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Ask HN: Do we really need performance feedback?

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Re: Ask HN: Do we really need performance feedback?

#41
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Feedback works when it is fairly instant, friendly and most of all fair. Well said. I assume that by "friendly", you imply "constructive". Also: "How to Offer Constructive Feedback & Recognition" [0] and "How to Give Effective Feedback" [1]. [0] http://www.usc.edu/programs/cwfl/assets/pdf/constructive_fee... [1] http://www.unh.edu/hr/sites/unh.edu.hr/files/pdfs/tool-2.pdf

Yep, even if they are bringing up a serious issue they should phrase it as positively as possible. So, instead of "I'm really unhappy that you are missing targets." say "I notice you're having a bit of an issue with targets, is there anything I can help you with?"

Constructive feedback is all what is needed and the only motive it should be given is to enhance individual productivity and grow him as a better professional.

Re: Ask HN: Do we really need performance feedback?

#42
post #21

I find that feedback is important, but there are better ways of doing it than annual performance reviews. We need feedback because without it, we have trouble objectively gauging how well we are doing. To start, doing a performance review once a year leaves huge gaps in feedback. Feedback needs to be immediate. Telling someone that they did something great or sub-optimal 11 months ago is useless. Second, everyone nee…

hey koliber, good work at 15Five.com . Basically i am trying to tackle the same problem which is why i posted this question. I made a comment above summing up all the good feedback in this thread. Your feedback will be appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: Do we really need performance feedback?

#43

I taught in a high school for 5 years. I learned one very important thing: you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I only noticed after that experience that in my previous 25 years as a programmer the vast majority of people ignored my advice (even when they asked for it!) Generally speaking, I've found that people have a preconceived notion of an answer when they solicit feedback for something. Th…

hey mikechar, thanks for your excellent insights. I think we can agree that whosoever wants to improve themselves they listen to the feedback given to them and who so doesn't its useless to them. So if someone really needs it there has to be a mechanism to be given to it (which basically i am trying to address in my startup i mentioned above in the comment i did). I would love to hear your thoughts on that.

Re: Ask HN: Do we really need performance feedback?

#44

You need feedback, yes. But perhaps not (or not only) on the annual review level, but rather solicit feedback from peers and superiors on a per-project level (or if you work in a Scrum team, per epos or something). If you get such feedback maybe every two or three months, and then you get a bad annual performance review, you might even use the feedback you collected privately to influence the annual performance revie…

Exactly feedback has to be given on continuous basis and based upon the real performances on the projects. Not just on annual basis.

Re: Ask HN: Do we really need performance feedback?

#46

I taught in a high school for 5 years. I learned one very important thing: you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I only noticed after that experience that in my previous 25 years as a programmer the vast majority of people ignored my advice (even when they asked for it!) Generally speaking, I've found that people have a preconceived notion of an answer when they solicit feedback for something. Th…

hey mikechar, thanks for your excellent insights. I think we can agree that whosoever wants to improve themselves they listen to the feedback given to them and who so doesn't its useless to them. So if someone really needs it there has to be a mechanism to be given to it (which basically i am trying to address in my startup i mentioned above in the comment i did). I would love to hear your thoughts on that.

If I'm trying to follow my own advice, I suppose now is the time where I'm supposed to smile, tell you to do your best and offer you support if you run into trouble :-).

It's true that some people are really excellent at listening to people and incorporating feedback. I don't really know if those people find that they lack opportunities for feedback.

Just to quote you:

> whosoever wants to improve themselves they listen to the feedback given to them and who so doesn't its useless to them. So if someone really needs it there has to be a mechanism to be given to it.

If you start with this assumption, then there is no need to ask your question ("Do we really need performance feedback?"), because you have assumed your answer. I think you know that :-) Forgive me for what will seem like going off on a tangent, but let me tell you a quick story about when I was teaching.

I taught English as a foreign language to Japanese high school students. Their text book was terrible and I avoided it, but one section was not too bad. I asked the students to bring in their text book the next day. I spoke English, but it was simple English that they all knew and everyone seemed to understand.

The next day, not a single person brought their text book. I asked them if they remembered me asking about it. Out of 30 people, not one person remembered me saying anything at all. Luckily, another teacher was in the room when I had asked, so I could verify that it wasn't just me going crazy. I had asked them, and not one of the students remembered the event at all.

You might think (as I did) that at the very least the students might remember me saying something that they didn't understand at the end of class. As it turns out, that's not the way memory works. If you don't understand something, or if your reject it in some way, you are likely not to remember that the event happened at all!

In the same way, many people complain that they never get feedback. They feel that this is the reason that they can not improve. If only someone would give them feedback! However, I think it is likely that when people are poor at receiving feedback, their brains filter out the events leading them to believe that the fault lies with others. To be honest, I believe that this happens with many other things as well ;-)

My personal suspicion is that by providing another feedback mechanism, you may be serving a small audience which is already well served by traditional means. Those people who react well to feedback do not seem to have trouble cultivating it, in my experience. People who reject feedback think that it is rare because they don't internalise it. They are probably the much bigger market, but they are not a market that will benefit from more feedback. If it were me, I think I might try to turn my mind to trying to find out what these people need.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

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