by Linda Scrofano

Created on: July 04, 2009

Every employee wants to succeed at his or her job. Naturally, the manager would like the employee to be a success as well since turn over in an organization is very costly and time consuming. The most effective way to help both the business and its employees succeed is to ensure that all managers are properly trained to coach employees through regular feedback.

Often managers will wait to provide feedback hoping that the employee will miraculously find the path to success. This is a huge mistake and it often results in hard feelings which are difficult to repair. Providing regular feedback, both positive and negative, is essential for the employee. Employees who are properly coached through regular feedback naturally know their boundaries; they know when they are on the right track because their manager tells them. The do not have to guess as to whether they are doing what is expected of them.

Teaching managers to provide effective feedback should be accomplished as early in their career as possible, preferably through a formal training program to ensure consistency in management throughout the organization. Once the manager is taught that providing feedback about performance issues is not an evil deed, but rather a favor to the employee which can lead to higher performance, the stress of the task at hand fades.

Employees who are regularly coached through feedback tend to develop a better self concept. They may take on new roles more easily and they typically have a higher level of job satisfaction than those employees who are left to guess whether they are on the right track.

Effective feedback is provided regularly through day-to-day verbal or written communication with the employee. Great managers are always watching to catch their employees doing the right thing. They take the opportunity to reward the employee for their actions by simply acknowledging their success. As other employees see this public praise they frequently will strive to succeed also. The great manager also sees when his employee is starting to stray off the path and corrects him immediately so that the problem is solved while it's small. He does this privately in a manner which allows the employee to maintain his dignity and self respect. Since the manager has taken the opportunities in the past to compliment his employees when they've done something right, there is a solid relationship in existence and this makes it easier to correct them when they err.

When we wait to let employees get completely out of bounds and then smack them hard it brings about fear. They soon learn that it is best to hide their errors. These employees are afraid to stretch beyond their current comfort zone and in many cases they will look for the next employment opportunity where they hope to feel successful.

Effectively managing employees through ongoing feedback is essential. Interestingly enough, it's also far easier than failing to provide them with necessary feedback in the long run.

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