Teach your employee how you like work done

Useful feedback explains what should change and when that change applies. “This doesn’t sound like me” identifies a problem. “For customer follow-ups, use a direct greeting, short paragraphs, and one next step” gives your employee something it can act on.

Start with a piece of work you have just reviewed. Your correction will be more concrete when both of you can see the example.

It forgot what I told it

Bring back the earlier instruction and identify the new result that missed it. Ask which guidance was available for this job and whether your correction was saved for future work. It may have remained in an earlier conversation or applied only to one task. Restate the preference and its scope, then confirm the supported way to keep it before relying on it again.

Before you begin

Decide whether you are correcting a fact, expressing a preference, or making an exception for this job. These are different instructions. A changed service price is a fact to verify. Shorter paragraphs are a writing preference. A special tone for one recipient may be an exception.

Make the correction usable

1. Point to the exact passage or behavior that needs changing.
2. Show the replacement or describe the desired result.
3. State the scope, such as customer follow-ups or internal meeting briefs.
4. Ask for the current work to be revised and check the revision.
5. If you want the preference used again, ask how it can be kept in your setup.

Make this request your own

For customer follow-ups, I prefer a direct greeting, short paragraphs, and one clear next step. In this draft, remove the long opening and put the agreed next step near the top. Revise the draft first. Then tell me whether this preference can be saved for future follow-ups in our setup, where it would be kept, and what confirmation is needed.

What you should see

The revised work should visibly apply your correction. If your employee can keep a preference, it should identify the supported destination and the scope of what would be saved. Follow the approval process for that destination.

A friendly acknowledgment is not proof of lasting memory. Until saving is confirmed, keep the preference in your own reusable job instructions. For important future work, include it again or ask your employee to show which current guidance it is using.

Check for conflicts

An old example may disagree with your new direction. Name which guidance is current and whether the older material should still serve another purpose. Avoid silently blending two business offers, audiences, or writing styles.

• The current revision reflects my feedback.
• The preference says when it applies.
• Any factual correction has a reliable source.
• I know whether the guidance was saved or remains in this conversation.

If the same mistake returns, provide the earlier correction and ask what information governed the new output. Fixing the source or scope is more useful than repeating “remember this.”

At the next similar job, check one representative passage early. Once the preference works reliably, include it in a repeatable job.