How do you deliver difficult feedback to your team?

"I once had an employee who had been a consistent and reliable team member for many years. He suddenly started missing deadlines, and I had to follow up with him to ensure tasks were completed. We had a regular one-on-one meeting later that week. Before that call, I reviewed the last month's worth of projects, deadlines, and communications I had sent him regarding missing or late information. I made a list of those examples and had them ready to discuss. I have found it's ineffective to say things like, "it seems like you've missed assignments" or "I don't feel like you're engaged in your work lately." Having real data and examples to present to the employee is often more impactful and limits the rebuttals from those subjective comments. I started my call with him by asking how things were going in his personal life and at work. I then let him know that I value him as a team member and that I have noticed a pattern of missed deadlines, so I wanted to talk through what's going on and see what obstacles he's facing or what has changed that had caused this performance issue. He opened up to me about his personal problems, which were taking his focus off his work. We discussed our employee assistance program, and I asked him to be open with me when he struggles or needs time off to address personal matters. I reassured him that I understood his situation and wanted him to be successful at work. I reassigned some of his work to another team member with capacity while he took a few days to handle his matters. When he returned to work, he was focused and able to take his workload back, and I did not have any further performance issues with him."

"I always coach an employee in a private setting, face to face. A message or tone can get misinterpreted in a text or email, so I feel it's essential to provide this type of feedback in person or virtually via camera if possible. When having the discussion, I always come with facts and data to back up my concerns, and I'm clear on where the employee is not meeting expectations. I engage the employee, and together, we create a plan, and I make clear my expectations and the consequences if that expectation is not met. A direct approach is best."

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