Top Ways Of Critiquing Your Staff Constructively

If you happen to be in a position where you have a staff or employee that irritates you with their work ethics or behaviors. Take a look at this list and learn how to properly address your problem in the most proper way:

- First, you should begin with positive communication. Engage your personnel, don't alienate them. Start the conversation off with something commendable, and your employee will know that you value him/her, and that you have her best interests at heart. As an  example, you can tell them "I feel you are an important member of our team" or something along those lines. Or, even better, you can praise a specific behavior like "I admire the work you've done on updating the patient files. Your organization has been a tremendous asset to our team." The key factor is, no matter what you do, make sure your comment is sincere and honest. People will be able to see through a facade.

- Secondly, you should remember to critique the behavior and not the person. When you direct your criticism at the person rather than the behavior, you will surely give the discussion a hostile, argumentative tone. And this can easily escalate to a more undesired level. Just imagine how your receptionist might feel if you said "You know what, I'm really upset with you. You were really rude to that client. I can't believe you just sat there and let her leave without trying to address her concern". By directing your critique at the receptionist, rather than focusing on what was wrong with her behavior, your critique feels more like it's a personal attack directed at her rather than constructive feedback. Instead, you should say, "I feel displeased with your behavior in the presence of our last client. I noticed that she was quite irritated when you raised your voice to her. Your interaction with our clients is a key part of their experience here, and I know we both want it to be a good one". You see the difference? This statement focuses on improving his/her behavior, not on what's wrong with your staff. This way, your employee's ego remains intact and will feel more compelled to "hear" what you had to say and will likely respond positively to your observations.

- In relation to the previous point, you should also remember to critique the behavior specifically. What this means is that rather than delivering a broad-based comment, make your remarks specific to a situation. Once again, you will want to avoid attacking the person and focus on improving a specific behavior. When your worker comes in late for his shift AGAIN, your instinct may be to say "You're always late!" or "Why can't you ever seem to get here on time?". By being more specific, like, "You were not on time for our staff meetings on the 15th and the 30th of this month," you remove your judgment from the statement and give the worker a concrete example of what he needs to do to improve. Bottom line is to get your staff member to acknowledge the specifics of the undesirable behavior, and collaborate to find a solution.

- The next tip is simple. It's to not beat around the bush and being short, sweet and to the point. Avoid lectures or long philosophical monologues. Be assured, long-winded lectures will only go through one ear and out the other. You should be empathetic, yet brief and even though how tempting it may be, resist the urge to rehash old problems. Focus only on what you observed, why it needs to change, and how you can help the employee do a better job next time.

- With all that said, at the end of the day, you should let them know clearly that they still and will always have your support. As you conclude your critique, be supportive, affirming, and exude your willingness to help the employee make improvements. You should demonstrate your confidence and offer to provide coaching on a regular basis.