How to be a boss at giving performance reviews

Need to deliver feedback to staff? Kip Holderness, Kari Olsen and Todd Thornock share three strategies to make the process easier.

When you’re a manager, delivering feedback can feel like walking a tightrope. Whether you’re praising an employee’s accomplishments or addressing a shortfall, how you communicate can have a big impact on how your words are received and acted upon.

As business school professors, we’ve done research into how to make the assessment process as painless as possible. And we’ve found three essential strategies for delivering feedback that’s both effective and constructive.

Using these strategies will help you elevate the feedback process, fostering a more positive and productive work environment:

Have you ever noticed that saying things like “I’m disappointed” or “I’m proud of you” can change a feedback conversation completely? That’s because the language you use – particularly emotionally charged words – can shift how employees interpret the feedback.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, our research shows that using negative emotional language – like “I’m disappointed” – can reduce employee motivation and effort. This happens because employees shift their focus away from their performance and toward how you, the manager, see them as a person.

At the same time, using positive emotional language such as “I’m pleased” can sometimes backfire. That’s because it can make employees feel complacent.

The key takeaway here is that using emotionally neutral language, especially when giving negative feedback, helps employees stay focused on their tasks without getting sidetracked by what the feedback says about them personally.

Instead of saying, “I’m disappointed with your sales numbers,” try a more neutral approach, like “The sales numbers are below the target we set. Let’s discuss some strategies for improvement.”

By keeping a lid on the emotions in your language, you keep the conversation focused on performance. That helps employees better understand what they need to work on, without the additional emotional burden.

Not all employees want the same type of feedback, and that’s perfectly OK. Giving employees the ability to choose the type and frequency of evaluations can boost performance.

Workers who have a say in how often they are evaluated are more likely to use the process productively and feel less micromanaged, our research has found.

Consider creating a feedback menu where employees can select areas for assessment, such as communication skills, leadership development or project management. An additional strategy is to let workers set the frequency of feedback sessions – whether they be weekly check-ins or more comprehensive quarterly reviews.

When employees have ownership over the evaluation they receive, they are more open to it, perceive it as more valuable and are more likely to act on it.

Who delivers the feedback can be just as important as the information itself. Our research has shown that some employees respond better to feedback from their peers, while others respond better when it’s from a manager.

Specifically, we found that people with a greater sense of entitlement do better with feedback from a supervisor, while less entitled people respond better to peer feedback.

That’s why it can be a good idea to use personality profiles to determine the best messenger for feedback. For instance, consider situations where a co-worker’s feedback could be reasonably delivered and from whom, like a peer mentor or team lead.

By aligning the feedback source with the content and context, you ensure that the feedback resonates more deeply and is perceived as constructive rather than critical.

Managers may find that using these three strategies might require adjusting their current feedback approach, but the benefits are worth it. Here’s a quick example of how to apply these strategies:

Imagine you have an employee, Mark, whose performance has recently dropped. In your feedback conversation, you might start with a neutral statement like “Mark, I’ve noticed that your recent projects have been missing their deadlines. Let’s discuss why this might be happening.” This language will help Mark focus on the issue without taking it as a personal attack.

Next, offer Mark the option to set up regular biweekly check-ins or monthly reviews to see what works best for him. Finally, if Mark has a strong rapport with a team member who excels at time management, consider arranging a peer feedback session where they can share tips and strategies.

The result? Mark feels supported rather than scrutinised, and the feedback is framed as an opportunity for growth rather than a reprimand.

As researchers who’ve studied management communication and feedback strategies for years, we know that these approaches can transform the way people interact with their teams. By being intentional about giving feedback, managers can create environments where employees feel respected, valued and motivated to succeed.

- Kip Holderness is an Associate Professor of Forensic and Fraud Examination and Accounting at West Virginia University. Kari Olsen is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Utah Valley University. Todd Thornock is Associate Professor of Accountancy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence.

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