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Giving & receiving feedback
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in practice
The project leader should give regular feedback on
performance to each team member. Feedback over the course of the project
will be mainly informal but where appropriate a formal appraisal or review
as part of the Department's performance appraisal process should be
conducted (see the guidelines for the relevant Department. For instance,
Cabinet Office guidelines can be found within the Personnel section of the
CabWeb Intranet).
Feedback exists for more than contributing to formal
performance and pay processes:
- The only way to increase effectiveness and productivity is by
getting people involved and excited about their roles.
- A culture based on trust and relying on ideas and shared values
helps win the commitment of team members oriented around a common
vision.
- Leaders are more effective when they inspire performance from their
team rather than when they force it.
- Two way feedback is essential, to grow both the team member and the
team leader.
It is important to establish good communications
patterns from the start:
There are clear differences between good and bad
feedback:
| |
Good feedback |
Bad feedback |
|
Content |
- Discusses content, process, values
- Highlights positives
- Highlights deficiencies with specific and tested guidelines
for improvements
|
- Ignores positives (a classic violation of psychology)
- Is a witch-hunt or a blame-placing session (With no training
or improvement offered; no opportunity for growth)
|
|
Direction |
- Is a two-way street (hence 360 degrees
|
- Is one-sided
- Domination by one party
- No opportunity for alternative views
|
|
Process |
- Is conducted in an environment befitting the goal: mutual
understanding and improvement
- Is not a surprise
- If there is a big problem, it must be discussed beforehand
|
- Is hostile
- Is personal
- Is defensive
- Contains content which is completely unexpected
|
Certain behaviours can help ensure feedback is
valuable:
Giving Feedback |
Receiving Feedback |
| 1. Provide information
intended to benefit the receiver
2. Use "I" statements - own your observations and
perceptions
3. Be concise and specific
4. Describe the behaviour - avoid using labels
5. Describe the impact of the behaviour (so what?)
6. Suggest improvements
7. Ask for feedback as well as giving it |
1.
Make it safe for others to be honest with you by:
- Welcoming the information, even if critical
- Listening - not defending or justifying
- Asking questions, defining the information that will be useful
to you
2. Offer a summary of what you hear
3. Acknowledge agreement where appropriate; make note of
questions
4. Take some time to think about what you hear - then decide how
to respond
5. Offer a different view if it is constructive |
It is useful to formalise the feedback process so that
it can more easily feed into annual performance reviews. Capturing
feedback at the time of the project will mean that it won't be forgotten
or lost when the formal review process commences.
A feedback form should ask questions such as:
- Who is the provider of the feedback?
- Who is the subject of the feedback?
- In what context has the provider been working with the subject?
- What are key strengths that have been observed?
- What are key areas for development?
- Any other relevant comments?
Strengths
- Effective team management is crucial to the overall success of the
project.
Weaknesses
- Can be time-consuming and is often neglected for this reason,
particularly mid-project when the detailed analysis is being
undertaken, often to tight deadlines.
Giving & receiving feedback
In Practice: SU Local Government Project
Informal feedback
The team leader frequently gave informal feedback to
individual team members. The feedback was one-to-one, perhaps over a cup
of coffee, and provided a chance to chat about recent performance.
Particular importance was attached to praising good performance whenever
this had been demonstrated, but the sessions also provided the opportunity
of talking through areas where improvement could be made.
Team members could request informal feedback, or the
team leader could initiate the brief meeting. Informal feedback was often
prompted by a team member finishing a particular piece of work or stage of
analysis. Informal feedback usually lasted between 5 and 20 minutes,
though the final length reflected the particular circumstances of the
discussion.
Formal appraisal
The team followed the required process for formal
appraisal. This involved mid-year and end-of-year appraisals based on the
objectives set at the beginning of the project.
The appraisals involved the team leader talking the team member through
their strengths and development needs as measured against their
objectives. Team members had the opportunity of discussing the feedback
and asking questions. The appraisal took into account feedback from other
members of the unit with knowledge of the team member's work - to get
a greater understanding of their all-round performance.
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