Currently, the relationship between managers and employees are often far more partnerships and run in a friendly atmosphere. The heads often wonder how to deal with employees without being accused for unjustified criticism, personal attack, bias, or lack of support. Meanwhile, the solution is fairly simple, although it requires an consequence.
A tool that works well in situations where employees don’t fully meet the expectations, is a model of four steps of talk. In this conversation the employee receives not only a clear feedback on expectations, but also gains an attention and support in reaching common goals. As the name suggests, this model consists of a series of four meetings. Ideally, if they take place at intervals of about one month. But if the problem requires it, they can be supported by additional, short briefings, held eg. once a week. The purpose of the first call is primarily a diagnosis of the situation. During the meeting, the manager says directly what is the problem. The manager should also get to know the opinion of the employee. It’s about making sure that the observations made are accurate and that the employee doesn’t consider them to be wrong and unfair. Having established the facts, together with the employee manager should agree for him to continue the path of development. It will be a kind of “recovery plan”, whose aim should be to eliminate problems and achieve the objectives set during the call.