I read an article a few months ago where the author said that using the sandwich technique to provide feedback was ineffective. He made some valid points, but I think there is still a place in your leadership toolbox for the sandwich approach when evaluating performance.
For those who don't know, the sandwich approach is where you tell the person you’re evaluating something they’re doing well as the first point in your conversation. The second step is to tell them what you would like to have corrected. The last step provides one more piece of positive feedback, which lets them walk away on a good note.
I definitely agree that it's not good to whitewash problems, so please don’t get the wrong idea. What I don’t like is the idea of someone in a position of authority to call a subordinate into their office to berate them, make them feel like less of a person, and then kick them out of the door. The downside I've encountered when trying this approach like this is that you can easily shatter someone's confidence with an all-negative approach. I don't think a simple "softening statement" is enough to smooth things out for the majority of the population.
Kevin’s Framework for Effective Evaluations:
1. Positive feedback
2. Softening statement
3. Area to improve
4. Set a positive goal for moving forward
1. Positive Feedback
It's important to start with a positive feedback statement. Sometimes it's tough for an employee to come into the manager's office. They might already be thinking that it’ll be a bad conversation. A small dose of positive feedback is a great way to start off the conversation and get their attention.
2. Softening Statement
A softening statement is a link between the positive feedback and the constructive advice you’re about to share. It's really simple, but leaving it out will reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of your feedback. If you don’t add a softening statement, your listener will likely hear one of two things:
1. “You’re doing a great job, but you’re a terrible person.”
or
2. “You’re doing a great job, la la la la la, great job, la la la la, great job.
Either they will focus on the negative or completely miss the area you want them to improve. The softening statement helps give a clear distinction between the positive and constructive comments.
An example of this offering statement would be something like, “Mike I also wanted to talk to you today about something else. It might be tough to hear, but I know it’ll improve your job performance.”
3. Area to Improve
The third step in giving effective and efficient feedback is to describe the desired area improvement as specifically as possible. By being specific, the listener will be able to first understand that there is an issue and that the changes must happen. Being specific also helps them understand the expectations you have as their manager.
There's a lot of differences in opinion as to whether you should just come out and tell them bluntly, or whether you should be super nice and “encourage” them to change. As you will no doubt know from reading my posts, I think that you need to find a spot somewhere in the middle. It should be a Goldilocks approach. Not too hard and not too soft. You should make it just right. I understand that finding the right spot for that particular person can be very challenging, but that’s one of the roles of a leader.
If you’re too harsh on someone, they may just crumble. Most people can’t take strong criticism. They believe they do good work, and hearing negative news about their performance doesn’t mesh with their vision of reality.
The absolute opposite of harsh feedback is whitewashing what you want changed. Telling someone how much you appreciate them and that you only want to bring up a teeny little issue isn’t the solution either. If you phrase it like this, they might think that they’re perfect, and not realize they're being asked to change .
Since everyone is different, it’s difficult to say how much they want the unvarnished truth, but I would say to err on the side of caution and be a little softer if you’re unsure. Don't be mean, but make sure you’re fair to them and their career.
4. Set a Positive Goal For Moving Forward
The final step is to set a positive goal for moving forward. A quality of great leaders is the ability to skilfully re-direct the actions of a team member . By having you specify a new method or technique going forward, you will make your life easier and help your employee to feel a little bit more fulfilled. It won’t change their life, but if they are able to make enough small corrections over a long enough period of time, you will have helped them build a strong foundation of skills related to their work. It's doing things in small, manageable steps that makes all the difference in the world.
