Feedback: what it is, advantages and how to apply it

The use of feedback In the professional environment it has become increasingly common as the well-being of the team offers important positive results to the business. 

Currently we know that the secret to maintaining a committed and active team is precisely to pay attention to the development of each member, giving them space and resources for their evolution. 

But what is feedback? What is the best way to apply it? What are the main mistakes when presenting feedback to an employee? 

These and other questions will be answered throughout the content below. Continue here to check it out!

What is feedback?

Before talking about the application, it is important to understand the concept of Feedback, since many companies end up making mistakes precisely because they do not understand it.

Feedback, in the literal sense of the word, means to give feedback or give feedback about something.. 

Many companies end up considering only the second explanation, so they take the practice of giving feedback as direct positive or negative criticism.

But considering the first explanation: feedback, we can see that this concept is not limited to simple criticism, but rather to feedback that aims to offer possibilities for improvement, or even contribute to the self-esteem of the person who receives it.

Therefore, this feedback should not be offered only to demand negative results, without concern for the employees' self-esteem and development.

Good feedback should be provided to ensure that the employee understands his or her skills, knows how to mitigate failures, and deliver improvements in performance.

Therefore, if employees tend to leave the room saddened as soon as they receive the results, your company is probably applying this concept in the wrong way.

What are the main errors when applying Feedback?

Many managers want to know how to apply feedback, but just as important is knowing what not to do. See the main errors:

Do not offer feedback:

The absence of feedback can cause significant damage to team development, as employees never know when they are on the right track.

Many managers consider that it is best to avoid criticism, but we must remember that it is important for evolution.

Use aggressive methods:

Yelling at the employee, or focusing only on their mistakes using harsh words is one of the main mistakes when offering feedback.

By using aggressive methods you will only cause problems for the emotional health of the employee, in addition to destroying team integration.

Lower the tone too much:

On the other hand, following the method of exaggerating problems or saying things indirectly is also absolutely ineffective.

There is no point in using another colleague's example and expecting the employee to realize that the note is also useful to them. Be direct and respectful when offering feedback.

What are the advantages of offering Feedback in a professional environment?

It is not that difficult to find examples of companies that do not apply the feedback, and this is partly due to a misunderstanding of the concept.

In this case, most managers believe that focusing on problems or talking about failures only generates exhaustion and dissatisfaction in employees.

But keep in mind that feedback offers important benefits, such as:

Improving employee self-esteem:

By listening to the manager's notes, the employee understands that their work has been seen and evaluated, which helps build a sense of belonging and appreciation for their own role.

Reduction in the frequency of company equipment change.

Most companies that avoid feedback They do it because they believe that if an employee is causing problems, it is easier to replace them.

However, with adequate profitability it is possible to encourage employees to improve their profiles, which reduces the number of layoffs and new hires.

Improved team integration:

One of the biggest problems in teams is the fact that some employees consider themselves better than others. But, with the feedback adequate, everyone understands that they have something to improve.

In this way, the level of competitiveness is reduced due to a feeling of superiority, which favors team integration.

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Learn how to apply Feedback in your corporate routine

Now that you know the advantages of applying the feedback to a company, let's talk about the application itself.

The first thing you should know is that the feedback must be given by an experienced professional with the necessary skills to deal with people.

Insensitive or overly technical approaches can cause harm or impair the employee's ability to understand what needs to be improved.

Below are three essential tips for applying feedback efficiently.

1. Understand your team profile 

Some teams do well with routine, frequent feedback, while others prefer this to be done in a planned manner and at specific times.

Depending on the employee's profile, the feedback Frequently can give you a feeling of belonging, or quite the opposite, as you may feel that everything you do requires notes.

The same goes for planned returns: in some cases creating a specific date to offer returns can generate anxiety or prolong problems for a long time.

Therefore, understand your team profile to understand the best way to apply this feedback, in order to promote improvements without interrupting processes or disturbing employees.

2. Pay attention to communication strategies. 

It is common to believe that the best way to deal with feedback, especially when it is negative, is to minimize the situation.

So, instead of saying that someone is rude, some managers prefer to tell the employee that they have a decisive and original personality. 

Do you realize this doesn't help at all? The employee will hardly understand that such a determined and original personality has caused problems for his colleagues.

The same goes for the opposite: saying that the employee is rude, with exactly those words, will only serve to annoy him, demotivate him or even make him angry with his bosses and colleagues.

Therefore, try to be direct, respectful and use communication strategies that promote understanding, but without leaving the recipient shocked or feeling bad.

3. Never use feedback to make useless criticism.

There are criticisms that are important for the business environment. But how does, for example, saying that a colleague is wearing a nice perfume contribute to work?

In this case we are talking about a positive review, but, moving it to something negative, the problems can be even greater.

Saying that someone wears flashy nail polishes or has a very disorganized Instagram feed doesn't add any improvement to the professional environment.

Or, criticizing that the worker prints all the copies at once, instead of getting up to print each document separately, although in the end it does not change anything, it is not something that should be pointed out in the feedback either.

Remember to maintain professionalism and point out only what you really contribute and interfere with in the corporate environment.

Finally, this practice is essential to assess results and encourage improvements in a respectful manner, so opt for this strategy to improve your team's performance!

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