Workers who excel receive the harshest criticism, leading to their resignation.

Women and high-performers in the workplace may not be receiving adequate feedback, which could lead to their resignation.

According to a new analysis of over 13,000 performance reviews from 250 U.S. workplaces, Textio, an AI-powered writing platform for HR teams, has found that certain language patterns can improve employee engagement and retention.

Feedback that is of high quality includes specific examples of an employee's contributions and clear recommendations for improvement, as well as suggestions on how to achieve professional goals, such as getting a promotion.

Low-quality feedback is not specific, relevant, or actionable, as it may be about someone's personality rather than their work, or it may be exaggerated and not super realistic, according to Kieran Snyder, co-founder and chief scientist emeritus at Textio.

A 2023 Textio survey found that individuals who receive low-quality feedback, even if it's positive, are 63% more likely to quit within the next 12 months.

According to Snyder, teams with star employees may face challenges when it comes to receiving feedback, as people tend to provide more surface-level feedback when giving feedback to high performers.

According to Textio data, 30% of high performers leave their organization within their first year.

Women get more personality-based feedback and internalize negative reviews

The analysis of Textio reveals that there are biases in the feedback given to men, women, and nonbinary employees based on gender.

According to Snyder, women are more likely to receive feedback on their personality traits, such as being collaborative and helpful, while men's performance reviews tend to focus more on their ambition and confidence. The report suggests that even high-performing women are still subject to this "personality tax."

Snyder argues that while comments may seem positive, they do not accurately assess women's performance based on their actual work accomplishments, as they are more focused on personality traits.

The way people receive feedback can reinforce social stereotypes and affect their performance and career prospects.

In a recent performance review, 71% of men were described as likable, while only 19% of women and 11% of nonbinary individuals were.

Nonbinary and female workers were more likely to internalize negative stereotyped feedback, such as being labeled as emotional, unlikable, or difficult.

"Snyder asserts that women are more frequently described by personality traits, and when they are, the traits used to describe them tend to be negative. Furthermore, women are more likely to recall negative feedback than men."

"She states that the link between mind and performance is genuine, which is evident through differences in promotion and pay raise rates over time."

What bosses and workers can do

Snyder emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing gender and racial biases in performance feedback, even for well-intentioned managers who may need additional training to avoid stereotypes.

Real-time feedback software can help managers improve the quality of their employee reviews by flagging language that overly relies on personality traits, according to Snyder.

Cross-functional reviews, which involve leaders from different departments evaluating an employee's performance, can also be beneficial.

"Snyder asserts that managers typically participate in people-calibration meetings with their colleagues during review periods, and that they can serve as a valuable check and balance system for one another."

Bosses and HR teams should be responsible for providing high-quality feedback, but employees can also advocate for themselves if they feel they are not receiving it.

Snyder advises that it's always beneficial to seek feedback on areas where you're not receiving it.

Employees expressed satisfaction with high-quality feedback that helped them understand their manager's expectations for their next promotion. However, Snyder advises seeking specific feedback to aid in continuous learning, development, growth, and gaining more opportunities beyond just promotion.

Before making a specific request to your manager, Snyder advises posing a question in your one-on-one meeting, such as discussing specific examples of your work and how you could improve if you were performing at the next level.

It is crucial for executive teams, HR leaders, and managers to pay attention when high-performing employees express the need for constructive feedback that can aid their professional growth, as Snyder emphasizes: "Getting it wrong can have a significant impact on employee retention and attrition."

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