Every job has a set of performance standards. Inevitably, some employees consistently fall short, creating a performance gap that requires a face-to-face meeting.

Handled poorly, a performance improvement interview can damage relationships and undermine productivity. Worse, it can lead to expensive, time-consuming legal reprisals from disgruntled employees.

But by following the guidelines in this program, you need not incur those legal entanglements nor suffer a decline in profits. Instead, your managers can boost morale, teamwork and productivity by improving employee performance. In I'd Like A Word With You, Ethelred the Unready, Ivan the Terrible and Gillian the Silent illustrate the pitfalls of poorly conceived performance improvement interviews: failing to check facts, jumping to conclusions, and letting emotions run wild. In the 'right way' scenes that follow, they demonstrate how to prepare for the interview, how to conduct it, and how to follow up and ensure that objectives are accomplished.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish the performance gap
• Check the facts on standards
• Document poor performance
• Explore the reasons for the gap
• Ask open questions; don't jump to conclusions; listen
• Agree how to eliminate the gap: stick to facts; control emotions; set a review date

Key Skills:

• Performance Appraisal
• Management Training
• Performance Improvement
• Employee Discipline
• Employee Retention
• Communication Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Manager Skills