Giving Constructive Feedback

A critical component of people development is coaching your employees on how they can be more impactful and giving your employees a chance to improve.

Oftentimes we as managers don’t do this because of reasons like:

• We think we have to be totally prepared
• We worry about employees getting defensive
• We think it's just a small thing
• We want to be liked

If we don’t do this in the moment:

• Hard to go back and give that feedback without it being too much to take
• You may feel stuck and frustrated
• Other team members or other people in the company may wonder "why isn’t the manager dealing with that?"

When Should I Give Constructive Feedback:

Start paying attention to coaching opportunities so that when you see something, you can say something or jot the note down in Reflektive so that you can visit in your next 1x1.

Potential coaching opportunities:

• After client calls
• When managing a project
• When observing a presentation or team meeting
• If you find yourself thinking "I wish ________ would do ________ differently."
• After their first 30/60/90 days

When you notice a coaching opportunity, we recommend that you use Reflektive to jot down private notes about the situation, the behavior you’ve observed, and what behavior you’d like to see going forward. Then, deliver this feedback in person. 

Best practice: deliver constructive feedback in person and share your openness to feedback.

Tips for writing constructive feedback in Reflektive:

We could easily say “your emails are not clear,” but that doesn’t help your colleague understand what they should they do instead. Aim to give constructive feedback that is specific, based on observation, and actionable.

Example: Instead of “your emails are not clear” we can say, “I noticed that your email does not summarize the final numbers. Please include them and your observation to give our colleagues better insight on your work."

Easily save notes for yourself in the web app so that you can talk about it in your next 1x1. 

How to Save Notes in the Web App:

1. Log into Reflektive (http://reflektive.com/app)
2. Go to your Profile
3. Click on the names of your direct report with the left-hand bar, then click on the blue Feedback button
4. Click on Note to Self and write your message
   1. Private notes default to being shared with only yourself (no emails sent)
   2. Choose to "Share with Recipient" to post privately to the feedback recipient
      1. The recipient will get an email and be directed to view the note in Reflektive
5. Click Submit
   

How to Save Notes in the Plugin:

1. Open up your email
2. Go to the email plugin (right side of your email)
3. Pull up the email of your colleague OR click on the magnifying glass and type in the names of one or more colleagues
4. Click on Save a Note and write your message
   
   1. Private notes default to being shared with only yourself (no emails sent)
   2. Choose to "Share with Recipient" to post privately to the feedback recipient
      1. The recipient will get an email and be directed to view the note in Reflektive
5. Click Submit

While you can choose to share the note with the employee, we recommend that you deliver the feedback in person during your next 1x1.

How to See Saved Notes in the Web App:

1. Log into Reflektive (http://reflektive.com/app)
2. Go to the Home tab and the My Team tab
3. Pull up your employee's profile
4. Scroll below the fold and click on the "All Feedback" drop down to filter to "Notes"

We encourage you to review these private coaching notes ahead of time and deliver the constructive feedback in person during your next 1x1!

• If My Manager Changes, Will My New Manager See Private Notes That My Old Manager Saved About Me?
  No, your new manager will not be able to see private notes from your old manager about you.