Why Your Feedback Isn’t Working (And How to Fix It)
How often do you deliver feedback to your team?
Many food business owners wait until it’s time for a performance review.
After all, that seems like the most natural place to deliver feedback. You’re in a setting where you’re talking about performance, so it seems like the best choice.
But think about how your people see performance reviews.
They’re sitting across a table from you and it all feels really heavy. They know that the entire session is dedicated to them and what they’re doing wrong. Maybe they look at your expression and start to feel intimidated.
And then you hit them with a deluge of feedback that you’ve gathered over several months.
Think about how overwhelming that must feel.
The person leaves the session with one question running through their minds…
“Why didn’t they tell me about this earlier?”
You essentially ignored a conversation that needed to happen months ago… Only to have it during the performance review.
Now, I’m not saying that reviews aren’t important. But when it comes to giving feedback, there’s a better way to do it.
I call these “pull asides.”
Let’s say that you spot a staff member doing something wrong. Don’t ignore the conversation that needs to happen in the moment. Don’t wait until later. Be cool and pull them aside when they have a spare minute.
Deliver your feedback quickly. Let them know how they can change, and conclude the conversation on a high note.
This achieves two things.
First, you’re taking the pressure out of the feedback situation. When you pull a staff member aside and deliver feedback in a cool and calm way, you’re not making them nervous.
Second, you get a quicker result. If you wait until their review to give feedback, you’re allowing them to mess up until then.
This way, you can create a change as soon as you see that something is wrong.
That means issues get fixed faster.
And I promise that your people will respect you more. Because you’ve created a relationship where you deal with things quickly. Instead of letting them fester.
Deliver your feedback with a cool head. The sooner, the better.
Tim Kummerfeld
The most valuable & practical blog for hospitality venue owners on the web
How often do you deliver feedback to your team?
Many food business owners wait until it’s time for a performance review.
After all, that seems like the most natural place to deliver feedback. You’re in a setting where you’re talking about performance, so it seems like the best choice.
But think about how your people see performance reviews.
They’re sitting across a table from you and it all feels really heavy. They know that the entire session is dedicated to them and what they’re doing wrong. Maybe they look at your expression and start to feel intimidated.
Think about how overwhelming that must feel.
The person leaves the session with one question running through their minds…
“Why didn’t they tell me about this earlier?”
You essentially ignored a conversation that needed to happen months ago… Only to have it during the performance review.
Now, I’m not saying that reviews aren’t important. But when it comes to giving feedback, there’s a better way to do it.
I call these “pull asides.”
Let’s say that you spot a staff member doing something wrong. Don’t ignore the conversation that needs to happen in the moment. Don’t wait until later. Be cool and pull them aside when they have a spare minute.
This achieves two things.
First, you’re taking the pressure out of the feedback situation. When you pull a staff member aside and deliver feedback in a cool and calm way, you’re not making them nervous.
Second, you get a quicker result. If you wait until their review to give feedback, you’re allowing them to mess up until then.
This way, you can create a change as soon as you see that something is wrong.
That means issues get fixed faster.
And I promise that your people will respect you more. Because you’ve created a relationship where you deal with things quickly. Instead of letting them fester.
Deliver your feedback with a cool head. The sooner, the better.
Tim Kummerfeld
The most valuable & practical blog for hospitality venue owners on the web