Page 148 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

119
Supportive Feedback

To effectively and efficiently develop team members and help
them grow, supervisors must be skilled at providing feedback
on a daily basis. The success and impact of any training pro-
gram depends on the skill of the coach, teacher, or supervisor
to provide supportive feedback while the task is actually being
performed. In the absence of feedback, performance is likely to
decline. Thus, the greatest benefit of ongoing supportive feed-
back is increased skills among team members, which increases
their value to the organization.
From the perspective of learning and skill acquisition, ongo-
ing coaching and feedback over time is far superior to training
in bulk. For example, would you rather learn how to drive a race
car in a single, four-hour session or in eight, thirty-minute ses-
sions? Whether it is learning to race a car, balance a budget, or
run a piece of equipment, distributed coaching sessions are far
superior to onetime events. People are able to build their knowl-
edge in steps. They are also able to practice skills between ses-
sions, allowing them to develop questions that can be addressed
during subsequent training. When supervisors provide regular
feedback, they get to know the strengths and weaknesses of all
employees and can make better decisions regarding how to best
utilize their employees’ talents. Supervisors are also in an edu-
cated position to know when to challenge employees to take on
additional responsibilities.
Providing regular feedback to employees also means that you
are in the game with them and you know when something is not
working well. Dealing with problems when they first arise obvi-
ously requires and wastes fewer resources than when issues go
unidentified and unchecked. It is also much easier, less awkward,
and more effective to discuss problem behaviors with employees
when they are new rather than long-standing. Hence, providing
ongoing feedback to employees saves organizational resources
by nipping problems in the bud. Whether you are a supervisor