7 Effective Ways to Provide Feedback and Praise

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- How people feel about their company and their level of satisfaction with their work can impact just about every line on a company's income statement. However, two-thirds of employees¹ say they have too little interaction with their boss, a key component of the work fulfillment equation, impacting risk management and safety.

"The absence of praise and feedback can generate apathy, increase employee turnover, stifle productivity, erode customer loyalty, and sabotage competitiveness," said Dr. Charlie Cartwright, Assistant Vice President and Claims Cost Consultant with Lockton Companies. "Keep in mind that your people may not care about your goals until you care about theirs."

In his newest white paper, "How Am I Doing?", Cartwright provides an analysis of research explaining how praise and feedback are essential catalysts for all good things in the employer/employee relationship. While getting started is often the hardest part, Cartwright outlines seven effective ways to move a constructive conversation forward, benefitting workplace safety:

1. Be Thoughtful: Speak from the heart and be consistently genuine.
2. Be Specific: Give constructive, fact-based feedback.
3. Make it Two-Way: Ask open-ended questions and let employees do most of the talking.
4. Schedule Time: Make it a part of your regular daily or weekly plan.
5. Share the Praise: Recognize an employee's effort or progress in front of peers or other leaders.
6. Send them a Text: Properly timed and worded messages move mountains.
7. Write a Personal Note: Handwritten messages are added touches that never go out of style.

"Continuous, everyday communication is essential for telling employees what you are thinking, letting them know how they are doing, and providing suggestions for improvement," said Cartwright. "The cost is negligible, and the action is as simple as having a conversation."

Cartwright explains that most employees don't simply want to know how well they are doing at their jobs. They want to know how what they are doing fits into the overall goals of the department and company, what they can or should be doing differently, and the kinds of impact they are making. After all, a Harvard Business Review survey² found that 70 percent of respondents ranked "having a clear understanding of how their job contributes to strategy" as the second-most important driver of engagement, just behind regular strategy updates from senior leadership.

"Consider your actions and let your messages be reflected in your ongoing interactions with employees," advised Cartwright. "Over time, you'll find that praise and feedback become a natural part of your leadership style, as well as a boon to a safer, more productive, profitable, and positive work environment."

References

¹Leadership IQ, Washington, DC (2009).

²The Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance, Harvard Business Review. (2013).

About Lockton

More than 5,300 professionals at Lockton provide 41,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, and employee benefits consulting services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world and 10^th largest overall. Independent researcher Greenwich Associates has awarded Lockton its Service Excellence Award for risk management for large companies. For six consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognized Lockton as a "Best Place to Work in Insurance." To see the latest insights from Lockton's experts, check Lockton Market Update.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090415/CG99351LOGO

SOURCE Lockton

Related Links

http://www.lockton.com