Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively To An Employee

In this particular situation I plan to utilize the S-TLC system which acronyms stand for Stop, Think, Listen, and Communicate. I feel this system would be most effective with this issue because given the structure of the system. It will give me a chance to approach the employee in the correct manner.

First STOP when you realize that a conflict exists, begin by saying: “Stop” Don't become so upset that you start to lose control of yourself. Instead, try to calm down and cool off. Try to control your mental faculties.

With that said my plan is to go to my office and gather the information on the employee’s behavior, work ethic and performance. Having the ability to sit down and gather my thoughts on how to approach the employee. Will give me a chance to calm myself and approach the employee in an orderly fashion.

Next Think. Think before you act!

Once I have compiled the information on the employee’s work behavior, ethic and performance. Now I have to think about the ultimatum that I am going to present to the employee. Once I have decided on the ultimatum. My next step is to tell the employee that we will need to have a talk regarding his/her current work performance in two days. This will give the employee an opportunity enough lead time to think about his/her current performance prior to our meeting.

Then you Listen. Listen before you say anything! The tendency of most people is to justify themselves the moment they hear criticism, rather than really listening to what the other person is saying. We believe that as important as what we say in a conflict is the ability to truly hear what the other person is saying.

The day of the meeting I first would call the employee into my office and ask he/she why was called into my office for performance issues. I would sit back and listen as well takes notes.

Finally you have to Communicate. Decide how to communicate and do it!

Once the employee was complete with he/she reasons on why the meeting was called. I would then pull out the performance records showing the employee he/she work contributions over the last month. I then would show the employee the expectations that he/she needs to meet in order to stay gainfully employed with the company. I would also show the employee what he/she counter parts has contributed to the company with an outlined performance graph exclusive of the employee’s names. I would then ask the employee if he/she would be able to perform on the expected level within 30 days. If so I would tell the employee he/she would have a job after the 30 day probation. If not he/she needs to seek employment outside of our company.

Reference:

Cahn. Managing Conflict through Communication, 3rd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions 5.4).