Have you ever had to deliver bad news to an employee? There are many moments when managers need to have difficult conversations with their employees and it is never fun for either party!

While professionals may stress out about these meetings, it is important to consider their employees’ feelings and handle the situation sensitively

I found 5 strategies from Ceridian that can make giving negative feedback a slightly more positive experience;
•       Go in with a plan
•       Rehearse if necessary
•       Get right to it
•       Keep it simple
•       Always stay respectful

Have a look at this plan and comment on what you think;

While human resources can be gratifying when everything within the workforce is going well, there will inevitably be moments in human capital management when hiccups arise and leaders need to step in and resolve problems. Whether it’s an interpersonal conflict between two employees or trouble with one individual’s job performance, there are plenty of moments when managers need to have difficult conversations with contributors.

If you’re telling someone that their job status is in jeopardy, or that they need to change their workplace habits, it can be tough to use the right tone and find the perfect words to deliver that message. Giving difficult feedback is one of the most difficult aspects of HR, and it’s common for professionals to stress out about holding these meetings.

According to Forbes, the most common mindset about difficult feedback is, “Just tell me!” Rip the proverbial Band-Aid off rather than drag the ordeal out and waste both parties’ time. Jack Zenger, co-founder and CEO of leadership development firm Zenger Folkman, believes that HR leaders need to consider their employees’ feelings and be sure to handle the situation sensitively.

“As an employee, how well do you receive corrective or positive feedback?” Zenger asked. “Conversely, are you the boss that fears saying anything negative? These are extremely different conversations. There are some things you can do to ensure that each of these feedback conversations has a positive outcome, while at the same time minimizing the amount of stress or needless angst that is felt by the person on the receiving end of the news.”

Here are five strategies that can make giving negative feedback a slightly more positive experience.

Go in with a plan

The last thing you want to do is be unprepared for this type of meeting. You might walk into the room without a script and find yourself rambling, making both the employee and yourself uncomfortable. If you have a plan and follow it, the ordeal will be much smoother.

Rehearse if necessary

You may have to rehearse giving the negative feedback before it’s go time. If you practice your remarks and make sure you’ve honed them to a T, you’re less likely to make an embarrassing miscue.

Get right to it

Zenger likens negative feedback to a cinematic sad moment. In a movie, you often know something bad is about to happen when you hear the corresponding tone in the background music. In an HR meeting, you need to play that music yourself – through your tone, facial expression and carefully chosen words.

Keep it simple

It’s probably overly ambitious to attempt to tackle multiple topics in one conversation. When you’re delivering negative feedback, you want to choose one specific topic and stick with it. This is likely to achieve the best results.

Always stay respectful

Even if you’re telling an employee that their performance has been poor, you don’t want to make things personal by saying anything disrespectful to the worker. In fact, you should go in the opposite direction, making sure to be as courteous as possible. You want to fix the issue, so the employee needs to know there are no hard feelings moving forward.

@HRcom @Ceridian
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