback, counselling and discipline in an HRD Plus Gold webcast, says leaders should be managing performance on a daily basis, and considering - as they would with any other resource - how their team members are performing, and what they can do to increase or maintain that performance. 

Ideally, he says, managers will create a culture of providing feedback all the time, "so it's not just about doing it when something goes wrong".

Focus on the future, not the past

Feedback, Fearns stresses, is "about addressing future behaviour".

"It's not talking about [what happened] in the past. Once we focus on the future, we're not making it good or bad, we're just ensuring what needs to happen in the future."

The model he applies to feedback conversations addresses actions, impacts and desired outcomes.

"Many of us use the top two - we talk about actions, or the thing that's happened: 'The report was late', or 'You're not meeting your budget', or 'You're not following the correct procedure'.

"But we forget to talk about the desired outcome: what we want, or how we're going to get to that desired outcome, in future."

First steps

When setting out to provide feedback, managers should always check in with the employee first and make sure there are no hidden issues that might be causing problems for them, Fearns says.

This can be as simple as asking "How's your day been?" or "How are you going?", but it's a vital step because if the employee raises an issue, that should be dealt with before moving onto the feedback conversation.

The next step is as simple as saying, for example, "I just wanted to have a talk about the correct place to smoke", Fearns says.

"Straight away they're crystal clear what you're going to be having the conversation about."

Although it's important to understand why an employee is under-performing or behaving inappropriately at work, managers should avoid using the word "why" when addressing performance issues, Fearns says.

This is because "'why' immediately comes across as confrontational".

Instead, he says, managers need to create self-awareness in the employee.

"It's so easy just to go in and ask someone, 'Why were you late?' or 'Why were you smoking [in the wrong area]?' or 'Why was the report 10 pages long when I asked for three?'"

The fact is, sometimes employees genuinely don't realise that they've done the wrong thing until they get this feedback, Fearns says. Creating awareness in the employee therefore makes it far easier to have the conversation - "when they realise themselves [what is wrong], they're more likely to take action".

Managers also need strong listening skills, "to get a sense of what to ask next", and shouldn't expect to follow a prepared speech, he adds.

He sets out how a typical feedback conversation might flow, from the manager's perspective:

"Hi Adam, how are things going?

"Let's have a talk about the allocated spots we've got for smoking. Are you aware of where they are?

"That's great. And where are they?

"OK, fantastic. So what happened this morning?"

In most cases, an employee will provide a reason for doing the wrong thing, but perhaps didn't perceive it was a real problem at the time, Fearns says.

"OK, that's fair enough. What do you think is the impact of you smoking directly outside the foyer?"

(Fearns says managers should always assume that "most people are reasonable", and will know the impact of what they've done.)

"That's right - it doesn't look very good. So what will you be able to do in future?

"Fantastic, I'd really appreciate that."

Feedback conversations should always be "light and easy", Fearns says.

"We just want it to be a conversation. That's what feedback is. It addresses future behaviour. So what will happen in future - he'll smoke in the designated areas.

"We've raised the issue, and it's no big deal, no drama. Most people will get back on track."

Only after feedback conversations have occurred, and an employee continues to flout workplace rules or under-perform, should a manager progress to "deeper" counselling and discipline conversations, he says.

Reference: HRDaily 25June 2013.