How to Give End of the Year Feedback –
Motivation and Change, or Pain and Why You Should Make Sure Your Boss Knows
Your Value Before That End of the Year Review.
This year, however, the tone of the email was
surprising. It was not written to me personally — a contracted consultant — but
seemed to be addressed to an anonymous problematic part-time employee. I was
shocked.
The client contact I had for many years was a friend,
but she had retired. This email came from my new contact. I had tried to get to
know this new contact, especially since she had never seen me give a
presentation and her office was in another state, but I didn’t try hard enough.
That was a big mistake on my part.
That is not what I got. Instead of personalized
feedback, I received a form letter, one she sent to all her contract speakers
nationwide. It said that she had reviewed the feedback of all their speakers
from all the audiences for the year and found two top COMPLAINTS. Then, she
listed them.
First, I examined what I had done wrong as a
contractor/employee. I hadn't said, "I know you prefer not to use the
phone, but I’d like to give you a brief five-minute call after I get my email
feedback so we can go over it." I teach the importance of check-ins. I had
done them for years with my previous contact. But I hadn't pushed for that, and
that was my mistake. I expected my work to speak for itself, and it hadn't. My
rave reviews were invisible to my new contact, and I had not made them visible,
nor had I touted the value I brought to the organization. That wasn't smart. I
had also not done anything to let leadership above my direct contact know that
I was an asset.
If you have superiors, are you making sure they see your work and value? As a leader, do you know the best way to communicate feedback?
Here are some highlights from my feedback program:
2) Be specific, positive, and
personal in your feedback. What did the recipient of your feedback do, be
specific? How many times did they do it? Who did their positive behavior
affect, and what was the positive, concrete result of their positive
action? I lay this all out with examples in my E.R.A.S.E.R. Method. If you want to run it by me, you can email me, and I
will help you because it's important to do this well.
3) End your message with an extra
thank you—ideally, something from the heart. Even if you're a left-brain,
just-the-facts type of person, you should do this.
The email I got years ago was a
wake-up call for me.
I hope it inspires you to do two things: make sure you have a good relationship with your clients, bosses, and managers. Make sure they know how you are doing and how valuable you are.
Second, if you are a leader, do your best to have good relationships with your employees. Make sure you know what they are doing and how they are doing. Give them effective, specific praise and criticism to support and motivate them.
If you're reading this article in my newsletter, I have more than likely met you and shaken your hand, and I hope you know how valuable you are!