Feedback is vital in any role. Feedback helps improve performance, engage and motivate staff.
It shouldnโt just be an annual event as part of performance management. It should be a regular ongoing part of a managerโs role.
Giving meaningful timely feedback is a skill which takes practice. With virtual and hybrid working becoming the norm, there is a need to hone our virtual feedback skills.
Thereโs a fine art to giving feedback from a distance without it coming across as too remote or uninformed or lacking in empathy.
Remote working in itself isnโt new. People have been doing it for years to various degrees. But, giving feedback from a distance has become the reluctant norm for many teams since most workplaces went completely remote from March 2020.
Popping our head rounds someoneโs door asking โare you free for a quick chatโ, or taking someone for a face to face coffee to give confidential, meaningful and professional feedback, is no longer always possible. So, in the absence of in-person feedback you need to compensate for when it isnโt an option.
Giving feedback from a distance requires a different approach to in-person contact, ensuring messages donโt get misconstrued and offence isnโt taken where it wasnโt intended.
A top tips checklist for giving feedback from a distance includes:-
- Promptness โ Address things as they happen. Giving feedback from a distance shouldnโt be made to wait. Otherwise, the moment will have passed. Your feedback might come across as irrelevant, nit-picking or untimely if you fail to provide it swiftly whilst it still matters.
- Specificity โ Donโt make sweeping generalisations when youโre giving feedback from a distance, assuming your team members automatically know what youโre talking about and referring to. Do they?
- Praise โ In public. Itโs very easy to let recognition and reward slip when youโre working remotely, because itโs usually more difficult to spot team members who are going the extra mile. Give them a big loud cheer in front of everybody else when they do. Feedback is not always about improvement, it is also celebrating great work.
- Discipline – In private. Donโt call anybody out in front of the rest of the team. Do any chastising privately. There might be underlying issues affecting somebodyโs performance that you arenโt aware of โ until now.
- Empathy โ Demonstrate openness and understanding. Remind your team that you donโt have the 360 degree view you were used to when everybody was in the same workplace. Make sure they know your virtual door remains open. Keep your eyes and ears open for any warning signs or comments that suggest a team member is struggling professionally or personally.
- Face to Face โ Even thought we are not face face to we can still make sure we operate the same principle. So cameras on, no distractions, eye contact and listen.
A great help when giving feedback is to use TIPS:
At Sales Training International, we offer a broad portfolio of virtual training courses with the aim of bringing together Managers and teams who working remote. Giving feedback from a distance can be a tricky business until you get used to doing it effectively. Thatโs exactly what weโre here to help you do.
