This article presents the popular ‘compliment sandwich technique’ for giving interpersonal

feedback.

These discussions and examples focus on manager-to-employee feedback. This analysis is,
however, relevant to other interpersonal contexts—between peers or spouses, for instance.
Managers Often Resent Giving Corrective Feedback

Feedback is a central component of the manager-employee relationship. Often, managers are

reluctant resent giving corrective (or negative) feedback. They assume employee defensiveness
and fear that negative feedback will offend the employee and thus affect their rapport with the
employee. Such managers are likely to withhold criticism. They fail to provide timely, relevant
feedback in various circumstances, from employee tardiness to inappropriate attire (especially if
the employee is of the opposite gender.)
Sandwich Feedback & Purported Benefits

The sandwich feedback technique is a popular three-step procedure to help managers who are
ill at ease with providing corrective feedback. The sandwich feedback method consists of praise
followed by corrective feedback followed by more praise. In other words, the sandwich feedback
method involves discussing corrective feedback that is “sandwiched” between two layers of
praise.
The purported benefits of this technique are twofold: (1) it softens the impact of the criticism or
corrective feedback, and, (2) given that a manager is probably more comfortable with praising
the employee, the manager finds it easier to discuss problems with the employee’s behavior if
this discussion begins and ends with praising the employee.

Compliment Sandwich Feedback: Example 1

Suppose that Andy, a new employee at a financial services firm, attended a week-long, offsite
training program in New York. Each night during his stay at a hotel, Andy purchased on-demand
movies in his room. He included the corresponding $65 charge in his expense report. Andy also
dined at very pricey restaurants.

Jean, Andy’s manager, received the expense report for approval. Clearly, the charge for the
movies had no business-justification. Jean uses the sandwich feedback technique to decline
reimbursement for this expense and instruct Andy to be more prudent about expenses when
traveling:

 Praise: “Andy, I am impressed with your development since you joined my team last
month. You have used the skills you learned during your training in New York to
systematically review our customer’s accounts.”

 Criticism: “By the way, earlier this morning, I was reviewing the expense report from your
trip to New York. I notice a $65 charge for on-demand movies. I have to deny this expense
since it has no business-justification. I also noticed very expensive meals. I will approve
these charges this time. Given our limited travel budgets, I would ask you to be more
careful about your trip expenses. You are probably not aware of our company’s travel
policy. I have asked Human Resources to give you a copy of our travel policy booklet that
details the acceptable expense report practices.”

 Praise: “I am glad you were able to use the skills you learned at this training in New York.
I appreciate your hard work and persistence with this customer. Keep up the good work.”

Compliment Sandwich Feedback: Example 2

Assume Sofia led a brainstorming meeting for an important project. Habitually, Sofia does not
circulate the agendas prior to the meetings she leads. After one such meeting, Sofia’s manager
uses the sandwich feedback technique to persuade her to be more organized:
  Praise: “Sofia, we had a very productive meeting. We had
the right participants and collected all the necessary inputs
from other departments. Thanks for your coordination.”

 Criticism: “Did you notice that the discussions were

unsystematic? When you do not distribute an agenda prior
to the meeting, the participants do not come prepared.
During the meeting, they have to go back to their desks to
collect information. Additionally, we tend to spend a lot of
time digressing from the meeting objectives. How can you
avoid this?” A discussion ensues.

 Praise: “You are doing so well with gathering all the inputs.
I am pleased about your diligence in circulating minutes of
your meetings and following-up on action items. “

Concluding Thoughts

The sandwich feedback technique enables a manager to

restructure feedback so it is easier to deliver. The technique also reinforces good behavior and
asks for improvements.

What is a Start Stop Continue retrospective?

The start stop continue retrospective is an action-oriented retrospective style, generating an
immediate list of practical ideas for continuous improvement. This retrospective technique hones
in on the plus/delta aspects and is a must have tool for any scrum master or project manager.

A great way of introducing the start stop continue thinking style is to use the metaphor of a car
at a traffic light (Green for start, red for stop and orange for continue). This exercise allows you
to reallocate time and resources to where it matters the most.

 Start – List ideas that the team should be doing but are not doing, innovative ideas worth
discussing to address current problems.

 Stop – List ideas that are not delivering results or might be driving people a little crazy –
such as unnecessary bureaucracy.

 Continue – List ideas that are creating value or should not be dismissed yet because the
outcome is not yet known.
As best practice, remember to set the stage and ensure that people are reminded that is not a
process of blame, but for identifying areas for change. If you have run this retrospective method
several times before, you should see greater fidelity of ideas. If there are recurring items, this
should be a treated as a red flag.

Facilitation Tips

 Start

o A new person has joined our project team. What would be a new task that they
could be assigned?
o Our budget has now doubled. What should we do?

o Good news, our customer has extended our deadline. What’s something new we
could include to delight them?

 Stop

o What is something on your to do list that you never get to?

o If we lost a person in our project team, what would we have to lose to still meet
deadlines?

o What’s something that is driving you crazy?

  Continue

o What activities in this project are giving you the most joy?
o Whats something that we do that defines and promotes our culture?

o What is something that our customer loves us doing?

OSCAR Model [edit]

Origins

The OSCAR coaching model was originally described by Karen Whittleworth and Andrew
Gilbert in 2002. The aim of the authors was to develop a model that built upon and enhanced
the existing GROW model (1990s), with the intention to provide those in managerial positions
with the ability to adopt a developmental coaching style, to the benefit of their company and
team.

Outline

The model is built around five contributing factors, or sections:

The model operates under the notion that if these factors are satisfied, understood and applied
by the coach then the long-term result of their interaction with the employee will be achieving
the ‘outcome’, whereby demonstrating effective coaching.

Its applications

The OSCAR model can be applied in almost any personal development scenario; however, it is
argued that it is most effective when used when working towards long term ‘outcomes,’ as the
framework provides impetus for the implementation of attainable milestones through the
‘actions’ aspect. For example, an employee may approach the coach for advice on becoming a
stronger team leader when taking part in team-based tasks.

Outcome

Firstly, the coach and the employee should discuss the issue at hand (the primary topic of the
meeting) and work together to identify the desired outcome of the session, and the long-term
goals of the individual. In the case of the example above, this would likely be to develop the
ability to take charge and be heard in team-based scenarios. In a less specific scenario, here are
a few sample questions that the manager or coach may ask the individual to encourage
discussion:

· What is it you would like to achieve from this session?

· What is your long-term goal?

· Once you have reached your goal – what does it look like? What does it feel like?
Situation

The second step would be to ascertain the current skill/ability/knowledge level of the team
member and encourage discussion as to why they are at that level. The aim of questioning and
discussion here is to raise the mentee’s understanding and awareness of their own situation. Also
discussed during this section of the process are the feelings of the individual, and how they feel
their current situation is impacting their lives and those of their peers.

· How do you currently feel about your situation?

· Where are you at now in terms of your goals?

· What has been happening in your work and life recently?

· How do you think others feel about your current situation?

Choices (and Consequences)

Following this, the coach will help the team member to identify all the potential avenues for
attaining the ‘outcome’. For example, perhaps undertaking a training course of some sort. For all
the brainstormed choices discussed, the consequences and ramifications of each will be
considered, allowing the individual to discard less-practical or excessively difficult avenues and
work towards a single viable route to their long-term goals.

· What current options for action are available to you?

· What are the consequences of any potential choices?

· What would be the impacts on other people?

· Which of your options has the best consequences for you, and for others?

Actions

The next step is to identify where improvements can be made and how to make them. The focus
of actions is the immediate and attainable targets that the mentee can work towards. SMART
(specific, measurable, accurate, realistic and timely) can serve as a checklist for any of the
actions designed during this period of the session. All actions should be motivational enough that
the individual will strive and work towards them, but not so far from their current situation that
they will find the task impossible and therefore lose motivation. All actions should have distinct
– though realistic – deadlines so that the individual is motivated to work, and has points at which
they can measure progress. An example of action could be signing up for a training course or
identifying a course that would most suit the team member. In addition to this, any support that
may be required during the process should be identified.

· What immediate actions will you take?

· When are you going to take those actions?

· Who is going to provide the support for you throughout the process?

· How motivated are you to take these actions?

Review

Finally, in the review stage the coach and coachee will arrange to hold regular meetings to ensure
that the team member is on track and to offer any assistance, should it be required. These
meetings and review checkpoints can be based upon the deadlines for tasks set in the action
section of the process. If it is found that the individual is no longer on track for sections of the ir
action plan, perhaps the long-term and short-term goals should be re-assessed using the OSCAR
process once more.

· How do you plan to review your progress?

· When is it suitable for us to review progress?

· Have your actions been moving you towards your goal?

· Are you still motivated to take said actions?

How is it useful

The OSCAR model is useful for coaches that choose to adopt less autocratic approaches to leading
and coaching, as it allows them to provide support whilst giving the employee space to take
charge of their own action plan. By integrating the model, the coach or manager can regularly
check that their team member is on track and working towards achieving their goals, whilst
providing a safety net should the team member become overwhelmed or unable to complete
certain tasks. As a result, the primary use of OSCAR is to encourage employee development over
both the short and long-term. It is particularly useful for coaches that do not have large amounts
of time to personally supervise and guide each employee to their outcome, as it allows the coach
to provide support whilst encouraging the employee to take the lead on their own development.