Delivering Effective Feedback

Source: CPA Trendlines

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Rick Telberg.

We've been asking accountants and finance managers how well their offices use feedback to keep folks happy. It's clear that a little do-and-don't advice is in order.

So here goes:

• Good managers do offer feedback based on facts, but 20 percent of respondents say such constructive criticism rarely or never happens.
• Good managers do offer feedback with bona fide intent to improve employees, but 40 percent of respondents rarely if ever see such well-intentioned comments.
• Good managers do offer feedback on issues the employee can control, but 18 percent of respondents said they are never or rarely offered advice on issues they could control.
• Good managers darn well better offer feedback in private, but only 26 percent of respondents said they hear feedback in private, though 40 percent said they frequently do, and another 24 percent have the benefit of privacy at least sometimes. But a crude and clumsy – and dare we say cruel – nine percent of managers deploy their criticism within earshot of others.

The results seemed a tad better on the “don't” side of the survey.

• Good managers don't let feedback get personal, but 23 percent of respondents said it happens frequently if not always.
• Good managers don't give feedback where others can hear, but 16 percent of respondents suffered critique en publique frequently or all the time.
• Good managers don't let the situation get out of hand before they offer corrective feedback, but 43 percent of respondents often or always see managers wait until it's too late.
• Good managers don't give comments on issues the employee can't control, but almost a quarter of respondents hear that kind of criticism often or always.

For the complete article, read “10 Do's and Don't's for Performance Reviews that Work.”

From CPA Trendlines, June 4, 2012, http://cpatrendlines.com.