Should Everyday Feedback Actually Be Given Everyday? 7 Frequency Principles for Giving Feedback

If you’re wondering if you really need to give feedback everyday. The answer is yes.

But don’t freak out…..

You will like it. Here are 7 principles for how often to give fabulous feedback.

Feedback Frequency Principle #1

“Everyday feedback” means ordinary feedback, frequent feedback, you’re-used-to-it feedback.  So you aren’t going to feel traumatized by initiating these conversations every day. Every time you meet with people about a common goal, you’re going to want to show appreciation for some things and make improvement suggestions for other things. It will be easy, expected, and comfortable once you and your co-workers are used to it.

Feedback Frequency Principle #2

If things are going well, say so. And every day isn’t too often—if it’s genuine. Be sure to describe exactly what you are calling out as excellent. But don’t act fake and don’t patronize people by acting like a mother or father praising a little child with a singsong “Good Job!” Positive feedback really serves a purpose—in helping people see what is working and what should be repeated.

Feedback Frequency Principle #3

No, you don’t have to give feedback to every person you work with or manage every day, if there’s nothing real to say and if you haven’t observed any of their work. But there will always be someone you can give feedback to. A great practice is to have a certain time of day, like just after lunch, when you make a point to talk to, call, or write a note to someone for the purpose of giving feedback.

Feedback Frequency Principle #4

The more often you give feedback and the more people you give it to, the better. Your observations are data points, and the more of them they have, the more intelligent the conclusions they can draw. Collectively, the more people you include in feedback conversations, the more data you are spreading to a wider and wider group of decision makers, and the more intelligent your aggregate impact can be.

Feedback Frequency Principle #5

You DEFINITELY want to ask for feedback every day. Not from everyone every day, but from someone every day. That way you can make one or more adjustments every day and the result will trend toward excellence.

Feedback Frequency Principle #6

If there are one or more people who can benefit from your coaching, your feedback will be key to their learning and growing new skills and capabilities. Break it into bite size chunks and get back to them often. The more days you can help them, the faster their progress! You will be amazed at how fast their learning can be when the two of you spin those feedback loops faster and faster.

Feedback Frequency Principle #7

Feed the eager beavers who are applying your feedback. These folks want follow-up feedback as soon as they can get it. They want to find out when they’ve mastered a skill and they also want to know how to fix or fine tune their solutions to remaining problems. Find them and feed them some new information that can help them. Suggest that they feed others using the same approach.

So, yes, this IS an everyday process!