How to deliver negative feedback well at the workplace

Vartika Kashyap
6 min readAug 20, 2024

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At some point, while working with a team, a manager or team leader has to give negative feedback directly to a team member. And that’s where things get tricky. If you can deliver negative feedback well, it will lead to improvements; otherwise, conflicts.

Studies suggest most supervisors are not good at delivering feedback because only 10% of employees feel encouraged after receiving negative feedback; the rest feel criticized and demoralized. Therefore, it becomes important to deliver negative feedback positively.

In this blog, we will discuss the practical ways to deliver negative feedback in the workplace effectively.

The importance of delivering negative feedback effectively

Negative feedback, when delivered positively, results in improvement, productive work, and higher job satisfaction. If not, it discourages employees, impacts employee performance, and causes damage to manager-employee relationships. Let’s understand the importance of delivering negative feedback effectively.

1. Identify the areas of improvement

Negative feedback helps an employee learn about the areas of improvement. It can be viewed as an opportunity for growth and unlocking abilities. Not only that but delivering negative feedback positively can show someone a path to improvement.

2. Clarify expectations

Negative feedback provides a team with a clear perception of the company’s expectations. It leads to better production, a united team, and skillful work.

3. Strengthens relationships

Pointing out problems and discussing their solutions strengthens your relationship with the team. This fosters open communication and trust between managers that improves team performance and shows your commitment and dedication towards your team.

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7 ways to deliver negative feedback well at the workplace

Sharing negative feedback to direct reports can be challenging. These steps are part of my research, and I act upon them whenever I need to deliver negative feedback.

  1. Focus on behaviour, not the person

The first thing you need to ensure while giving negative feedback is that it should not sound like a personal attack on the person.

For example, instead of saying, “You always miss deadlines”. Try saying, “I noticed you were struggling to meet your deadline lately. What challenges are you facing? Let me know so that we can work together to solve them.”

Remember, you are dealing with an aspect of work, not the individual.

2. Be humble, be respectful

Don’t be a strict boss. Scolding over negative feedback negatively impacts your personality and relationship with team members. You have to be careful while choosing your words. Painful and negative words can decrease your team’s motivation, leading to bad results.

Here are some examples for your better standing:

  • Instead of “You are not doing this right” try “I appreciate your effort, but I think there might be a different approach we could try. Could we discuss a few alternatives?”
  • Instead of “This is completely wrong” try “This is completely wrong” try “I admire the effort you put into this project. There are few points that need refinement.”
  • Instead of “This is a problem” try “Let’s discuss what happened here and how we can improve it.”
  • Instead of “Your work is not reliable” try “Missing deadlines affect the team’s progress. It impacts the team’s ability to meet our goals.”

3. Take action: be specific & timely

Don’t wait for the monthly meeting to point out and discuss an issue. You have to address the issue as soon as it happens. Take action and schedule a meeting with the concerned employee. Addressing an issue in time will prevent it from happening again.

4. Open with a positive approach

Have you ever tried the sandwich method that consists of delivering bad news between two good news?

Managers do this to reduce the impact of the bad news on the reader or listener. But this only muddies the water, and can cause employees to become unclear about the message that is being conveyed. Describing someone good and bad involves telling them the positive attributes.

You can discuss the points that the concerned employee is lacking, but don’t forget to associate the pros if they improve it. The goal is not just to realize the employee’s mistake but to tell them about their growth after improving that mistake.

This way, you can motivate and encourage employees to perform well.

Read more: Team building activities to develop positivity at the workplace

5. Encourage transparent conversation

Before delivering any negative feedback positively, you need to ensure you have valid points to discuss. Point out those factors where the employee is struggling. Just clarify your expectations and be aware of what type of work you desire.

Active listening manifests your intent to solve problems. It lets your employee believe that you are planning for their improvement. By being a good and active listener, you show empathy, and employees trust your opinion.

For instance, you can use these questions to know the negative points:

  • “Can you elaborate on your work process for the last project? I want to understand the challenges you are facing.”
  • “Tell me what is stopping you from doing your best. I know you have the potential; let’s enhance that together.”
  • “How about I provide you with another detailed timeline? Do you think it will work?”

6. Establish an open and sincere relationship

Healthy relationships between you and your employees help you communicate better and deal with feedback. To do that, you must build interest, awareness, and trust between your employees. The key to building sincere relationships between you and your team is to be available and approachable. Once you build a good relationship, then you can present your points.

Enhance your leadership: 6 Important Soft Skills Managers Must Have

7. Follow up

Last but certainly not least, timely check-in is also mandatory. It helps track whether the concerned employee is improving or not. Follow-up motivates employees and compels them to perform their best. Also, before doing a follow-up, you can make your employee aware that there will be a review meeting regarding their progression.

For example, you can simply say, “We can discuss your growth and analyze improvements this weekend or next week.”

Also read: How To Manage Difficult But Productive People At Work

Turning constructive criticism into success

The process of delivering negative feedback well at the workplace means growing success, which should be considered as the final key message of this work. If criticism is not perceived as an attack but as an opportunity for improvement, self-realization, and goal accomplishment, then the criticism has to be embraced.

You also need to remember that you have to be open with your thoughts and express everything you feel. Maintaining transparency with the team is necessary. Without transparency, your team members won’t be able to accept their mistakes and work better.

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FAQs

1. Why Giving Negative Feedback is Important?

It is of necessity necessary to give negative feedback as it is a process of correcting a person so that they improve on their behaviors. They are useful for those wishing to assess their likely vulnerability, gauge the performance of subordinates and acquire the skills that are important for the task.

2. What are the next steps after giving negative feedback in a performance review?

After giving negative feedback, offer a detailed plan describing particular aspects which may cause mistakes and provide necessary assistance with brochures or options for training sessions. Have frequent meetings to review how the set goals are being met and to give continuous feedback.

3. How can you handle an employee’s unexpected reaction to negative feedback?

Be patient with your interactions with them, listen carefully to all their complaints, and reassure them from time to time. It would be beneficial to elaborate on the given feedback and move on the practical ways how to improve the situation without emphasizing the feeling as such.

4. How do you soften negative feedback?

You can simply follow these steps:

  1. Be authentic
  2. Listen with empathy
  3. Point problems regarding the work, not the person
  4. Motivate them
  5. Follow up

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Vartika Kashyap

Chief Marketing Officer@ProofHub. Featured writer on LinkedIn. Contributor at Elearning Industry, Dzone, Your Story and Business.com.