Constructive criticism
Constructive criticism: Deliver Meaningful Feedback Today
Providing feedback that helps employees do their jobs better is an important part of a manager’s job. However, criticizing an employee in the wrong way can damage their trust and even embarrass or anger them. When criticism is delivered poorly, it can affect the morale of the entire team.
It is possible to express criticism in a constructive, positive way that encourages employees to do their best work. In this article, we’ll look at constructive criticism, including some tips for leaders and some practical examples of how it works.
What is constructive criticism?
Constructive criticism is a form of feedback that provides specific and actionable advice to help employees improve. It should be clear and direct and contain practical steps an employee can take in the future.
When giving an employee constructive criticism, you should also highlight the things they do well to put the criticism in context. By presenting criticism as an opportunity for improvement rather than a problem, you can ensure that employees can accept it without feeling attacked or hurt.
The benefits of constructive criticism
Giving feedback in the form of constructive criticism rather than just telling employees what they did wrong can have many benefits. For example, constructive criticism:
- It creates trust: When employees receive constructive criticism from their superior, they know that the superior is interested in their success and is not attacking them personally. It also shows them that their employer trusts them to do the work needed to improve.
- Provides context for feedback: Constructive criticism places problems in the context of the otherwise good work the employee is doing. This helps them realize that they are not doing a bad job overall, but that there are just certain areas in which they can improve.
- Contains actionable advice: Criticizing an employee without telling them how to do better is not helpful to anyone. Instead, if you offer constructive criticism, you can show the employee the steps they need to take to resolve the issues.
- Creates a collaborative environment: When employees find it easy to give and receive constructive feedback, it creates a better environment in which everyone can work together effectively.
How to give constructive criticism: 5 tips for bosses
Not sure how to give your employees effective constructive criticism to empower them and improve their performance? Here are a few tips:
1.Use the “feedback sandwich” method
When giving constructive criticism, you should put it in context by telling your employees what they are doing well. With the feedback sandwich method, your criticism is sandwiched between two positive statements. This method is sometimes referred to as PIP feedback, which stands for positive-improve-positive.
For example, if you wanted to suggest improvements to an employee for the way they managed a project, you could say:
They motivated the team very well and ensured that everyone knew what they had to do at all times.
However, I would have liked more communication with you about the status of the project, as I often didn’t receive a response to my emails and had to follow up. Next time, let’s set a schedule for feedback throughout the project so I can keep track of progress.
Other than that, the project went smoothly and the customer was very happy with what you delivered. Well done!’
2.Be clear and specific
Feedback that is vague or contains blanket statements can be confusing and doesn’t tell employees exactly what they need to change. It can even make them feel attacked because they feel like you’re criticizing them in general and not just a specific aspect of their work.
It’s important that your feedback is clear, specific and provides examples of what the employee could have done differently. Here’s an example to make things clear:
Vague criticism:
You need to manage your time better.”
Specific criticism:
At the beginning of a project, I want you to take the time to create a plan of what needs to be done and by when. This should help you stop missing deadlines. If you’d like, I can help you with this so you can see how I manage my time when I have a big project coming up.
3.Pay attention to timing
It’s important to give constructive criticism when an employee is willing to accept it. This means that you should pay attention to the employee’s emotions and take them into account. For example, if there has been a heated discussion, you should wait until everyone involved has calmed down and is ready to talk.
You may also want to consider giving your feedback in real time instead of waiting until the next scheduled check-in or annual meeting. This way, the events are still fresh in the minds of everyone involved, making it easier for the employee to improve their performance.
4.Focus on the situation
If you want to give constructive criticism, it is important to focus on the situation and not on the employee’s personality or motivation. It’s best to base your criticism on observable behaviors so the employee sees that it’s not about them personally.
Another important point is that constructive criticism should be objective – that means you should keep your personal opinion out of it. For example, instead of saying, “I didn’t like the colors you used on the poster,” you could say:
The colors of the text and background on the poster may be difficult for some people to read. Could you replace them with more contrasting colors?
5.Include recommendations and advice
Constructive criticism should always include recommendations for your employees on how they can improve their work. Instead of just telling them what they’re doing wrong – which can be discouraging – show them that you really want them to succeed by giving them practical advice to help them improve.
Letting your employees know they can turn to you if they need help can also help build a culture of trust and collaboration.
Examples of constructive criticism
Below are some examples of how you can give constructive criticism to an employee:
Example 1
Situation: You are giving feedback on a presentation
Constructive criticism:
I think you did a very good job with your presentation and the examples you chose really added to the understanding.
Next time I would suggest limiting the examples to one slide as the presentation was a bit long and I found the examples distracted from the main topic in some places.
But overall the presentation was very fluid and I love how you conveyed the information in an engaging way.
Example #2
The situation: Feedback to an employee who doesn’t take initiative
Constructive criticism:
I know you have a lot of knowledge about marketing and your contributions to this part of the project were extremely valuable. Thank you!
But I noticed that you didn’t get involved in this part of the project until you were asked to – don’t you enjoy working on this part?
In the future, I would be happy if you could take the lead in the areas of the project in which you are particularly good. Maybe we can arrange a meeting next week to discuss what type of work you would like to do?
Frequently asked questions about constructive criticism
Do you still have questions about constructive criticism? Here you will find the answers to some frequently asked questions:
Is constructive criticism good or bad?
Constructive criticism is seen as a good thing in the workplace because it builds employees up instead of tearing them down. While it’s primary purpose is to point out areas for improvement, it doesn’t just focus on the problems.
It also lets employees know what they are already doing well, which puts the criticism into context. After receiving constructive criticism, employees have all the information they need to improve.
What is the opposite of constructive criticism?
The opposite of constructive criticism is destructive criticism. This type of feedback only focuses on the problems and does not provide any guidance on how to improve. Instead of building and empowering someone to be their best, destructive criticism can destroy trust and lower morale throughout the organization.