Introduction
Giving employees feedback is a crucial aspect of leadership and is vital for their development. Nonetheless, many managers could hesitate or be uneased when giving negative comments. Giving bad feedback can be difficult since it might make people feel defensive or resentful. Negative employee feedback is a crucial component of good leadership. Still, it must be given in a way that promotes growth and development and keeps the workplace atmosphere positive and productive.
Discussion
The message regarding the abolition of roles that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has presented appears to be plain and honest. Jassy notes in the message that in order to streamline operations and maintain competitiveness, the company must reorganize some of its departments and reduce the number of roles in the device and book sales divisions. He acknowledges that people who will be impacted by the changes are going through a trying and sensitive moment. The modifications appear to have been done to boost the company’s overall performance. Thus the company makes no apparent apologies in the announcement.
The message is delivered in a serious but not overly dramatic manner. Jassy explains the adjustments’ justification in detail and admits their effect on the workforce.. Although the letter doesn’t finish in a very upbeat tone, it does provide a clear roadmap for those who will be impacted by the changes (Jassy). The author focuses on the company’s initiatives to support affected employees in finding new positions there or elsewhere and exhorts them to utilize the tools at their disposal.
Overall, the approach taken by Amazon in this communication seems effective in communicating a complex decision to employees and stakeholders. It is also worth noting that the author used an indirect approach at the beginning of the letter, outlining the reasons for the situation before presenting the bad news. (Thill and Bovee 289) The company’s emphasis on transparency and empathy helps mitigate the impact of change and maintain brand credibility.
In the last session, you gave us the assignment to look for information on articles that can help you write a negative message to company employees and articles that have tips and examples of such letters. I have used Bovee and Thill’s Business Communication Web Search to find possible tips for writing messages that convey negative information to company employees. After a short amount of time, I was able to find an article by author Lian Parsons on How to Give Negative Feedback to Employees. The article “How to Give Negative Feedback to Employees” provides managers with guidelines and tactics for giving employees unfavorable criticism. The essay starts out by stressing the significance of offering adverse feedback in a positive way because it can aid employees in raising their levels of performance and assist the firm as a whole in succeeding.
The article provides some important pointers for providing unfavorable criticism, such as stressing the value of being prepared in advance and concentrating on certain behaviors or acts rather than individual characteristics. The article also suggests utilizing a “feedback sandwich” strategy, in which two supportive comments are sandwiched between two critical ones, to lessen the impact and make the employee feel valued and appreciated.
The article also stresses the value of allowing the employee to speak and ask questions while actively listening during the feedback dialogue. The report further advises following up to make sure the employee comprehends the criticism and has a strategy for improvement (Parsons 4). The article’s conclusion acknowledges that while providing negative feedback might be difficult, it is a crucial component of efficient management.
Conclusion
The article has taught me some ways in which I can convey negative information to employees as gently and politely as possible. The article also explains how this skill affects effective management and why it is important to be able to properly deliver negative information on behalf of the company. The right presentation can preserve the company’s image, maintain good relations with employees, and have high efficiency, even in difficult times for business.
Works Cited
Jassy, Andy. “Update from CEO Andy Jassy on Role Eliminations.” AboutAmazon, Web.
Parsons, Lian. “How to Give Negative Feedback to Employees.” Professional Development | Harvard DCE, Web.
Thill, John V., and Courtland L. Bovee. Excellence in Business Communication. 13th ed., Pearson, 2020, pp. 284–307.