Criticism & Discipline Skills for Managers and Supervisors

Learn proven ways to bring about positive change in people — without incurring resentment, making enemies, or destroying relationships

Is your organization carrying dead weight? These days, you just can't afford to have employees who drag down morale, demolish productivity, and distract your managers and supervisors from important projects. Every organization needs group leaders who know how to handle performance problems with confidence and competence. However, many managers have never been trained to deal with difficult employee issues or address employees who are underperforming.

This powerful one-day seminar will provide your managers with a proven system for dealing with difficult employees once and for all. The leaders of your organization will discover the hidden causes of poor employee performance — and learn to get problem employees to pull their own weight, confidently eliminate "weak links," and create stronger, fully functioning teams. Employees will become more productive, more satisfied, and noticeably easier to work with. Just think of how you and every member of your organization will benefit.

Does your organization have employees who:

• Don't meet deadlines?
• Cause conflict?
• Make excuses?
• Refuse to learn new skills?
• Don't respect authority?
• Have a bad attitude?
• Are chronically tardy?
• Get derailed by personal problems?
• Miss work often?

This training will provide you with techniques and strategies for getting these classic problem employees on track — or out of your hair. Through instructor-led discussions, group exercises, and real-world practice scenarios, participants will learn how to gently prod employees to improve, move forward if initial corrective actions don't work, and document the entire process so that your organization is prepared if a dismissal becomes necessary.

In just one power-packed day of learning, participants will develop the skills needed to:

• Approach an employee about the problem behavior ... in a way that minimizes accusations, hostility, and defensiveness
• Create an improvement plan ... and get the problem employee to commit to it
• Coach the employee ... so there's no chance of misunderstanding
• Document the process ... to encourage steady progress
• Discipline, reassign, or dismiss the person if the problem doesn't improve ... and handle it all fairly

Provide your management team with training at your location that will have them turning around the bad attitudes and the misdirected employees that cause turmoil in your organization. Question and answer sessions, coaching, and personal interaction will allow your leaders to enjoy the opportunity to share stories and learn skill-building techniques in the company of their peers. Every manager deserves a chance to learn how to create a more peaceful, productive, and professional work environment.

Program Overview

• Understanding the Problem
• Taking Positive Action
• Handling Employees Who ...
• Preparing for Dismissals

Understanding the Problem

• What a problem employee "looks" like: 9 symptoms to watch for
• Emotional and psychological roots of poor performance
• Should you wait until there is a clear pattern of problem behavior? Surprisingly, no — you'll learn why
• A checklist to help you determine if you're unconsciously triggering the poor performance
• Communication breakdowns that lead to performance problems
• How to pinpoint the causes of problem employees

Taking Positive Action

• 6 factors to consider when choosing corrective measures
• 7 signs that your problem employee needs more training
• Ways to prepare yourself to confront a problem employee
• How to explain the problem to your employee without placing blame or causing defensiveness
• Techniques for setting realistic, clear performance standards (so you reward the behaviors you want and discourage those you don't)
• Progressive discipline: what to do when initial corrective actions don't work
• How to develop a performance improvement plan

Handling Employees Who ...

• Have a bad attitude
• Are chronically tardy
• Miss work often
• Refuse to take responsibility
• Challenge your authority
• Get derailed by personal problems

Preparing for Dismissals

• Guidelines for documenting the disciplinary process:
  — When to start
  — What to include
  — How to be consistent with company policy and employee agreements
  — When and how to use a witness
  — The right questions to ask
• When all else fails: how to talk with employees who are not improving and help them feel better about moving on
• How to avoid grievances, and the best ways to handle them if they do arise

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