Praise or Feedback?

It is a common complaint from staff that they don't get any feedback while the managers are perplexed because they are constantly expressing praise to staff.
Are praise and feedback the same? How should feedback be delivered so that it is effective?
 

We all know that staff need and want feedback, however most managers are not conscious that providing effective feedback is one of their key responsibilities. Feedback can be the single most effective method of motivating staff and improving performance.
The first trap that managers fall into is confusing praise with feedback. While praise is good it is not feedback and does not have the same power of influence on performance as feedback.
 

Praise
Praise is a general recognition or acknowledgement that a task has been completed well. eg. “Well done for balancing the till today”. Usually the note of appreciation is followed by a description of the action or behaviour. Praise can only deliver positive messages.
Praise is often given publically so that the achievement can be appreciated by others. Publically praising staff can be risky in its own right because some staff resent public recognition and other staff are thinking “what about me, you didn’t make a big deal when I...”
 

Feedback
Feedback can deliver messages that address either positive or negative actions or behaviours. Effective feedback clearly articulates the action or behaviour and then describes the consequence or impact.
Examples
Positive Feedback - “I appreciate you letting me know when you have finished tasks [behaviour]. It gives me confidence to give you more challenging opportunities in the future [impact]
Negative Feedback - “When you arrive to work late [behaviour] it puts other staff under pressure and they are starting to resent it [impact]”
Another feedback trap is when managers describe their perception or assumptions about staff behaviours when providing feedback. eg. “You are being disrespectful of your fellow workers”. However without describing the actual behaviour that initiated this feedback, the employee does not have the information required to remediate the situation. The assumption made in that statement is also open to challenge and this type of feedback is likely to be ineffective. Feedback for managing performance must be made in reference to specific actions or behaviour.
 

Summary
Instead of just praising staff, think about providing proper feedback because your staff will thank you for it and respond to a culture or clear, fair and regular feedback. If you are not confident about using this feedback approach in the workplace, practise at home with your family. Just don’t take too long to add this key tool to your management style.
 

The concepts in this article are courtesy of Manager Tools podcasts, Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne; http://www.manager-tools.com/podcasts/