Back-to-basics: How to give constructive feedback

Giving and receiving feedback is an essential part of most roles – whether for professional development, to drive forward a project or to make a process more efficient.

 

Feedback isn’t only a key way to improve performance. Done well, it can help to:

• Build trust 
• Make people feel valued 
• Create an open and honest culture 
• Manage expectations

Here are some ideas to help you give constructive feedback that leaves everyone feeling positive.

 

 

Give them the heads up

 

It’s rarely helpful to spring feedback on someone, unless it’s glowing. Formal feedback processes, like annual performance reviews, will be scheduled well in advance, but for more informal feedback, it’s worth giving someone even a few minutes warning.

 

That could be: “Is now a good time to talk about how the presentation went?” or “Do you have ten minutes to talk about last week’s stats?”.

 

Knowing what’s coming will give the person a chance to mentally prepare, rather than catching them on the back foot – and that’s likely to mean a more positive outcome.

 

 

Use the COIN approach

 

The COIN approach can help to frame feedback constructively. 

 

Context: Define the issue and give a specific reference. Rather than saying “You always make mistakes in the media stats”, refer to a specific occasion, “I noticed there were a few errors in last week’s report.” 

 

Observation: Give a factual description of what happened. Sticking to the facts will help to reduce any sense of judgement and make feedback feel less personal. If you’re discussing someone’s behaviour, talk about actions, not personality. For example, “At the meeting yesterday, I noticed you talked over Matt” rather than “You’re always overbearing in meetings”.

 

Impact: Explain how the event or issue affects other people. Again, stick to the one or two examples you’re discussing. For example, if someone has been missing deadlines, you could explain the knock-on effect that’s having on the rest of the team.   

 

Next: Agree on some clear next steps and any support the person might need to take them. You might need to offer examples of how their behaviour or actions could be improved, but the more it’s a shared discussion, the more productive the outcome.  

 

This article explains the COIN approach in more detail.

 

 

Be direct, but kind 

 

It can feel uncomfortable to give negative feedback, but it’s necessary to make change happen. It can be tempting to tiptoe around an issue, particularly if your feedback is on someone’s behaviour, but that can just make the conversation even more awkward. Being specific and using direct language can help to get your message across clearly, but kindly.

 

If you’re feeling uncomfortable about it, you’ll likely make the other person feel uncomfortable too. So whatever message you’re delivering, remember that you’re doing it for a good reason.

 

We also share some tips about how to have difficult conversations. 

 

 

Be specific

 

Specific feedback is the most helpful – you need to give someone enough information to make it useful. For example, if you’re feeding back to a designer on some mock-ups and the images they’ve used don’t fit the bill, it’s not very helpful to say “I don’t like the pictures”. Be specific about which images aren’t working, why they’re not right (are they off brand? not inclusive enough?) and potentially give an example of what you are looking for. 

 

 

Remember the positives

 

Of course, not all feedback is negative. Positive feedback can be just as informative, but sometimes it can be easy to forget to tell someone if they’ve done a job well. As the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development puts it:

 

“In most situations, positive feedback is a more effective way to improve performance than negative feedback. When negative feedback is necessary or likely to help, frame the message positively and constructively.”

 

 

Make sure it’s a two-way process

 

Simply off-loading criticism is unlikely to lead to constructive change and could lead to the person feeling misunderstood, criticised or resentful.

 

They might have had a very different experience of the situation, or of their behaviour. Asking for their perspective can open the door to helpful conversations and next steps that everyone buys into.  

 

 

Check-in afterwards

 

Get a sense of how the feedback has landed. You might want to verbally check in with them, which could be as simple as asking: “How are you doing now?” Or, if there are specific follow-up steps, it might be appropriate to ask if they need any support or guidance to achieve them.

 

But if you get a sense that they’re overwhelmed, or need to take some time to digest what you’ve said, then give them some space and come back to them later.