In part one of our three-part series on Talent Management I talked about how complacency can be a catastrophic talent management mistake. In part two, we will focus on feedback protocol.
Consistent communication between management and employees is critical to productivity and the overall success of your company.
For some companies, that feedback only comes once a year. It is usually not relevant or actionable to current projects. That kind of feedback is a missed opportunity for increased productivity and employee engagement.
Here are five things to keep in mind for more effective feedback:
1. Make sure your feedback is continuous.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Waiting for an arbitrary date to apprise an employee of their progress in a particular weakness wastes valuable time and data that can be used to accomplish an action plan related to that weakness.
2. Get rid of the dreaded annual review.
Annual reviews, or non-frequent reviews on some arbitrary date, are actually detrimental to productivity. Studies have shown that employee productivity increases just before the scheduled appraisal and then tapers off once the appraisal is complete. Not only would you like a more accurate “pulse” on the effectiveness of the employee, but you would also like the opportunity to work with the employee in a more proactive way.
3. Make feedback accessible from anywhere, online, 24/7.
We live in a connected society with a variety of tools at our disposal. It should no longer require a closed-door meeting with a manager to receive feedback on job performance.
4. Connect feedback to tangible and identified work goals.
Everyone needs a map. In the workplace, that map is a set of goals aligned to the overall goals of the company and accurately measurable so the employee knows where they stand in relation to the goal.
5. Make recognition meaningful (no plaques!).
No matter how nice it may be, no employee is thinking about a plaque when they are staying late or working on the weekend to exceed their manager’s expectations. Rewards should be something meaningful and useful to the employee. They will work that much harder for the carrot on the end of the stick if they actually like carrots.
Sability, the light at the end of the tunnel.
Sability can help analyze your talent management and feedback protocols and make them more efficient and effective, resulting in greater employee productivity and engagement. Contact Sability for a free consultation today, and find out what your employees are capable of.