What are some best practices for delivering feedback remotely?

Another critical element to preparing for giving feedback remotely is setting aside your preconceived judgment of the person. Whether your feedback is negative or positive, ensure that your bias does not interfere with the intent and neutrality of the message.

Actually, instead of sharing the impact of the person's behavior or action - ask them what they felt the impact was. This allows the person receiving the feedback to be a part of the process, rather than having feedback dumped on them. It also engages them in a more insightful way to understand the outcomes that result from their behaviors which deepens the learning moving forward.

My way is: listen first, share second. I always recommend starting with the perspective of an interviewee and only then share the feedback. It has several advantages: 1. The conversation is put in a dialogue format rather than a report/evaluation format. This is much better suited to the needs of current employees. 2. Involvement of the interviewee from the first minute of the conversation usually removes unnecessary tension, which is sometimes characteristic of distance meetings. 3. Observations made by the interviewee can help identify new areas or topics of assessment that were not initially obvious or a priority.

Be sure to have the coachee establish the goals and actions to implement. It is your place to guide, not steer, their professional development. Ask the coachee how they will make the takeaways actionable and in what time frame. This way, they understand that the growth from feedback is their responsibility.

Not everyone is comfortable giving feedback and it can be stressful for some people. If this is you, set aside time prior to your meeting with your coachee to center yourself. You can practice deep breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth to relax your nervous system prior to the meeting. Remind yourself that feedback is critical for positive growth and you are helping this person evolve.

1. Communication channel We use Teams for communication with remote employees. For the feedback, I prefer to use the same oral communication channel which we use regularly. We use video for the meetings. It is helpful to understand employees' reactions. 2. Timing Sometimes, feedback can wait until the regular 1:1 meeting. Otherwise, we often ask if a colleague can talk now and make a short Teams call.