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Providing feedback is an important but often under-utilised aspect of employee motivation and development. Particularly in Australian business culture, sensitivities over giving and receiving either praise or criticism have often inhibited managers from providing sufficient feedback.

To be most effective, feedback is provided with reference to established performance expectations or goals. A regular performance review may be used to both establish expectations and goals, and provide feedback on how people are performing, identifying specific aspects of behaviour requiring attention and specific achievements that deserve recognition.

Without feedback, an employee may remain unaware of how their behaviour meets or falls short of performance expectations, and they are unlikely to make changes.

Positive feedback, which identifies and recognises specific good work and high levels of achievement, is a powerful motivational tool, particularly when it is well timed and provided genuinely and sincerely.  Being specific and descriptive with positive feedback provides clarity in promoting desired behaviours or achievements and communicates the sincerity of your appreciation.

Motivational feedback may be used to provide a springboard to raise expectations of an employee's performance and help them stretch their capabilities in specific areas. Seeking out aspects of improved performance for positive feedback is also used as a means of building the confidence of individuals underperforming in other areas.

The assessment of an employee's level of performance may be communicated using constructive feedback that provides them with information as to where they are in relation to expected behaviour, addressing areas where expectations have been met and areas where attention is required. Be clear about the changes in behaviour you expect.   

In providing constructive feedback, it is important to be specific and descriptive and to relate feedback to the behaviour, which is able to be changed, rather than to the person or their intentions. Negative feedback that is subjective or which questions a person's intentions will readily create a defensive reaction and a negative result.

Asking permission to provide feedback and providing a person with the opportunity to speak themselves about their performance are useful techniques to more openly discuss performance issues.

Some of the common mistakes leaders make when providing feedback to their team are:

• Not conducting performance reviews
• Being subjective or inconsistent
• Not being specific
• Addressing the person rather than their behaviour
• Only providing negative feedback and criticism
• Taking too long to address negative issues
• Giving negative feedback in public
• Criticising without offering solutions or suggestions
• Not giving the team an opportunity to give their leader feedback

Different people will respond differently to receiving feedback, whether it is positive or negative. Some will feel uncomfortable if they are singled out for praise, particularly within a team environment, whereas other people will respond well to receiving specific recognition for their work.

When providing feedback, always remember that criticism is best dealt with in private. Avoid criticising employees in front of their colleagues, unless it is something that applies to the entire team. To single someone out from a group can have significant negative effects on that person's motivation as well as the morale of the team as a whole.

Upward feedback can also be implemented and used to evaluate and receive feedback on your own performance as a leader. Upward feedback is where the team is encouraged to give constructive criticism, advice, recommendations and suggestions to their leader. You could also consider using 360 degree feedback, where each member of the team evaluates and provides feedback on each other team member and the team as a whole. This technique is suited to more mature personnel and clear ground rules are necessary to ensure a constructive approach.

Remember, the purpose of feedback is to motivate your team and help them to continuously improve their performance. Be constructive and always try to follow up any criticism with a positive reinforcement of something the person or team has done well.