Handling Negative Feedback: How Do You Tell an Employee About Performance Issues?

During an appraisal, if I have received negative feedback regarding an employee's performance from the Head of Department (HOD), how should I convey this to the employee for improvement?

Performance Appraisal Feedback Process

If the Head of Department (HOD) conducted the Performance Appraisal (PA), then he should have given the feedback immediately. Why is it sent to HR, and now HR is required to break the news? If the employee starts asking questions about the PA review, can HR handle the queries? If not, will it not appear that HR is just a messenger and nothing else? In such a scenario, if the employee gets demotivated, then who is responsible for his demotivation?

I feel that you need to review your PA process. HR may be involved in the PA; however, HR is not there to provide a shoulder to communicate bad news. Secondly, you need to replace the phrase "negative feedback" with "development feedback."

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Suggestions for Delivering Feedback

This is one of the difficult conversations for HR to carry on. Few suggestions can be:

1) First, do not call it 'negative feedback.' Call it only 'feedback' since every feedback ultimately is constructive in its purpose. If it is positive, it motivates the employees. If it is negative, it develops the employee.

2) Many times, the person—be it a manager, team leader, HR, or HOD—himself is found to be a misfit to deliver the feedback. If he is biased against the employee, the delivery will focus on fault-finding. If he has ego hassles or is power-centric, the delivery will be authoritarian and instructional. If he is a weak manager, the delivery of feedback will be vague and indirect. In all these cases, the feedback does not achieve what it intends to. So, the person delivering the feedback should be free from all these negatives first and should have a growth mindset. If the beginning is good, the end will be better.

3) Timing of the delivery is key to making the feedback successful. Don't deliver it too late, making it difficult for the employee to recall the incident under discussion. At the same time, don't deliver it in the heat of the situation. The employee may turn defensive and defiant to feedback. Only iron will bend if it is hit when it is hot, but not a person who may break or bounce when hit when he is hot.

4) They say the surrounding environment determines the state of mind. So, choose a relaxed ambiance to deliver the feedback where it is informal and casual, as it relaxes the mind of the employee, making him more receptive. Avoid office cabins, which may interrupt conversations with intermittent calls or intruders.

5) Tell the employee that you would like to have a meeting with him to discuss something important, but don't tell him that you want to give him negative feedback or discuss his performance, etc. That makes him anxious.

6) The feedback should not be a one-way street. It should be a two-way conversation between the employee and the manager, who can invite suggestions from the employee for a solution. If the employee is not able to give any, then the manager can suggest solutions and seek his views so that a commonly agreed solution is easier to implement.

You can think of more ways that suit your culture and environment. This is only to trigger thinking on the matter.

Regards, B. Saikumar HR & Labour Relations Adviser Navi Mumbai.

Appraisal Feedback: Manager's Responsibility

In my view, appraisal feedback is not inherently negative, but its impact on the individual can be perceived as negative. Such feedback is intended to highlight areas for performance improvement and to outline an action plan, as rightly stated by Mr. Divekar. It should be delivered by the manager who conducted the appraisal. HR should, at most, be present in the meeting, but the feedback must be conveyed by the manager. This approach carries significant weight and serves the purpose of performance improvement.

It is a common tendency for line managers to shift the responsibility onto HR, as they often lack the courage and conviction to convey adverse performance feedback.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant

Conveying Feedback: Oral and Written Approaches

Are you required to convey the feedback orally, in writing, or both? Being trained and qualified in communication skills, perhaps it is recognized that you are better qualified to handle this sensitive task.

As far as oral feedback is concerned, you may call on the employee and fix a suitable meeting time. The meeting can start with an introduction that you are required to discuss performance during the previous year and start with preliminaries like how the employee is feeling, what were the performance highlights of the previous year, and any obstacles they faced. Take care to hear the employee fully, take some notes, and then get to the real task and state that based on the performance, certain areas of improvement have been noticed and make pointed references. Take care that the tone of the discussion does not turn accusatory or condemning but shows genuine concern for improvement in performance. Be careful not to compare one with another, and any attempt to deviate from the issue or condemn the management or the Appraising Authority has to be curtailed.

Written Remarks

Regarding written remarks, you may have to reproduce the comments received, and you need not add, subtract, elaborate, or explain the same.

See this as a challenge and face the task with confidence and a pleasant disposition.

The role of HR in the PM is about making the process transparent, clear, and consistent across the organization. Basically, managers must be trained to give honest and unbiased reviews/feedback about the professional performance of employees. HR can be a bridge between employees and managers concerned by being present if required during performance appraisals and the delivery of letters conveying the appraisal, and obtain acknowledgement for filing it in the employee service record.

Approaching Employee Performance Reviews

Some very good viewpoints have been presented by our members. It is a general rule that no one is absolutely good or totally bad. For all of us, only the quantum of good and bad varies. So begin with the good aspects of the review, however trivial they may be. The message has to be conveyed with enthusiasm and appreciation. If good points are not available, insist on getting the same from his department. After all, the person has been recruited by your company.

Focusing on Areas of Improvement

Thereafter, focus on areas of improvement. If the candidate has a valid reason for poor performance, listen intently. Ask the person how he can do better. You will get some valid points. Finally, add your own to convey what is expected of him by the management.

Regards, V. Raghunathan
Chennai