What are your tips for giving constructive feedback?

Great question Caty. I've noticed that, in many organizations, constructive feedback or its close cousin, constructive criticism, rapidly turns into a way to point out what people aren't doing well. The missing components are positive reinforcement and the employee's input. I've found it helpful to ask the employee what they think is going on and then listen to him or her.

The idea is to give people the opportunity to tell you about their perspective and to generate their own insights and solutions. The leader in that situation facilitates the process of the employee thinking critically about what happened and developing his or her own strategies to deal with it. It gives the employee the power to learn, grow and succeed without feeling like he or she is always being corrected.

Great question and answers so far. I believe that constructive feedback should be just that ---- constructive. Whenever coaching or counseling, the process should be in the form of a dialog with both parties participating and the content should be a balance of what the individual does well and the specific areas in which they need to improve. Just as in parenting, criticize the behavior (or results) not the person.

When a session is completed, ensure there are specific action steps for the individual to take and a firm follow-up meeting scheduled.

For more on the subject, i recommend the book, Coaching. Counseling & Mentoring by Florence M. Stone.

Guy's suggestion of asking for their perspective is spot on. Employees are always more willing to be part of the solution and take the feedback seriously when they have had a chance to share their input. One other thing I would add that hasn't been mentioned yet, is to be honest and don't sandwich the good with the bad. Unfortunately, because giving feedback can sometimes be uncomfortable, leaders tend to sugarcoat the feedback or say things like, "You are doing X wrong, BUT you're a good employee so it's all good." The employee leaves not knowing if they need to work on something or if it's all ok since they are a good employee.

The bottom line is to be open and honest in a respectful way. No matter what you have to share if you are honest and respectful, the conversation will go much easier

As a manager, I always promote an environment of success for each team member. My job, I say, is to ensure that each member of the team has my full support to be successful in the work they are responsible for. In turn, there is a respect that any direction and feedback given is to fulfill that goal.

I agree with what the others have said and have a few more tips to include about giving constructive feedback. It is best to give the feedback in a timely manner; that is, soon after you notice a pattern of performance that does not meet expectations.
When giving feedback, try to discuss specific behaviors, not personal traits. So, for example, instead of saying "You are unreliable."say, "You have been late for the past three team meetings."
It's also helpful to describe what you saw or heard, and not pass judgment or evaluation and is important to emphasize the impact of the behaviors. So, for example, "Your late arrival to the past three team meetings throws off the meeting agenda for the rest of the team".
After explaining the specific behaviors and impacts, you want to clearly define the changes you want made and desired outcomes that you expect to see.
Finally, it is critical to give constructive feedback calmly and always give the individual ample time to share their perspective and their side of the story.

We use a model that makes 'straight-talk' a reality. The model is Observation, Effect, Recommendation.

Observation has to be something you have seen happen and you can describe factually. Not, "in that meeting you made other people feel uncomfortable" or "I heard you did not do so well in that meeting". It needs to be "when you said, XYZ, 60% of the room crossed their arms or stared down at their notes and looked away from you".

Effect; when you did XYZ, the effect on Susan was... or when you did not do XYZ, the effect on the organization was...

Finally, Recommendation; "I recommend next time you have difficult news to share with the team you have facts to back it up not just your intuition. You will get a more positive response to your point of view"

Observation, Effect, Recommendation - practiced much and delivered with authenticity and care for the other person has enabled us to move towards the 'straight-talk' culture in which we want to operate

As a new manager I learned to sandwich criticism. Say something nice and true, say what needs saying (try to do it w/o using the YOU word), end with something nice and true.

I laugh sometimes when it's done back at me :)

All of the above being valid, I would add:

Concrete examples and sincere explanations as to the WHY(s) something needs change.

Separate the content from the form and identify with the person giving or receiving feedback whether it is one or the other or a combination of both that require change.

Katy,
My tips are as follows:
- State the purpose. Make sure the person knows they are getting feedback.
- Discuss the feedback in terms of observations not reactions. Don't put spin or interpretation on it. Use facts.
- Tie it to the business clearly. If you can't it isn't constructive feedback.
- Give them a chance to respond WITHIN 1 MINUTE!When you drone on, they stop listening.
- Have them play it back relative to what they heard and next steps.
- Make it timely. Don't wait for their annual or semi annual review.

Pretty simple steps that have always worked for me....

The prime method of constructive feedback is through results! Results are feedback themselves. They reveal the efficiency and tells how sincere the employee is. Show the statistics to the employee. This is the part one. The second part is emotions. Human brain is always hungry for feedback and when it's positive or positively phrased, it feels good, and if you can reveal the feedback through touching the emotions, it'll affect the brain too. So instead of direct criticizing, just tell the good points AND the bad points. Notice the use of AND. the difference of words makes all the difference psychologically. e.g. if you say"you've done well in the logistics BUT didn't give the desired result in packaging" this creates a psychologically negative emotions to heart. If you say the same sentence with BUT replaced by AND, it will send the feedback positively. So mix the results with emotions, and you get the constructive feedback!