27 November 2024
Some conversations are harder to have than others. For a business owner or a manager, having difficult conversations with different people in the business, whether they’re team members or other managers, are par for the course.
As humans, sometimes we tend to shy away from tough topics or ones that can be potentially uncomfortable to take on. Some conversations are more difficult than others, which we’re very familiar with in our work as HR partners who deal with both employers and employees alike!
In this blog, we’ll talk about the different kinds of difficult conversations you might encounter, our best practice tips in case you need them, and how outsourced HR can help prepare for these conversations.
Difficulty level: Easy
Every business owner, employer, or manager has had to give feedback to someone else on the team. Giving feedback can be a tough conversation as some feedback can be negative and not everyone reacts the same way to negative feedback. Even constructive criticism can sometimes be taken negatively, so those giving feedback can feel reluctant about having this conversation with team members.
Fortunately, preparing for feedback conversations doesn’t have to be all that complicated. A best practice method we recommend for feedback conversations is the sandwich method. This involves presenting feedback at the start and end of the conversation, with the constructive criticism ‘sandwiched’ in the middle. This way of giving feedback lets team members see that they’re not being chastised for no reason, and lets them feel that their positive contributions are still being acknowledged.
Difficulty level: Medium
These conversations can be hard as both parties go into it with the understanding that performance has been substandard or lacking. Bringing up unmet expectations, inconsistent performance, and problematic behaviour can trigger negative reactions in people. These need to be handled with a balance of empathy but also firmness.
Be clear when communicating what led to the conversation. If your team member hasn’t been meeting expectations or hitting their KPIs, bring up which of these they’re falling short on. As with the advice on giving feedback, the more specific, the better.
These conversations are more structured than ones that aim to just give feedback—there needs to be an action plan that takes into account how the team member will react. As well, there should be a performance improvement plan that includes expectations, problems, a timeline for achieving goals, and standards or benchmarks on how improvement will be measured.
A meeting discussing performance improvement doesn’t just stop at one conversation. As in our case study below, there needs to be follow-up actions and ongoing communication between team members, the business, and HR (if applicable).
Case Study: performance improvement with outsourced HR
The background: There was an underperforming manager that went from an excellent performer to quickly declining in a senior position that had the business question his suitability. The business extended his probation period and tried multiple strategies to assist, but met little success. As the business had invested significant time and money into the relationship so far, they didn’t want to see this wasted.
The solution: Now Actually developed a structured plan with strict boundaries, goals, and support to ensure this manager’s success within his role. This involved regular meetings, retraining, and process improvements across the business. In short, the situation was managed through the lens of a Learning and Development opportunity where each party actively participated in upskilling.
Read the full case study here.
Difficulty level: Hard
No employer or manager wants to inform a member of their team that they’re being made redundant or that they’re being laid off. No matter the cause of the redundancy or termination, these conversations are inherently emotional and complex.
Aside from the awkwardness and personal feelings involved in these conversations, there are also several considerations from the legal and HR side. As these are some of the hardest conversations you can have with team members in the business, there’s a great deal of preparation as well as next steps that go into them.
Before going into a conversation like this, it’s always best practice to have a plan about how to present the news in place. Be prepared with a clear reason for the decision, provide information and support (this includes severance, notice periods, and outplacement services if applicable), and answers to questions that your team member might have.
We can’t stress it enough: it’s important to remain professional throughout the meeting yet still be compassionate and respectful for the emotions that your team member may be going through during this conversation. Different people have different reactions to getting these kinds of news, ranging from shock and denial, to bargaining with you about changing your decision, to anger and aggression. Because of how varied the reactions are, not to mention the different reasons behind these decisions, there’s really no set template or one-size-fits-all approach to handling people’s reactions during these meetings.
Something employers and business owners don’t always realise is that even after a termination or redundancy conversation has been conducted with the person involved, there’s still the matter of communicating the decision with the remaining team members.
Our recommended tips when communicating a team member’s departure with remaining teammates are:
The different types of difficult conversations that we discussed above are by no means exhaustive, and we know that business owners, managers, and employers deal with many more difficult conversations in day-to-day life in the workplace.
However, handling difficult conversations is an area that we can help with. Our HR partners can facilitate these discussions on behalf of the business, or going further, can train managers and employers on how to handle these conversations in a compliant and people-first way. Contact our team to see how we can help.
