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FOLLOW UP IN SEVEN STEPS
This set of steps is to
be used when you have already had a
discussion to address a performance or
behaviour problem and the person gave
you a commitment to resolve it. If the
person has resolved the problem you
would use this meeting (fixed at the
previous meeting) to give some praise or
recognition.
In the event that the
problem has not been resolved you need
to use these steps to escalate its
importance.
1. Recap the previous
meeting.
2. Highlight the lack of
improvement specifically.
3. Probe for reasons.
4. Ask for solutions.
5. Explain what you
will do if no improvement is made.
6. Obtain commitment on a
specific action.
7. Show confidence that
it can be achieved.
There is still no need to
express anger or frustration during this
meeting. It is still a problem-solving
session, but now it is not the original
problem that needs to be discussed (that
has been adequately discussed
previously). The problem now is to
discover the reason that the commitments
given at the last meeting have failed to
produce the desired results.
Maybe they have not been
implemented. Maybe they were implemented
but did not work. It is the purpose of
this meeting to find out the reasons, so
as to obtain further ideas and
commitments.
The emphasis in this type
of discussion is on finding out what
additional reasons the person can
give for not fulfilling the commitments
they made at the previous meeting, and
what additional solutions they
can suggest.
Do not worry if you find
that the person now tells a different
story; simply note the new version and
check that you have recorded it
correctly.
You can go straight into
this type of interview if the issue is
serious enough to need a warning about
discipline. (Check your organisation’s
disciplinary procedure first.)
1. Recap the previous
meeting.
As with most of the other
meetings, you drive the first part. A
simple reminder, from your notes will
suffice to focus the meeting.
"We spoke two weeks ago
about the problem of (insert the
performance or behaviour problem). At
that meeting you said you would do X to
resolve the problem".
2. Highlight the lack of
improvement specifically.
You need specific
evidence that the problem has not been
solved. General feelings will not be
sufficient.
"Since you gave that
commitment there have been two further
instances of (the performance or
behavioural issue)".
3. Probe for reasons.
There could be any number
of reasons:
The person has done
nothing to try.
They have tried but the
idea did not work.
The reasons and solutions
offered last time were not the full
story. Etc.
So your tone and your
words at this stage need to be neutral,
but assertive:
"Can you tell me what is
the reason you have not been able to
meet that commitment?"
Note the use of: “What
is the reason?” as opposed to “why?”
“Why” carries a tone of
accusation which is not appropriate at
this point.
It may be that you need
to ask a number of probing and
subsidiary questions in order to reveal
further information on which a solution
could be based.
Do not discuss or dispute
the reasons given, even if they are
significantly different from those given
at the previous meeting. Simply note
them and summarise when this part of the
discussion is coming to a close.
4. Ask for solutions.
The clear messages
conveyed in this meeting are:
The problem still exists.
A commitment to resolve
it has not succeeded.
The problem still needs
to be cured.
You are not going to let
it go.
"So can you think of any
other ways to resolve the problem?"
As before, you need the
person to generate their own solution,
rather than impose one of your own..
If the person is
reluctant to suggest their own ideas,
you could use phrases like “Have you
thought about doing X?” If the person
goes along with this you can later turn
it round to appear as if it was their
suggestion.
Sometimes you may need to
use Step 5 and then go back to Step 4 if
the person cannot generate ideas.
5. Explain what you
will do if no improvement is made.
This is where the
necessity to resolve the problem becomes
clear. There is still no need to express
anger, but you do need to make it clear
what action you will take.
(It goes almost without
saying, that you must meet your own
commitments. Anything you say you will
do must be followed through, otherwise
people learn that they can ignore what
you say.)
"I have to tell you that
further instances will mean that I will
issue you with a verbal warning".
This is information about
a commitment to invoke a procedure. It
is not a threat.
6. Obtain commitment on a
specific action.
At this point you use
your discretion. You may feel that one
suggested solution is more likely to
succeed than another, and decide that
that is what you want them to do. On the
other hand, if the person shows more
commitment to another of their
suggestions, you may decide to let them
run with it.
In either case, you use
this step to make a clear decision on
what you want them to do; and obtain
their firm commitment to do it.
"So as from now I need
you to do Y. Will you do that?"
7. Show confidence that
it can be achieved.
Although the very fact of
having this meeting means that the
person has failed once to resolve the
problem, act as if you are confident
they can now succeed. Any expression of
doubt will become a self-fulfilling
prophecy, and could raise some
industrial relations issues.
"I'm sure you can do it
if you set your mind to it. Come and see
me this time next week for a review of
the situation".
Exercise:
Write down the phrases
that you would use for an employee whose
timekeeping has been erratic. Assume for
this exercise that the reason given
before was "problems with the car", and
the employee committed to getting the
car serviced. You find out that the
employee has done some DIY servicing but
the car is still unreliable. You are not
convinced that the car is the real cause
of the problem.
Try to generate phrases
which stop short of actually instructing
the employee to get the car
professionally serviced. |
