How to Give Employees Effective Criticism

If you're in the business of people management, you've probably had to dole out some 'constructive criticism'. This can be unpleasant and ineffective if done poorly. Done well, constructive criticism will effect change in behavior and improve both work performance and morale. Review these tips for more successful people management, even when your employees have failed you.

Effective Constructive Criticism Tip #1: Don't mix your messages

How many times have people managers been told that their criticism must be balanced; it must be equally positive and negative? Millions - and that's true. Unfortunately, this usually results in managers prefacing their negative criticism with a positive statement. In practice, it usually goes something like this:

Joe, you're a good employee but you're not adhering to our dress code.
or
Jane, I like working with you but you're late too much.

These statements are not specifically bad, except that they're usually made by people managers who never say anything positive until they're ready to confront an employee's negative behavior. Criticism, both positive and negative, must be both timely and specific. Here, the negative criticism is timely and somewhat specific, but the positive is too general. This effectively makes the positive statement a 'throwaway.' The employee doesn't hear it, because it is too broad and it is followed by a specific negative. Joe might think "how can I be a good employee if I'm not wearing my uniform?" Jane will wonder how you could like working with someone who is late often enough to merit comment. Being specific and timely in both positive and negative criticism makes the message sticky - the specific comment stays with the employee and influences behavior - the general comment is tossed aside.