woman giving feedback to a man at work

Tips for Successfully Communicating Performance Feedback

“How many supervisors like to give performance feedback?” When this question was posed to over 500 leaders in one of the nation’s largest municipal water and power companies, a scant few raised their hands. When asked to explain why, the answers boiled down to three responses: “Because I don’t want to hurt their feelings,” “She’s my friend; I don’t want her to feel bad,” and “I don’t want to  deal with the anger.”

acts and facts virtual workplace communication

Acts and Facts: A Workplace Communication Must

Over the many years whether working as a management employment lawyer, human resources executive or consultant I have read proposed disciplinary letters that include phrases such as “You are being given a verbal warning for unprofessional conduct;” or “your ongoing inappropriate behavior is unacceptable and if it happens again, you will be terminated,” among others. All come from a place of authenticity: the supervisors have observed conduct that is unacceptable in the specific workplace. However, something is missing: the underlying facts that led to those conclusions.