Clarity is Kindness: Feedback, Quarterly Conversations, and Reviews

Recently, I had a dream that I was in an EOS® session with one of my clients. In the dream, the leadership team told me that rather than reviewing their employees using The People Analyzer®,  RPRS®, or GWC®, they were rating their employees with stars. Stars! Each employee walked around the company with stars above their head—their manager's review visible to all! Before I could suggest that we add their rating system to the Issues List, I woke up!

What Does Your Review Process Look Like?

I have previously discussed the importance of clarity when it comes to driving accountability in your organization. The importance of clarity also applies to another aspect of accountability: employee feedback. While my dream would be an extreme (and not recommended) example of clarity, what does employee feedback look like in your business?

Do you have a regular review process? Is it annual? It is consistet?  According to Gallup, teams do not receive enough feedback. If you've been to an EOS® Great Boss Workshop® or learned the LMA Tool®, you will have heard that providing real-time feedback (praise or criticism within 24 hours) and holding informal Quarterly Conversations are essential tools to drive accountability in your business.

We build feedback into strengthening your process component as well. The Followed By All Checklist is the second tool for becoming strong in the process component. The 4 steps of that Checklist are:

• Train
• Measure
• Manage (LMA)
• Update

When it comes to feedback, "Manage" instructs leaders to provide feedback and consequences in response to the results they're seeing in the workplace.

For example, if a team member is consistently delivering amazing results, shouldn't they know that you feel thrilled about that? Even better, what would it look like to take it a step further -- could you dive in? Capture and train others on processes that are working?

In contrast, if someone is not hitting their Scorecard numbers and not getting consistent results, are we "entering the danger" and providing feedback?

Although managing is a step where we might not excel naturally, it's an essential skill that leaders can continually refine and improve.

Managing your team means there are consequences if an employee is not achieving expected results. Consequences can include

• an informal conversation
• additional training
• a performance improvement plan, or
• exiting the employee.

Although managing is a step where we might not excel naturally, it's an essential skill that leaders can continually refine and improve.

We encourage teams to provide regular feedback, especially as part of the FBA Checklist. These minor course corrections boost productivity, inspiration, and accountability. Real-time feedback and Quarterly Conversations provide platforms for leaders to evaluate their teams' progress and engage in two-way conversations.

Prioritize Feedback

Prioritize feedback and regular performance reviews within your organization. By holding these conversations consistently, we instill a culture of accountability within our teams. Members understand that their performance matters. Regular check-ins ensure employees stay on the right track.

Clear is kind.

—Brené Brown

Clear communication is also just kind. Early in my career, I worked at a company that I initially loved, but later found that employees didn't have any idea where they stood until their annual review. Often issues that had arisen in 11 months earlier would be shared in December! The employees would feel blindsided. The leadership team was known for avoiding conflict and their infrequent feedback created mistrust among the staff and killed the company culture. The company struggled significantly with retaining its employees and was eventually acquired. 

What does your employee feedback rhythm look like? Take steps today to ensure you are providing regular feedback. Healthy organizations consistently provide feedback and end up aligned and continuously striving for excellence. You may not receive any stars, but you will be using the tools that support success!

See you soon,

-Lisa

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