THE IMPACT ON TURNAROUND TIME

The timeliness of a manager’s feedback also has a substantial impact on the turnaround time of an employee’s work product. That’s because employees usually seek feedback when they hit a natural stopping point. This may be a final result, an intermediate step in a work in progress, an unresolved question or problem, or a need for approval of some kind.

Whatever the stopping point, by seeking your feedback, the employee is placing the ball in your court. (William Onken would say, “The employee is placing the monkey on your back.”) Until you respond, no work will get done on the matter in question. You must accelerate the turnaround time, and keep the ball in play (get the monkey off your back).