Providing feedback is a necessary part of any business. Providing effective feedback can make a significant difference to your employees, their job satisfaction and retention rates.

Consider the following secrets to giving effective feedback when it comes to your business and your employees:

Time appropriate

When providing feedback, it needs to be timely. It is counterintuitive to give feedback to an individual a week later or even a few days later. It’s best to do it as soon as possible. In saying this, there is a time and place for specific kinds of feedback. You shouldn’t give feedback directed solely at one employee in front of a group of employees, particularly if the feedback might be uncomfortable for them to hear.

Focused

The feedback you give should have a specific focus rather than be all over the place. Keep the feedback focused on one area, like a performance review, or review of pay, or feedback on how an employee dealt with a specific customer.

Solution-based

Whenever you critique an employee’s performance, it should always be solution-based. You aren’t there to tear them to shreds, you should want them to improve and learn from the interaction. This means you need to be open and help brainstorm solutions as to how to perform the specific task better next time.

Follow up

One of the most important aspects of giving feedback is following up. Check back in with the employee and ask how they are going, particularly if they have introduced a new strategy or method of performing a specific task.