Giving feedback is one of the most important tasks of managers and small-business owners. Feedback is an essential part of the communication process that allows organizations to be efficient and reach their goals. But how to give feedback if your team is working remotely due to the outbreak of COVID-19?
These tips will provide you with some useful ideas to adapt your feedback strategy if some, or all members of your team are working from home.
Begin With the Desired Outcome
Don’t beat around the bush when giving feedback remotely. Lead with the desired outcome, so the other person knows immediately what’s the topic being discussed. This will reduce your employees’ anxiety levels, allowing them to focus on what you say. These are couple of examples of how to begin a feedback session stating the desired outcome:
- “Andrea, today I’d like to talk about the strategies you can use to avoid miscommunications.”
- “Marco, I’d like to discuss what we can to ensure that you remember to pass on messages.”
Compassion is Key
Remember that we are living unprecedented times, so you must adjust all your standards. Our stress levels are heightened, and with good reason. Being a compassionate leader doesn’t mean that you should give everyone a pass. It means that it’s a good idea to listen a little more carefully than usual, to be a little more open than usual. Avoid judgmental attitudes, and when you have to give feedback go out of your way to understand the unique challenges your employees may be facing right now.
Positive Feedback Is Important as Well
Don’t underestimate the power of positive feedback. Encouragement goes a long way toward improving morale and fostering good team spirit. Odds are that the technology solutions you have implemented have built-it tools you can use to give positive feedback. Gifs, emojis, and audio messages are some of the alternatives you have at your disposal to show your team that you appreciate their collective or individual efforts.
Upbeat interactions are important because they tend to strengthen the bonds between team members, a particularly desirable effect when your team is not sharing the same physical space. Just one caveat: In order to be effective, positive feedback must feel earned, so don’t give encouragement for encouragement’s sake.
More Coronavirus Resources
We have covered extensively the way in which the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting businesses. Below you will find some posts you may find useful to manage these challenges.
- Communication with your team is key during a crisis.
- The pandemic has exposed how easy is to interrupt supply chains. Here’s how to make them more resilient.
- Maintaining a strong business culture is one of the greatest challenges for business during this time.
- These are some common coronavirus scams you should be aware of.
- Take advantage of these tips to deal with coronavirus-related stress.
At the Greater Riverside Hispanic Chamber of Commerce we are committed to supporting small businesses and economic development with advocacy, business referrals, marketing opportunities, training programs, student internships, and scholarships.
Contact us by email at info@grhcc.com, telephone (951-965-9115), through our social media accounts, or click here to join and start enjoying the benefits of membership today!