Writing performance feedback for a colleague
“It’s my performance review soon, will you please give me some feedback?” A common request, especially where your company might operate a 360 review process. What’s the best way of approaching this? If you have something tricky to say, how could you convey it constructively without negatively impacting the working relationship? Even if your comments are anonymised, writing feedback for someone else can be challenging.
Generally, we find it easier to write something positive rather than something that is more developmental that could be perceived as negative. It’s important to remember that whether positive or negative, when faced with the task of writing feedback for a colleague the over-arching intention should be helpful and constructive.
What can you do when writing performance feedback for a colleague?
- Use examples – Reflect on work completed, challenges or projects they were part of and provide clear descriptions or examples. Balance constructive feedback by providing future developmental suggestions, e.g. “Next time, Bob might consider doing X.”
- Be clear – Consider the interactions you have with your colleagues/peers and again give examples that are clear and descriptive rather than ambiguous.
- Think about the tone and purpose of the feedback – Use language that is helpful, encouraging and supportive. Avoid using personal language that might be contentious or judgemental.
- Focus on the person’s behaviour and competence – In other words, the things that people have in their control to change.
- Avoid shock feedback – Feedback should not be a shock to the person. If you feel that this might be the case, carve out time to meet with them one-to-one. This allows you time to firstly talk about the situation, asking for their perspectives before offering up your own.
Below is a useful selection of questions that you might ask yourself to help gather and prepare your thoughts when writing performance feedback for a colleague.
Clear areas of strength – what can they be relied on for/to deliver?
- What did they do that was helpful, effective or positive?
- What can they be relied on for in the team?
- What would you like to see them continue doing or do more of?
What are their areas of improvement?
- What could they do to improve/get better?
- What did they do that concerned or frustrated you?
- What could they have done differently that would have been more helpful?
- What would you like to highlight that might be significant for their future career development?
What were their ‘stand-out’ contributions?
Reflect on the interactions you had with the colleague. This could be a specific project, meeting or other situation or challenges that they were part of.
- What contributions really stand out as adding value to the team/firm?
- What was it they did that added value/was helpful?
- What did you value most about their specific contribution?
Final pointers for writing performance feedback for a colleague
In summary, feedback is most meaningful when it is specific in nature and delivered with positive intent to recognise strengths and enable identification of development areas. Keep feedback concise to focus on key areas rather than volume. Read it through before you send it and consider how you would you feel if you were on the receiving end. Is it balanced and is it based on specific examples of interactions the recipient would recognise?
If you would like People Business to review your organisation’s performance review process or any other aspect of your HR, please get in touch to talk to one of our consultants.
