Challenging As
a manager or supervisor you will probably have to handle a range of
tricky conversations that you’d rather just avoid. Starting the conversation can be hard enough – particularly if you need to talk about poor performance or conduct. But the really daunting part is often not knowing where the conversation will go – what underlying issues might emerge and how will the employee react?
Being able to talk about sensitive and emotive issues is an important part of any manager’s job, but it’s also one of the toughest. If handled badly, these conversations can damage team dynamics, lower morale and badly effect levels of attendance and performance.
Get it right and you can, at the very least, contain the problem and, hopefully, develop a better understanding of the employee’s problems and get them back on track as soon as possible.
A survey by CEDR found that 63% of managers and employees felt their organisation was unprepared for dealing with challenging conversations. Acas’ own experience is that, no matter how big or small the problem, it is often made a lot worse by good intentions that go wrong.
Acas guidance
Having one-to-one conversations about work or personal issues requires a great deal of sensitivity and empathy. To manage them successfully, you need to stay in control of your emotions as well as the situation. This checklist should help you prepare for your meeting:
Set the right tone:
• Explain the purpose of the meeting • Adopt a calm and professional manner • Reassure the employee about confidentiality • Focus on the issue not the person
State the issues and give evidence: • Tell them about the problem and give examples
• Explain how the problem is affecting the individual and the team
• Is the problem new or have you spoken about it before – surprises are harder to handle!
Ask for an explanation:
• Listen to what the employee is saying and try to recognise any underlying causes of unhappiness or stress
72 | national health executive Jul/Aug 12
You may also feel as though you are being ambushed by new considerations. For example, an employee may tell you that they have
Before the meeting, you need to do your homework and go over all the information you need to put your points across calmly. Also, be clear about what you want to get out of the conversation. For example, do you want the employee to agree to change their behaviour?
During the meeting, be prepared for the unexpected, because although you can plan what you are going to say, you cannot control how the employee will react. They may treat anything you say as personal criticism and stop listening or become very emotional.
conversations
Adrian Wakeling, senior guidance manager at Acas, the dispute resolution service, discusses the handling of difficult conversations between NHS managers and employees.
• Keep an open mind and don’t jump to conclusions
• Introduce your questions and explore the issues together
• Avoid emotive language or getting diverted from the issue
Agree a way forward:
• Ask the employee for proposals to resolve the problem
• Discuss the options
• Make a decision – you are in charge! • Arrange a follow-up meeting if necessary • Monitor and feedback on progress and give support where needed
• Document any agreement and give a copy to the employee.
Be prepared
personal problems at home that are affecting their performance. Remember, you can always take time to think things through. Don’t come to any rushed decisions.
What if it doesn’t work out?
Despite your best efforts – and the right training – the difficult conversation may prove more challenging or complex than you first imagined.
An informal chat is nearly always the best way to try and nip problems in the bud before they get out of hand. If you’ve missed that stage or there are issues you don’t feel able to resolve – for example, if there appears to be a personality clash between you and the employee or between the employee and another colleague – mediation can be a useful option.
Mediation is the most common form of conflict resolution. It involves an independent, impartial person helping two individuals or groups reach a solution that is acceptable to everyone. Mediation is not prescriptive. It helps the parties involved to make progress in resolving their differences. It does not make judgments or determine outcomes. It involves a neutral third person working with those in dispute to help them reach an agreement and is a confidential and voluntary process.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Acas has guidance on having challenging conversations at work
www.acas.org.uk/ conversations. We also offer workplace mediation.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76