I think there are applications for the sandwich technique. It's all about knowing your people and dealing with the situation at hand. In the case of a single deficiency, clear and direct communication and instruction is usually the best method, however, when doing an overall assessment, as in a yearly assessment, it may be beneficial to employ the sandwich technique depending on the individual, especially when that individual is valuable to the organization. Even then, the emotional fortitude of the individual still matter. The most important thing is fostering a relationship in which team members can trust each other to provide open, respectful, honest and necessary communication.
Thanks for the great read.
You're very welcome. Thanks for sharing your insights @moeknows. I can see you capture the essence of my message. For the annual assessment, yes it needs to be comprehensive covering all aspects of the employee's performance, the good the ugly and the bad. I see this specific situation as a bit of special one. Here's how I do it with a team member reporting to me: I'd tell him all the good points about hims with not buts. I do that with proof and evidence to be genuine. Then I point out all deficiencies and nonperformance dimensions without sugar coating them. Just straight to the point with development action plan suggested. Then I would end on a positive note. This might seem like a sandwich but it actually isn't because each performance issue handled separately without mixing it with others. I see we're on the same wavelength.