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INTRODUCTION
For others to develop their skills and knowledge, they need feedback
that is constructive, candid, and specific. Use these guidelines
to help you provide the kind of feedback that can help others
understand and develop their performance.
TIPS
The Goal of Providing Feedback
The goal of the feedback is to provide candid, constructive feedback
to recognize someone’s positive performance and to
offer suggestions for development.
Getting Started
An important step is simply getting started. It may help to quickly
jot down one’s first impressions about the recipient’s
performance: perhaps something about how the person communicates,
or the way this person contributes to what you do, or how this
individual serves the college. The key point is to begin the
process by collecting some initial ideas you can refine as
you use the
Feedback Form.
Using the Feedback Form
The Feedback Form asks you to comment on the individual’s
strengths and areas of improvement - first with respect to
the specific duties listed in their position description, and
then
with respect to the college’s Workplace Expectations.
(If you would rather provide handwritten feedback you can download
All Feedback Circle Forms - With Lines. This has lines and
space
for writing.)
The individual’s job expectations can be
found in their position description, listed as “Primary
tasks and responsibilities.” (The
position description should have been sent to you by the person
coordinating the individual’s Feedback Circle.). You
do not need to know everything about the individual’s
job in order to provide them valuable feedback. Instead, focus
your
comments
on those items for which you have knowledge.
The Workplace
Expectations are expectations for all Berea College workers,
expressing core ideals consistent with the mission
and vision of the college.
Getting Help
If you have any questions or need assistance as you work with
this process, please do not hesitate to call the Learning
Training Coordinator,
Mark Nigro (x3054).
GUIDELINES FOR PROVIDING MEANINGFUL
FEEDBACK
Purpose and Background:
What follows are basic guidelines to help you create meaningful
feedback statements, including further discussion and examples.
Meaningful feedback . . .
- Comes from a genuine desire to be helpful to another
person.
- Addresses observable behavior, not attitude.
- Uses specific examples
to illustrate the point, not vague generalities.
- Focuses both
on what is being done well, and what could be done even better.
DISCUSSION
AND EXAMPLES
1. Comes from a desire to be helpful to
another person:
Discussion
This relates to the evaluator’s state of mind - the desire
to be helpful. It means having a positive, supportive state of
mind as you consider providing feedback to help another person
develop. The way to reflect this on paper is by one’s choice
of words.
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"Pat really doesn’t
fit in here." |
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"Pat could be a more effective
member of the team if . . ." |
More examples:
- “She does valuable work for the college. She - [insert
comments explaining what they do that is valuable]. Perhaps
with some training
in (x), she would be able to serve even more individuals.”
- “If he was able to work with fewer interruptions he would be
even more effective in his role of (x).”
- “She does a very thorough job of working individually
with customers. She could be even more productive if she shortened
her conversations after the customer calls were finished, because we
could address other requests in a speedier fashion.”
- “He
has been serving Berea well for many years. It may be helpful
for his motivation as well as a teaching opportunity for
our students if he was able to spend time showing them how he organizes his
filing system.”
- “If she managed her time a little
better, she might be better able to respond to customer needs.”
- “If
he had more frequent communication, group members might be
able to respond more quickly to customer requests.”
- “I
suggest that . . . .”
- “I believe he could develop
his customer service if . . . .”
2. Addresses observable behavior, not attitude or character:
Discussion
While attitude and character drive one’s behavior, they
are internal states of mind, not what we notice as behavior.
What we
see or hear directly are behaviors; so we must focus our feedback
comments on behaviors. Our feedback statements should address
the expectations and outcomes of observable performance and measurable
results.
To make your feedback more effective, first ask yourself, “What
did this person do or say that lead me to think this way about
them?”
Accordingly, there are two categories of performance
(behavior) used in Berea’s Feedback and Development process:
the behavioral roles described in the position description and
the universal performance
criteria described by Berea’s Workplace Expectations.
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"Leslie is a really
grumpy person." |
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"Leslie rarely smiles at students
before noon. This is a
problem because . . ." |
More examples:
- “In our planning meetings, she typically contributes
many creative ideas. She does so after she restates or summarizes
the comments
that preceded her idea. Also, she lets others completely
finish their comments before she comments, focuses her eyes
on the speaker, and
nods or smiles when a speaker makes a creative comment. All
this shows how she Values all People, because she pays full
attention to others and dignifies their ideas, even if she
does not agree
with them.”
- “While he has a lot of experience and skill, at times in meetings
he interrupts others or makes a sarcastic comment that ends
the conversation. When this happens, it seems that the conversation ends. I
think our
group would have better atmosphere and generate more ideas
if he
waited longer before making his comments and if he did not
make negative comments about others.”
- “On several occasions it seemed she had difficulty considering
new ideas. For example, when I offered several suggestions
for trying new processes for (x), rather than examine and discuss the information,
she first restated her own reasoning, and then immediately
changed
the subject. Even if my ideas were not that good, it would
help me
if she took more time to address my comments.”
3. Uses specific
examples to illustrate the point, not vague generalities:
Discussion
Performance can be difficult to measure or
explain, so providing specific examples clarifies your feedback.
It reduces ambiguity and pinpoints the exact performance that
is to be repeated, eliminated, or modified.
Also, the Workplace
Expectations define broad categories of behavior, so feedback
related to them is made clearer by providing specific
examples that illustrate a connection to the Workplace Expectation.
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"Terry is a hard worker." |
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"Terry rearranged her work schedule
three times last month in order to meet a departmental deadline." |
Wording for commenting about a strength:
“She
exhibits, (or demonstrates, shows, models) the Workplace Expectation,
(insert the relevant Workplace Expectation). She/He
does this
by (provide a specific example).”
example: (for the Workplace Expectation,
Act with Integrity and Caring)
“He does an exceptional job of showing students how
to act with integrity and caring. For example, after a student
finishes
with
their part of the process, he will meet with them to completely
inspect the product, pointing out defects as well as affirming
their progress and excellent craftsmanship. He then will
pull over other students to examine the product and ask questions
that lead
the students to consider best practices.”
Wording for
suggesting a way to improve:
“With respect to (the Workplace Expectation), he could demonstrate
this better by (describe performance in general). For example,
She/he could (provide specific example).”
example: (for
the Workplace Expectation, Celebrate work well done)
When she
receives positive feedback about the products his students
create – for
example when customers send letters or phone calls – she
could make it a point to share this feedback promptly with
the students who were directly involved. In this
way, she could ensure that good work is being celebrated.
4.
Focuses both on what is being done well, and what could be done
even better.
Discussion
This factor extends the first point – “comes
from a desire to be helpful.” From a desire to be helpful,
an evaluator takes care to affirm successes as well as point out
performance gaps. Because the intent is to provide constructive
feedback that will help the feedback recipient, the recipient needs
to know what and how they are doing well – so they can repeat
this – as well as how they could improve or develop.
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"Billie took some
classes last year, but it didn't do any good." |
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"Billie shows a real desire to
learn by taking classes. The rest of the team would benefit
if Billie would share what was learned. |
Another example:
“With respect to the service he provides, he quickly learned
our functions and processes during his first year and sustained
positive
relationships with customers. He also was effective with colleagues
using our old processes. Since his first year, however, our group
has undergone tremendous changes. Our main computer processes
have changed and we have had organizational restructuring to better
take advantage of the new technology.
While he continues to do
a good job of maintaining good customer relations, he has not
taken the initiative to master our new
technology or embrace our new meeting processes.
While I think
he is fairly effective already, I think he has a lot more potential.
This may require him to get more computer
training
and also working closer with his team to learn our new processes.
Perhaps he would also benefit by applying a better time management
system.”
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