Manager Skills: Giving Feedback to Employees Is Hard for Me

Is it difficult for you to give feedback to employees about their work performance? Perhaps you think that they will take it personally? Maybe you are afraid of their defensiveness or perhaps ignore you and leave you in the difficult position of confronting them again or deciding to forget the whole matter.

Well, you're not alone in your concern about giving feedback. To make manager skills easier, try what is known as the "sandwiching technique." You won't find too manager supervisor training course modules that teach it.

This technique of providing constructive feedback or correction of an employee's performance allows the message your sending to be received more easily by "sandwiching" the unfavorable comments between favorable comments. For example, say: "Nancy, I've been pleased with the way you've stepped up the speed of assembling the monthly reports. You've made real improvement there. I am concerned, however, about the quality. There are frequently mistakes in the charts that need to be corrected. I hope you'll work to improve the quality as well as speed. I feel good about your attitude toward the schedule we are trying to keep, so I know you'll do fine." Notice how the message you wanted to communicate was placed between two true but positive statements. This technique reduces defensiveness and makes your feedback more acceptable, particularly with employees who are more sensitive toward constructive criticism. This manager skill will serve you well and reduce your stress

Using Your Company's EAP as a Management Tool

The best kept secret in the world is the art and science of managers making use of the company Employee Assistance Program to help employees improve performance, reduce absenteeism, and resolve personal problems that may lead to extraordinary behavioral risk, including risk of violence.

In 1969 a revolution took place in the America with the advent of "Employee Assistance Programs" (EAPs) and the establishment of a new profession entitled the "Employee Assistance Professional".

EAPs flurished and solved an age only problem for managers wresting with problem employees. EAPs gave them a third alternative or avenue of management that was completely new. Beyond the role of tolerating an employee problems until they were eventually fired or badgering employees until they had some crisis, there were not alternatives to fire or ignore. Along came employee assistance programming.

EAPs are all about salvaging employees and getting them back to work healthier, more happy, and more productive than they were before.

I will offer effective tips to help supervisors manage people better. And we will be spending a lot of time together helping you acquire skills to reduce stress and help managers be all they can be.