Giving Employees A Voice When Giving Them Negative Feedback Can Bring Benefits

Managers say that giving negative feedback to their employees is one of their least favorite activities. As a result, they tend to avoid or delay doing it. Today’s best managers know the best way to give negative feedback to employees. The most effective way is to: 1) give employees the opportunity to rate their own performance, 2) give employees some positive feedback along with the negative feedback, and 3) allow employees to respond to your negative feedback of them. Using all three of these feedback methods may be difficult to do, but can be more effective and less risky than not using them.

Source: Lizzio, A., Wilson, K., & MacKay, L. 2008. Managers’ and subordinates’ evaluations of feedback strategies: The critical contribution of voice. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 919-946.