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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Amy Mettlach
June - July 2010

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How to offer comments that boost performance

Managers intuitively understand the “why” of providing timely feedback to employees, but lack the “how” when it comes to giving that feedback. The “how” varies, depending upon whether managers are coaching high-performing employees to achieve even better performance or helping lower-performing employees improve certain aspects of their performance. But one thing remains constant: feedback is necessary.

Time for high performers

To achieve success in the workplace, managers should spend 50 to 60 percent of their time with their high-performing employees. Although this may seem counterintuitive, research has repeatedly shown that the greatest results are achieved by employees and teams when managers’ efforts are focused on top performers.

Unfortunately, feedback to most top performers is usually expressed something like this: “Thanks. You’re doing a great job and I appreciate it.” While employees like to hear such comments, they don’t provide the employee with the knowledge of which aspects of their performance are great and should be continued. Instead, vague references to good performance cause confusion, and the good behaviors may not be repeated.

Additionally, when managers utilize feedback as a means to help top performers progress in their careers, it allows them the opportunity to provide constructive feedback that top performers benefit from hearing. And what better way to do that than for managers to share their past experiences?

No matter how great an employee’s performance is, managers’ past experiences allow them to provide valuable feedback on ways to improve. Keep in mind that employees do not progress when they only hear positive feedback.

In general, an effective way to provide feedback to top performers encompasses the following:

•Identify the performance to acknowledge or reward. Be as specific as possible, as this will help the employee to truly understand what he or she is doing well. Make sure the feedback is based on facts, not interpretations, judgments or attitudes.

•Explain the impact the employee’s performance has on the team or company. Does the performance help other team members? Has it saved the company money? Does it improve client relations? Whatever the impact, be sure to share it with the employee.

•Focus on ways the employee can take performance to the next level. Brainstorming conversations such as this are a great way to engage employees in the process of enhancing their performance.

•State your appreciation for the employee’s performance. “Thank you” still goes a long way, especially when the employee has a good understanding of which behaviors are appreciated and how his or her performance has affected the team or the company.

Discomfort no excuse

If managers are uncomfortable providing feedback to top performers, imagine how they feel when talking to lower-performing employees! Discomfort, however, is not a valid excuse for not providing feedback.

The first three elements of providing feedback to top performers are incorporated (with slight revisions) into the model for providing feedback to lower-performing employees. However, there are certain additional areas for managers to consider when providing feedback to these individuals.

•Focus on the performance issue, not the person. Constructive feedback may be difficult for employees to hear, so don’t make it more difficult by personalizing the feedback. Do not bring other people’s perceptions about an employee’s performance into the discussion, unless you have their permission to do so. Stating, “Everyone on the team is tired of your inability to meet deadlines” is unlikely to have a positive effect on performance and may cause morale issues amongst the team.

•Evaluate your intentions in providing the feedback. If the feedback gives the employee the ability to understand what they could do differently to improve future performance, then it will be valuable. If the feedback focuses on a random behavior and will have no long-term benefit, the result will likely be hurt feelings and resentment.

•Provide objective facts and timelines/occurrences. “You did not respond to my voice mails or e-mails for five days” is much more specific than “You are not very responsive to my requests.” Providing objective, specific facts allows an employee to understand the performance aspects that need improvement. Additionally, the more specific the feedback, the less opportunity there is for the employee to rebut what has been said.

•Indicate the changes the employee should make to meet performance expectations. Unlike conversations with high-performing employees, this should not be a brainstorming session. Managers should have a clear expectation of how performance needs to change, so say something like this: “Moving forward, we would like to have e-mails and voice mails answered within 48 hours. Is that do-able?”

•Gain agreement from the employee that he or she will commit to the changed behavior, and under what time frame. This time frame should be very specific and measurable, such as this: “starting tomorrow,” “the next project you work on for the team” or “effective with this month’s billing.” If the employee cannot or will not agree, managers may need to consider other options, including termination.

Regardless of whether the feedback provided is positive or negative, it is important that the manager follow up and see how the employee’s performance and behavior have changed as a result of the feedback. In The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson advocate “catching someone doing something right.” Never is this more important than when following up on constructive feedback.

If your employee starts returning voice mail and e-mail messages the same day as received, let him or her know you’ve noticed and say thanks for the efforts. Positive, continuous reinforcement will help ensure that the desired behavior continues.

Depending upon the nature of the feedback, managers may want to have pre-established times for follow-up with the employee. The frequency of such meetings will vary, depending upon the feedback and the performance changes discussed. Such conversations show the employee that the manager is interested in progress and wants to help.