How To: Give Constructive Feedback

How to Give Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback is honest, clear, and direct feedback. Usually, it provides specific examples and actionable suggestions for positive change or improvement. It should be offered in a friendly manner with good intentions.

Constructive feedback build trust and provides the opportunity for both people to grow. It is important to remain empathetic to the other person’s circumstances to make it easier to provide beneficial feedback.

“Feedback Sandwich” Method

A “feedback sandwich” is where you start with a praise / positive comment, stating the area of feedback, ending with reiterating the positive. This makes the feedback less harsh for the recipient.

Ex. “You’re excellent at client relations, but you could improve on presentations in meetings by speaking up and working on your materials, I am super excited to see the progress you will make! I would love to sit with you to discuss design tips.”

Be Specific

If your feedback is more specific and detailed, then the more actionable it will be. List out objectives, behaviour changes you want to see in detail. This will help the recipient to understand and be able to make the changes. This provides clarity and minimizes the person feeling anxious from a piece of vague feedback.

Ex. “I would like you to write a marketing article on how to identify and communicate with a target audience. Let me know if you need further suggestions, I’m here to help.”

Give Recommendations

By giving recommendations, it can help the recipient gain a better understanding of you and your expectations and it provides a clear call to action.

Ex. “The presentation could be reduced from 30 minutes to 20 minutes if you limit one example per point. This will make your presentation more impactful and concise. The two to three examples you have distract listeners from the main message.”

Tips for Giving Constructive Feedback

  • Use “I” statements.
  • Focus on the situation, not the person. Don’t attack them.
  • Keep your language positive.
  • Think about timing.
  • Be conscious of your tone.
  • Make it a conversation.
  • Be mindful of emotions.
  • Have open body language.
  • Ask yourself, “Does this really need to be said?”

Tips and Career Advice for Job Seekers

8 Pieces Career Advice for Job Seekers

In this blog post, we will provide advice to job seekers looking to start their career, make a move, or want to improve professionally.

1. Be Reliable

Reliability is important throughout the recruitment process as well as after accepting a job offer. Being reliable when scheduling interviews, answering follow ups, and other tasks when looking for a job can show the employer that you are a reliable and dependable worker. As well, once you are working, make sure to show up on time, consistently do a good job, and show your worth.

2. Be Nice

Being a nice person can be very rewarding. Make sure to always treat others with respect, regardless of their experience or position in a company.

3. Build Trust

Make sure to keep your word to build trust with your coworkers. Set deadlines that are reasonable and that you can deliver on time. Try to not over promise or under deliver, as that can diminish someone’s perspective of you. Be honest with the people you work with to build strong relationships.

4. Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Get outside of your comfort zone. Take on new challenges and put yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable or nervous. There you can learn, grow, and build confidence.

5. Never Stop Learning

Change is inevitable when starting a new job, it is also something that everyone will experience in the workplace. Things will always change in a job, career, and industry. Change can help you develop new skills and knowledge that can help you succeed. You can also take it upon yourself to get a new certification, take a professional development course, or look for new ways to improve yourself in your field. 

6. Speak Up

Use your voice to share your ideas or concerns. Your idea could be great and have a significant impact, share your ideas with your team. Speak your concerns to let other know how you feel, you never know if someone feels the same but is scared to say something. Be the initiator to offer your concerns and ideas to fix the situation. The more you speak, the more people will notice you and value your input.

7. Ask For Help

No one has all the answers, everyone needs help sometimes. You cannot do everything yourself, so do not be afraid to ask others for assistance when you need it. As well, try to notice others and offer to help others when they need help.

8. Value Feedback

Receiving feedback can help you grow as a professional and build relationships with others. Taking feedback from others can help you learn. Applying feedback can help you progress and move forward in your career. It is important to learn how to take constructive criticism without taking it personally.

We hope this advice helps you in your career. If you need more help or have questions, contact us!

Tips and Best Practices for Reducing Employee Turnover

Causes and How to Reduce Employee Turnover

An organization should have a plan and strategies to reduce employee turnover as well as a plan to increase employee engagement. These are two factors that are drastically affecting workplaces across North America. 

Human capital is an essential asset for any organization. After the past few years, there has been a shortage or workers causing employers to battle employee turnover. This can be a costly process to find, hire, and train a new employee.

TOP CAUSES OF HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

Low Salary Compared to Industry Standards

  • Most organizations find that the majority of employees may leave is due to the low salary being paid. Although employees can expect a 3-5% annual hike, on average, when remaining at an organization, they will likely switch to an employer that offers a 15-20% pay increase.

Lack of Appreciation

  • When an employee is not appreciated or their hard work is not valued, they will likely be less motivated and start to disengage in the work. Appreciation and rewards are vital for all workers to show respect and thank them for their hard work and dedication towards the company goals.

Better Opportunities Elsewhere

  • If there are no/limited growth opportunities or favoured promotions in an organization, an employee is likely to leave to find a better opportunity that offers growth and development. Most workers do not want to stay in the same position for 5+ years, they want to grow, take on more responsibilities, and develop their skills.
BEST PRACTICES TO REDUCE EMPLOYEE TURNOVER

Get to Know Your Candidates

  • Recruit the right employees. Take the time to get to know candidates in the recruitment process to ensure there is a compatible match. Understand their needs and goals and check if they align with your organization.

Provide Development Opportunities

  • When an organization offers development opportunities it provides growth for their employees. The employees will feel more engaged, motivated, and happy to work.

Improve Work-Life Balance

  • An organization should ensure there are boundaries to allow for a positive work-life balance. The company should ensure that their employees are not overworked by working extra, strict deadlines, and so on. Employers should not contact employees out of office hours to respect the employee’s free time.
Maintain Constant Communication
 
  • Introduce an open communication policy in the organization. Allow employees to feel comfortable to talk with their manager or supervisor about problems or concerns. This also allows for regular meetings to discuss work performance and salary expectations.

Tips and How to Identify Safety Hazards

Tips and How to Identify Safety Hazards in the Workplace

Health and safety in the workplace is the number one thing that everyone needs to be aware of. Potential safety hazards that can arise in a workplace depend on the work environment, ie. warehouse, office, daycare centre, construction, or a restaurant. Each place has their own unique circumstances that could be a hazard to others around.

WHAT ARE HAZARDS IN A WORKPLACE?

Hazards in a workplace are potential risks of injury. Check out the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation of BC for further information on the threats in a workplace and the responsibilities that employers and employees have.

Hazards can range from chemical to safety to ergonomics, and more. For ease of understanding, we will use information from the US by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL HAZARDS

The first step to solving potential issues is recognizing that it exists. Refer to the picture above or the linked PDF for further ideas on what to look out for in your workplace. Take a tour of the workplace and make a list of all the potential hazards you see. Note how likely an injury could be made by the hazard and the severity of said injury. This can help prioritize your next steps.

HIRE A CONSULTANT OR INSPECTOR

Although you and your employees know your workplace the best, bringing in a fresh set of eyes can help too. Hiring a professional who is trained in identifying and mitigating workplace hazards can be a huge help. They can identify hazards and properly train your team on how to spot risks and fix them.

TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES

People are prone to accidents as well, it is not solely the environment. Some people may increase the risk of an injury by not being properly trained, overestimate their abilities, or just by making a mistake. If your workplace requires employees to operate heavy machinery, corrosive chemicals, specialized tools, etc. it is important that they receive extensive training to protect themselves and others. Make sure that a qualified person is training your employees who can answer questions and help if anything goes wrong. Keep your training up to date. Suggest training every 2 to 5 years for people on the job to ensure they are following safety procedures.

FIRST AID TRAINING

Accidents can still occur after identifying risks and training staff. One thing you can do is to ensure your employees know what to do if an accident occurs. Work with the hired consultant to create a procedure for your employees to follow and refer to if an accident happens. Having the plan in place can help educate employees and minimize the risk of injury.

Offer compensation to get employees trained in first aid. The Red Cross Association offers many courses across Metro Vancouver for the basic first aid certification. As well, you can make a point during training new staff to tour the workplace and note all related health and safety information, ie. first aid kits, fire exits, fire extinguishers, automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), and more.