Take these two scenarios.
In the first, a manager tells an employee that you have been performing poorly of late. Even though you had some successes, most of your work ended in poor results. You do not know what it takes to succeed.
In the second scenario, the manager tells the employee that you have lately been trying hard to do the work. You did not try your best before but I hope you keep your healthy new attitude and I am hopeful you shall do so.
What is the difference in both scenarios? In the first, the manager sandwiched his praise between two layers of condemnation. In contrast, in the second scenario, the manager sandwiched his criticism between two sweet layers.
People remember mostly what they hear last. It is like what John Moore described in a comment:
“Speaking of which, remember the old ‘Feedback Sandwich’? I have always called it the ‘Oreo Cookie Method’ – same concept, just a bit sweeter. You start with the creamy praise, hit them with the crunchy critique, and then finish with another layer of creamy positivity.”
It is like eating an Oreo cookie you finish eating it with a sweet layer. Therefore, feedback should be.
Clean Communication
Ponder more on the above discussion and you shall find it is a kind of cleaning communication in all its purposes. These include interviews, addressing people in public, writing, and many more activities.
We use detergents to clean clothes. WE need detergents to keep our words clean and our processes clean as well.
The sandwich feedback approach is applicable as a great way to be honest in our evaluation but also remain humanly in our approach. This is what Keya Ghose Eli highlighted in a comment:
“Detergent to my kaleidoscope is the lubricant to have a frictionless communication…”
The Dilemma of Middle Managers
I believe the above discussions apply to middle managers and their dilemmas. These managers are sandwiched between employees and their senior managers. They represent the opposite of the Oreo Cookie because the sweet layer is in the middle while the top and bottom layers are the sour ones.
An employee submits his request to attend a conference, for example. If the middle manager approves it goes to the senior manager for final approval. The senior manager turns the request down and sends it back to the middle manager. The employee knows about the disapproval of his request from the middle manager. The sour news goes through him always.
If the senior manager approves the request, mostly he tends to inform the employees directly. He is the one who gets the praise for approving the request.
It is not what we communicate. It is also how we communicate it.
