In our years of watching the HR landscape shift and change with the times, we’ve seen many facets of management rise and fall in importance. One of the things that has only gotten more relevant and valuable over the years, however, is feedback.

In performance reviews, team meetings, and even within specific projects, we’ve seen time and time again that the manager who can give effective feedback is the manager who is most likely to see improvement and engagement across their team. 

So what makes feedback “effective?” Let’s get specific. 

1. Always remember the “why.”

When you give anyone feedback — coworkers, employees, even friends and family — it’s important to remember why you’re giving feedback. And while everyone might have a personal spin on each situation, the purpose of feedback remains clear: improvement. When you give feedback, the ultimate motive is to help that person improve in a certain task or area. 

Effective feedback is not:

• Punishment
• Destructive criticism
• Retaliatory

2. Give feedback privately.

Whether specific feedback is positive, constructive, or somewhere in between, it’s important to set up a separate time to give specific feedback. Even the most positive feedback can morph into something negative if enough people are involved. This does not mean that you can’t tell someone “Hey, great job!” on a job well done. This is referring to specific, detailed feedback designed to achieve a certain goal of improvement. When you’re diving into specifics, it’s a good idea to set aside a private meeting that gives a team member the space and freedom to be honest and focus on the feedback they’re receiving. 

3. Narrow your focus and be specific.

A feedback session shouldn’t feel like an overwhelming barrage of things that need to be fixed or changed. One or two topics should be all you’re bringing to the table in these situations, especially if your true goal is helping your team member or employee improve. There may be more things you want to address, but they can wait — it’s difficult to focus on improving too many things at one time, so pick the most pressing topic or topics. 

It’s important to be specific in your discussion. Be ready to provide examples of how you think your team member can do things differently, what they do well, and what kind of outcomes you’re looking for. Offering to brainstorm on solutions is a great way to show your team members that you value their thoughts and skills, and that you are on their side. 

4. Think about the timing of your feedback session.

A feedback discussion can be dramatically affected by the timing of it, especially if the session is inspired by a specific event. Waiting too long after the event can render the meeting ineffective as memories of the specific situations fade. Initiating discussion too soon after the event, however, can tap into some intense emotions that aren’t productive. Give your employee a day or so to process their feelings, and check in with them to find a good time to talk.

5. Back up your session with a plan.

Remember, your ultimate feedback goal is improvement, so it’s a good idea to set up a follow-up plan of some kind. Even if it’s just a quick check-in email after the next project, you want to make good use of your discussion time by ensuring that the team member is working toward the goals you outlined together in your feedback session.

The ideal scenario is to build a team that can trust one another to give unemotional, constructive feedback with the shared goal of bettering the company as a whole. Taking a strategic, empathetic approach to feedback is a great way to get on track toward that ideal.