SMARTDEAL -40% (48h only)
Prepare the feedback meeting correctly
March 27, 2025
In some companies, feedback meetings are held with employees once a year. These meetings often focus on the extent to which agreed targets have been achieved, new targets for the future and agreements on professional development. They represent valuable communication between superiors and employees, which is why you should prepare well for such meetings in order to get the most out of them.
Preparing for a feedback meeting
The better the preparation, the better the results of a feedback meeting, which should help both parties in the end.
It is therefore worth taking the initiative and seeking the conversation yourself. In order to be able to use it particularly efficiently, it is advisable to verbalize concrete goals in advance. At the same time, it helps to put yourself in the shoes of your colleagues and superiors during preparation and to look at your own performance from their perspective, but also to evaluate your own performance objectively. Defining your own goals and wishes and preparing possible arguments are also important for good preparation. If you realize in advance that there could be a certain potential for conflict, you can ask for a member of the works council or a mediator to take part in the meeting.
To prepare, you can ask yourself the following questions:
- How was the last year?
- What have I mastered well?
- What could I have done better?
- Was I able to achieve all my goals?
- How was my performance?
- Where were there problems? (operational, interpersonal)
- Do I want more/less responsibility?
- How is my work profile defined?
- Did my tasks fall within my work profile?
- Would further training help me?
- What further training do I want and why?
- What are my career goals?
Course of a feedback meeting
There are rough procedures for how such feedback meetings usually take place.
- The first step is often followed by an analysis of the past year. Here we take a look: What were the work tasks and successes to date? What goals have been achieved? What points of criticism are there and how satisfied were both parties?
- Planning is then carried out for the coming year and goals are defined. This also includes possible changes that are planned or should be tackled.
- Finally, it is about development and prospects such as career prospects, development options, further training, promotion plans and personal wishes.
Dos and Don’ts
Finally, we would like to discuss the dos and don’ts in feedback discussions.
So here are the most important dos:
✅ Enter the conversation prepared
✅ State specific goals
✅ Accept criticism
✅ Pay attention to your posture
Note:
When it comes to “accepting criticism”, it is particularly important that the criticism is not taken personally. You can also prepare yourself mentally for this, as the likelihood of being criticized during a feedback meeting is a given.
Under no circumstances should you appear resistant to criticism, deny everything or even raise your voice. Instead, you should make sure you remain confident, accept the criticism and work on the points raised. Ultimately, this criticism should help you to learn from it.
However, if the criticism is unjustified, it is a good idea to explain the situation objectively. You can do this by saying something like: “I regret that this impression has arisen, but I had the feeling that …”. It is always important to use the first person: “I think … I think … I had the impression …”. On the other hand, generalizations such as: “Everyone thinks … we think … the truth is …” should be avoided. They come across as far less confident and give the impression of being resistant to advice.
The most important don’ts are:
❌ Do not get loud
❌ Do not provoke
❌ Do not discuss private information and problems
❌ Do not apportion blame
❌ Do not gossip about colleagues
Don’t forget: Feedback helps you to improve, develop further and respond more to the needs of your employees.
The feedback meeting should therefore be seen as an opportunity and not a burden. It helps both parties, managers and employees, to improve, build trust and strengthen mutual understanding. If you have been interested in further training for some time, you can discuss it here.
So take courage, prepare yourself properly and perhaps even seek the interview yourself. Your superiors will be pleased to see so much commitment.
