As the world adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital communication is standing in for every day, face-to-face interactions. This requires business leaders to rethink how to work effectively with their teams – including how they give feedback. The ability to give perceptive and actionable feedback is among a great business leader’s most desirable strengths. It allows employees to course-correct, streamlines their objectives with the organization’s, and reinforces trust between staff and management.
While face-to-face feedback is preferable, it is not impossible with the current glut of remote work. While delivering face-to-face feedback can be difficult at times, giving it remotely presents its own challenges. Here are some things to consider when giving feedback.
Which Medium?
The written word, be it via email or social media, may be sufficient for an “everything’s fine” conversation but use voice and video when there are genuine issues to address. Of the two, video is the better choice because it conveys emotion and intent very closely to an actual meeting.
When setting up your hardware for a video conference session, ensure that part of your torso is also visible to the other person. Body language conveys intent accurately and the silent visual cues from your demeanor will allow you to engage constructively with the recipient of your feedback.
The idea of a video call is to make the interaction resemble a face-to-face scenario as closely as possible. Placing the video capture device too high or too low distorts your facial expressions and could lead to misinterpretations. It is a common mistake and one to be avoided.
How Often?
An office ecosystem facilitates multi-level communication in ways that we hardly even notice. Water cooler conversations, casual words over a cubicle wall, and hallway exchanges all contribute to the flow of communication and feedback. In their absence, employees are bound to feel a sense of detachment. Increasing the frequency with which you deliver feedback can help counter this.
Simple text messages, short calls, and quick online morning meets all contribute to keeping informal feedback flowing. This is everyone’s opportunity to gauge their individual and team performance. The best answer to “how often?” is “as often as mimics the scenario before COVID-19.”
Of course, you may want to adapt that approach for every individual team member; some require more guidance in isolation than their colleagues.
What’s Different?
In short, as little as possible. Begin every feedback session with the same exchange of pleasantries and small talk that would mark an in-office meeting. Resist the desire to simply get through the interaction, especially if you intend to deliver criticism. The lack of warmth of a face-to-face encounter coupled with a rushed tone may inadvertently convey a dismissive attitude. It would be terminal for employee morale.
Remote work compartmentalizes interactions, which means that subjective information, such as attitude or conduct, that you receive about someone is usually second-hand. Since you cannot observe and verify it, be extra cautious with how you word your feedback.
Are you finding it a challenge to have the difficult conversations with your employees during this unprecedented time? Read my article Communication Tips: Preparing for a Difficult Conversation for proven strategies. Please contact me today if you have any questions.
