Although normally a very conscientious employee, Samantha just received an unexpected formal written warning from Pete, her manager, concerning her falling attendance record. After reading the formal reprimand, she burst into tears, leaving Pete totally dumbfounded at her "overemotional" response.

Samantha has developed a serious medical condition that she doesn't want anyone to know about. Although she should have talked with her supervisor regarding her medical problems instead of just showing up late, the situation has now reached a flash point; Samantha perceives that she's being mistreated. Unfortunately, the once good relationship between Pete and Samantha is now history. Pete's big mistake was failing to discuss his concerns with Samantha confidentially before issuing a formal warning. He should have explored the reason for her tardiness instead of incorrectly assuming it was just slothfulness.

Pete is like all of us. We're human and we make occasional misjudgments that we later regret. On-the-job criticism is very productive when effectively practiced, but inappropriate criticism techniques destroy the already delicate relationships that exist between supervisors and subordinates.

Positive criticism techniques delivered in a timely manner cultivate more effective and efficient employee performance. How do you help people improve and, at the same time, ensure your company is delivering the best customer service? These simple guidelines will help:

Don't put it off. Criticism isn't easy to take or to give. But supervisors have a basic obligation, according to Mark Raguse, a senior consultant with the international consulting firm Archer North & Associates <performance-appraisal.com>, to give employees constructive feedback. It's not wise to be overcritical; it's worse yet to avoid criticizing subordinates for fear of creating a confrontation.

Procrastination only makes an already tough situation worse. The problem goes on much longer than need be, which means customers aren't getting the outstanding service they deserve and expect, and when the supervisor finally confronts the employee about the problem, the criticism is very likely to be on-the-spot, overemotional and too harsh for the particular minor transgression in question. No good comes of impromptu criticism.

Be professional. Avoid the common mistake of criticizing employees by swooping down on them with all barrels blasting. Angrily flying off the handle at employees in front of customers or co-workers creates much more serious problems down the road. Short-term consequences may simply be bruised feelings, but the long-term consequences of such humiliating tactics are incalculable. Other employees will wonder if they'll be your next victim and ask themselves if this is an environment where they want to work.

Always calm down and deliberately organize your thoughts before bringing up the specific behavior, like ignoring customers at the counter. To better monitor your own behavior, Frances Cannon of Cannon Training and Development in San Diego suggests asking yourself if you would want to be your employee - would you want to work for you? That question can be quite sobering. And it's not some new management fad: it's called The Golden Rule.

Create win-win situations. Criticizing an employee's behavior is not designed to be a public event. Consider how you would feel if you were publicly humiliated. Find a private office or take the employee out to a quiet place. Appropriate criticism techniques include the right to privacy. Employees should never have the impression that they're being unfairly singled-out and deliberately embarrassed.

Cannon finds that creating a win-win environment empowers employees to take personal responsibility for their personal ups and downs. Take the time to formulate a winning action plan and everyone wins.

Consider psychological needs. "Criticism is a psychological minefield," Raguse emphasizes. "An employee may respond well to criticism in one context, but totally reject it in another. This is why it's beneficial for supervisors to take care to create contexts that are conducive to giving employees the kind of useful feedback that leads to improvement."

Effective criticism techniques must be sensitive to your employees' psychological needs and directed towards well-defined goals like processing rental contracts faster. Harassment, incrimination, piques and threats have no place in dealing with employees. Sensitivity, respect and finesse are most effective. Your goal is to create opportunities for learning more appropriate behaviors and thereby improve performance.

Cannon says the first psychological need to address is this: employees need to know they do many things right and that you want them to get ahead. Changing your employee's perception of a painful experience (being criticized) into one of pleasure (having a positive attitude) is the key to a successful review.

Raguse believes the "performance partnership" is a very useful way to think of the subordinate relationship. The basic idea is that as partners in a business, supervisor and employee either succeed together or fail together. In a performance partnership model, both parties have an interest in seeing their problems worked out peacefully and productively.

"The responsibility for building this partnership normally rests with the supervisor," says Raguse. Most subordinates will take their boss's lead in these issues.

Compose your thoughts. Every word is consequential when criticizing an employee's performance. Positive criticism techniques delivered in a timely manner cultivate more effective and efficient employee performance. Never allow the heat of the moment to prevail. Calmly compose your emotions and carefully consider the most appropriate approach.

"Concentrate on talking from your heart with the desire to help them improve their future performance rather than giving a canned speech," Cannon advises. Remember, your goal is creating opportunities for employee learning and, subsequently, improved productivity and customer service.

Rehearse your criticism. Rehearse your criticism to create unique learning opportunities specifically oriented toward improved employee performance. Showing how to handle unhappy customers accomplishes more than angrily calling Mario a blockhead because he became openly agitated at a grumbling customer's behavior.

"Preparation is important. The supervisor should have facts documented and summarized before confronting the employee," says Raguse. "It may be brief notes in a diary or other private record where the supervisor has information about the alleged poor performance, including dates, figures and observations."

In addition, ask your employee to paraphrase your key points to verify that he or she clearly understood each one. Create ample opportunities for employees to voice their specific concerns, to seek clarification and to express their own version of the events. This is not only playing fair - the new information may change your negative opinion of the situation.

Don't just take the word of an angry customer who is complaining about a late delivery. As you well know, customers are not always right or truthful. Let your employee express his or her feelings - it may negate the need for a reprimand.

Example: An angry customer, according to your employee, exaggerated how late she was in delivering the air compressor. But beyond that, he made it clear to her that women don't have what it takes to work in the construction business. His real anger was directed at your employee's gender. Does your employee have reason to be unhappy about this? You bet she does! Let her tell you about it; don't just jump on her for being "insensitive" to the customer.

Seek feedback. Make sure that your employee feels able to come to you at any time with problems or questions and that you're serious about wanting to create a fine work environment with great customer service from the bottom up. Quite often employees are afraid to ask clarifying questions because they believe that you don't like being interrupted. Encourage give and take; don't let being interrupted rattle you - it shows interest and involvement.

Ask your employee specific feedback questions like, "How do you plan to handle an overflow of customers at the counter?" to ensure that your critique has clearly taken root. Encourage your staff to freely voice concerns and articulate their versions of the events in question. Allow time for them to seek any clarification they may need before ending the meeting.

Always be approachable to your employees. If an employee approaches you at an inconvenient time, set a time to meet later that day, even if it is after normal work hours.

A final caveat. Whenever you have to criticize an employee's performance or when an employee asks for assistance, be sure to thank that person for all the good work he or she has been doing. "Let them know they are important," Cannon emphasizes, "and how much you look forward to working with them to help them accomplish their goals."

Positive criticism techniques create self-motivated employees who are always open to constructive criticism. Quick-tempered tirades directed at hapless employees in the heat of the moment only create disasters where everyone, including you and your customers, are the ultimate losers.