Feedback through the eyes of a HR expert

Feedback is a key tool in today's corporate world. It is a powerful way to improve employee performance, motivation, and engagement. For expert commentary on how it can be used effectively to achieve positive results in organizations, we invited Antonia Shterbanova, HR Expert at Oberthur Fiduciaire. 

What is feedback and why is it important?

Antonia: For me, it is a very light yet profound opportunity to motivate, engage, inspire, retain, and even change a decision to leave people on your team. And what greater reward than that?

Until recently, our understanding was that feedback was the prerogative of management. The period for giving and receiving it was, was also the period of the annual appraisal, which is woefully inadequate. That's changing at a very rapid pace because we're now working in an environment where there's a multi-generational meeting, each of which requires an individual approach - how quickly do they get feedback, when do they get it, is there an understanding of why it's given, why it's needed and what the purpose of it is.

Relative to our reality today, feedback as a tool of communication and interaction is a tool that is used by all levels of employees in the organization and is associated with a number of improvements and positive changes in the life of the company.

Feedback as a leadership tool

John Maxwell says that no matter what level of position you hold in an organization, if you have the intrinsic motivation, you can influence, and you can be a leader. Feedback is a tool that can be used by anyone who wants to be a leader, and who wants to have a positive influence towards improvement among the team, in the department, and from here throughout the organization. I have observed the use of feedback by a production operator during a meeting and the result was unique. I put aside that when you congratulate him for the constructive feedback he is initially surprised because to him it was a conversation aimed at achieving a result.

In reality, feedback is about striving to achieve a result, to support, to guide towards improvement, to assist in the development of another person or process.

A distinction is often made between positive and negative feedback - can we make such a distinction?

Antonia: All feedback has value. When we highlight successes and situations in which a colleague has achieved great results, or in other words give positive feedback, we are encouraging certain behaviors and actions that lead to desired outcomes. In this way, we stimulate the person and build the desired environment in the company.

So-called "negative feedback" usually leads to a high level of resistance because in our psychology we take it as something insulting, and humiliating. But in fact, after it comes great actions and changes - both personally and professionally.

I was involved in an employee engagement research project. The results that emerged were very unpleasant for the company, but they had their effect - concrete and effective action for change was initiated. The action came after they unanimously gave their feedback on what was working, what wasn't working, and what needed to change. They were actively engaged in the project and systematically received feedback on every action taken. Effect - engagement, empathy, improved communication, understanding on their part.

Feedback focused on potentials for improvement, or objective obstacles and hindrances, given in an appropriate way and accepted unambiguously, without interpretation, but exactly the way it is given, drives positive changes for a business and makes the company itself attractive and desirable for its people.

What are the main characteristics of feedback as a process and format?

Antonia: I will be brief and specific here:

• Feedback is a two-way process - giving and receiving.
• Feedback is verbal and non-verbal.
• Feedback is given verbally but with inconsistent non-verbal behavior - the result is distrust in the other party.
• Non-verbal feedback is sometimes stronger than any additional word or sentence used - a handshake, a nod, or a lively smile.
• Feedback is the personal example we set every day.
• Feedback is always grounded and relates to a specific situation, task, or project.
• Feedback is given immediately. Delaying it takes away from its power. 

What role does feedback play in the performance of an HR expert?

Antonia: We receive feedback regularly from all processes owned by the HR department. From the exit interview meetings, from the employee release meetings, from the informal lunch meeting, from the status check meeting of an ongoing project.

How we take it and use it depends mainly on the level of self-awareness we have reached, our understanding of its purpose.

It is a tool to build the image of the company. Our communication is not only with our internal partners, but also with external ones. When we work with an external service provider, the quality of their work depends heavily on our feedback to them. If it's a recruitment service - which of its actions work for us and which don't, where we should speed up a project and where we should slow down, and what information we should present to candidates? Quick, specific, and clear feedback is also very important - why a candidate is not approved, when the profile presented meets our search. When this approach is in place the working interaction goes very smoothly and has an element of trust. In this way, both parties become partners.

Feedback is a great tool for aligning understandings on both sides of the conversation and de-escalating the relationship. I share a real-life example from my practice - I recently had to return a response to a candidate that they were not approved, and they had already come in for an interview for another position with a different manager. After the second meeting, he was again not approved by the second supervisor. Despite my conversations with the supervisor I only had a response of "not suitable for my team because ..." but after the "because" there was no justification. What to give as feedback to this person? Should I call him at all? Yes, I made sure to call him and the feedback was honest - I said I didn't have a specific answer for the supervisor's reasons for disapproval. This honest feedback to him allowed me to keep the company name and get a "Thank you for your candor. It's okay."

What prompted you to view feedback to candidates this way and adopt this approach?

Antonia: In the role of a job seeker, I also disapproved, but I never got a response as to why. Without that information, I didn't know what to work on - language, behavior, type of training.

So, if we want to develop as individuals, to surpass ourselves, and to be useful in the professional field we work in, then honest and timely feedback is the tool that will do us a great job and that is practically oriented. And the way to be good at giving it is self-monitoring, coaching, and ah, that practice, practice, practice.