*School Assignment: Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively*

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively

Review the case study below

1. Explain how you would approach this employee.
2. Anticipate the employee’s response.
3. Analyze which conflict resolution techniques you would use. Submit your response to your instructor through the online course and add it to your Blog.

“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”


The way that I coach at my work for any conflict is the DIRECT coaching model. It is a coaching model I have learned about in the past and been specifically taught, and it is used for anything from introducing discipline to general coaching. In the scenario presented, the DIRECT coaching model will be used to address that scenario, to “deliver and ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
The first letter is D, for Develop Rapport. I would bring the employee in whom needs the direction and would start to build rapport with them, to make the message I am about to give them easier to receive. This can be by complimenting them on recent work, asking them about their personal lives and more in an attempt to connect to that person and disarm them about the potential volatile situation.

The second letter is I, for Indicate Focus. In this step I would inform the employee of the recent events and the need for immediate corrective behavior. Perhaps this employee is not aware of the gravity of the issue. The focus needs to be set on the agenda of this coaching session so the employee knows the seriousness of the issue in it’s entirety.

The third letter of this coaching model is R, for Reinforce and Recognize. In this step we reinforce the expectations we have for the employee and recognize what right is and what wrong is not. We can either speak specifically to the scenario or not, but the employee needs to know what the rules are and what our expectations are for that employee.

The fourth letter E is used to Engage in Self Discover. What does the employee think about their behavior? How about the scenario, how do they see it? When we coach an employee we want them to be able to recognize their behavior and any mistakes, and usually they know what the issue is and how to resolve it better than the person conducting the coaching session.

C is for Create a Plan. Set the gameplan down for the employee to follow. How will the behavior be set going forward is created here, and how will future issues be handled. Setting an action plan for the employee gives them direction to better go in the direction you are seeking or if not, leave the company.

Test Tweak Timeline is for the letter T. There needs to be some kind of follow up, some accountability. This step sets that expectation. Two weeks from now we will meet again and speak about your progress. That way the employee knows they are going to be watched and this issue isn’t being taken lightly. Also, it gives them a goal to work towards and not be without any sort of future direction for their plan.