7 effective feedback techniques that actually works

Why Giving Feedback is Important

It’s not people who are not putting enough effort into their tasks that fail, it’s people who don’t understand which areas require improvement. Good feedback fills this knowledge gap by informing someone of where they currently are and which steps are necessary to move forward.

Having experienced myself with feedback processes both well-done and lacking, I noticed that there is a noticeable difference between those two situations. Those who receive good feedback are more aware of themselves and have a clear understanding of the path they need to follow.

Conversely, the absence of feedback causes misunderstandings and negatively affects productivity and motivation levels as a result. And this leads us straight to another interesting question.

Effective Feedback Techniques

Over time, several structured feedback techniques have emerged that make feedback more actionable and less emotional. 

1. The SBI Feedback technique (Situation-Behavior-Impact)

One of the most common methods employed, and for a good reason. Instead of leaving everything open-ended and abstract, you divide the feedback into three parts:

Situation – Describe exactly when and where the event happened. This makes sure that the feedback isn’t just a subjective opinion but rooted in a specific experience. Example: “Yesterday, in our client meeting at 3 PM…”

Behavior – Describe exactly what happened, not your feelings or opinions. This ensures objectivity and avoids defensiveness. Example: “you interrupted the client multiple times while they were talking.”

Impact – Consequences of such an action on the team, client, or overall process. This part is crucial as it makes the feedback relevant and actionable. Example: “It was hard for the client to voice their thoughts completely, impacting the discussion quality.”

This technique works because it removes assumptions and keeps feedback grounded in facts.

Another structure for giving feedback looks very much like the previous one, except that this time terms are slightly different.

2. STAR feedback technique

The STAR approach is based on the following principles:

Situation: Describe clearly what situation you are discussing, so the person receiving the feedback understands the context. Thus, this will help prevent misunderstanding and will provide feedback for a particular occurrence, not just general comments.

Task: Specify the task or area where you are giving the feedback, so it is clear what actions have been performed in order for feedback to occur.

Action: Explain objectively what actions the person has taken in this situation. Again, here is when we should concentrate on the observable behavior of a person, not make any assumptions about it.

Result: Talk about the outcome of those actions in relation to the team/project/business.

Thus, with such a technique of providing feedback, all the aspects of performance can be covered, not just whether someone did the job correctly or not. Nevertheless, like the SBI technique, it does not focus heavily on improvement and changes.

3. The EEC Feedback techniques 

In contrast to other frameworks of feedback, this model is explicitly oriented at the things a person should do to make their behavior better or sustain their success.

The acronym used for such feedback is EEC, standing for Example–Effect–Change/Continue. The steps of the process are the following:

Example- Firstly, the observer describes a particular occurrence of the behavior or action performed by the observed person. In such a way, the person receives a clear picture of what was done.

Effect -Secondly, the effect of such a particular action on an event, team, or workflow should be described. This step is crucial since it allows the observed individual see the consequences of their actions.

Change/Continue- Finally, based on the type of feedback provided, one offers the observed person to make necessary improvements in their actions or continue doing the same.

Therefore, unlike many other frameworks, this one provides the guidelines for the future actions to be made and gives clear directions in terms of the ways to act further.

4. IDEA feedback technique

Finally, another technique that will help with providing constructive feedback is the Identify-Describe-Employ-Assess (IDEA) feedback model, which aims at promoting change and highlighting issues that have to be corrected.

The IDEA framework comprises several consecutive steps described below:

• Identify – In order to provide feedback, start with identifying the areas for discussion that are associated with certain problems. This approach allows highlighting the key aspects that have to be mentioned when discussing certain behavior or performance;
• Describe – The second stage is focused on explaining your concerns about the particular situation in details and providing reasons for such comments and remarks;
• Employ – You should show your support and commitment to assist rather than criticize. This step is crucial since it allows encouraging the person that it is necessary to improve something;
• Assess – Finally, discuss possible future steps, which could promote improvement in the sphere.

In case providing constructive or negative feedback seems complicated, it is necessary to use the above-mentioned model.

5. The DESC feedback technique

In particular, we appreciate the use of this approach for the reason that, in addition to addressing future actions as in the case of EEC and IDEA models, this approach additionally shows the consequences of change.

Now let us consider the DESC feedback model in more detail.

Describe: The first step implies describing the situation in an objective way. In other words, one should provide the necessary background for understanding the reasons for feedback.

Express: Express your attitude towards the situation or describe its influence on the company or the team. This will help make feedback more personalized and valuable.

Specify: Specify  the required changes and actions, and be very specific about them. Such specificity makes it easier to implement the provided feedback.

Consequences: The final step addresses the need for demonstrating the consequences of the adopted changes. The individual will have the opportunity to see its potential benefits.

 The final step focuses on making the impact of change visible and practical. By clearly showing the benefits, it becomes easier to gain agreement and reduce resistance to feedback.

6. The sandwich feedback technique

Let us switch gears and analyze the most common approach to providing feedback on the market. Of course, we refer to the feedback sandwich strategy, which is not necessarily an effective way of dealing with employees despite its popularity.

This approach does not fail to be helpful in particular circumstances. The process of conducting feedback can be described as follows:

Positive feedback first: Initiate the discussion by noting an achievement of the employee. This way, a good atmosphere will be created and set as the base for further communication.

Constructive feedback: Proceed with discussing a specific point that requires improvement. It should be noted that in case of using such a structure of feedback, the problem may be diluted as it goes in the middle of the sandwich.

Positive feedback at the end: End the discussion with some words of encouragement or other kind of positive feedback.

The main goal of this model is to soften the criticism with positive feedback. However, there is a great risk of confusing people regarding the true nature of the problem.

7. 360 degree feedback technique

Finally, we have another form of performance appraisal known as 360-degree feedback approach. Other terms used to describe this method are multi-source and multi-rater feedback.

Here is how a 360-degree feedback model is carried out.

Firstly, feedback is solicited from different parties who are then able to give their input on the person’s performance. This feedback process includes the following steps:

Solicit feedback from many parties: Performance feedback is gathered from colleagues, managers, subordinates, as well as from customers/clients, whenever it is applicable. Self-assessment process: Here the person under evaluation also gives his/her view of their performance. This is useful for finding out whether there is any discrepancy between self and other’s perception.

Manager-led feedback review discussion: All the information collected in step one above is analyzed together with the individual. This is done so as to interpret the information correctly and avoid being overly judgmental based on isolated inputs.

Development Plan: Both the employee and manager come up with a plan on the way forward.

Feedback works best when it’s immediate. Waiting for quarterly or annual reviews often makes it irrelevant. Real-time feedback keeps performance aligned with expectations on a daily basis.

Conclusion 

In reality, however, feedback is not only a set of skills, it is an entire system. If applied properly, it does not only help to eliminate errors, it also creates a clear picture and establishes consistent communication about the way work is being done.

What I have come to understand during my career is that the most successful teams do not shy away from giving and receiving feedback, rather, they turn it into their routine. If you want to create such a team culture, proper feedback tools must become your primary priority. That is precisely what we seek to do at the Joy of Performing (JOP).