The importance of knowing how to provide clear and conscious feedback in hotel

“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve “. With these two simple and crucial sentences Bill Gates has expressed his point of view on feedback, suggesting a big one truth.

Today, many studies and researches certify the importance of stopping and devoting time to our colleagues and collaborators to reflect on how to be able to grow, even learning from the mistakes made. The interesting data is that 65% of employees say they want more feedback (Officevibe), proving to go in the direction of a clearer and more direct communication, aimed at the personal and professional development. In addition, 39% of the employees say they do not feel appreciated at work (Globoforce) because they are ignored or they receive insults and not very positive communications.

So, it is essential that managers in the hospitality industry understand the importance and relevance of those moments of exchange of views with the staff, emphasizing what they are doing very well and what, with an adequate support, they can and must improve in order to grow. The data demonstrate how much work there is to be done in this direction, in fact only 58% of the managers interviewed believes that they provide satisfying feedback in terms of quantity and method (Officevibe). Paying attention to all this, it is said that the turnover could decrease by 14.9% in those hotels where feedback is seen as a key aspect (Officevibe).

So, after understanding how important this specific skill is, how can we provide clear and conscious feedback? What are the good leads to avoid the main mistakes and to get the best possible result? The following are seven key points:

1.  The feedback must be clear and specific. Providing concrete examples of what has been appreciated and what can be improved helps the person to best integrate the feedback, reducing the likelihood of redoing the same mistake more times.
2. It must be timely. Delay communication makes situations and what has happened complex to remember and it makes the process of grow ineffective.
3. It must refer to the person’s behavior. Comments on the identity of the colleague or collaborator should be avoided, in favor of ideas on how to improve daily actions and practices.
4. It must develop reasoning. A manager who gives always directions, answers and advices may not be a good manager. Asking the employee why he/she has made that specific mistake, what he/she could do differently and what he/she plans to do in order to prevent it from happening again forces him/her to think and not to experience a feedback as a passive process.
5. It should not be excessive. If you say too many things to be improved, it can be demotivating and can hinder the growth, as well as too many compliments can become obvious and sometimes even perceived as “false”.
6. Sometimes, it must be given even without a specific reason. In order to make the person understanding that you appreciate him/her, regardless of what he/she produces or not, you should give a compliment unlinked from any type of event. This will also improve his motivation and his self esteem.
7. It must always be accompanied by an action plan. Theory without practice do not lead to change. Knowing what to do, when and possibly with whom, allows feedback to become useful and effective.

These seven points, when applied, bring a marked improvement in life work of a collaborator. They require commitment and attention, in fact a poorly provided feedback leads to a drop in performance in 38% of cases (Harvard). However, 69% of employees say that they would commit much more if he/she felt recognized in his work and his efforts (Globoforce) and this shows how, sometimes, small attentions can do big differences.