Difficult Performance Management Conversations*

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Steven Gordon
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Further, participation in this seminar or any question and answer (during or after the seminar) does not establish an attorney-client relationship between Duane Morris LLP and any participant (or his

1 Difficult Performance Management Conversations* prepared for presented by Jonathan A. Segal, Esquire *No statements made in this seminar or in the Power Point or other materials should be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to specific factual situations. Further, participation in this seminar or any question and answer (during or after the seminar) does not establish an attorney-client relationship between Duane Morris LLP and any participant (or his or her employer) Duane Morris LLP. All Rights Reserved. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris Firm Offices New York London Singapore Philadelphia Chicago Washington, D.C. San Francisco Silicon Valley San Diego Shanghai Taiwan Boston Houston Los Angeles Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Atlanta Baltimore Wilmington Miami Boca Raton Pittsburgh Newark Las Vegas Cherry Hill Lake Tahoe Myanmar Oman Duane Morris Affiliate Offices Mexico City Sri Lanka Duane Morris LLP A Delaware limited liability partnership DM2/

2 1. Prepare in advance: a. Talking points b. Document to give to employee 1

3 2. Acknowledge upfront that this is going to be a tough conversation consider giving employee a few minutes to review first 2

4 3. Focus on themes initially and then give specific examples to support them (make clear only examples, if that is the case) 3

5 4. Don t argue over the details of a specific incident (diversion; refocus on big picture/pattern) 4

6 5. Don t impugn intent, such as not trying or don t care (focus on results/outcomes) 5

7 6. Don t inquire or speculate as to the why for the performance deficiency, such as physical or emotional conditional or work-life management (but offer to help generally) 6

8 7. Be careful of providing excuses, such as probably just as much our fault as yours. 7

9 8. Be careful of words that may sound like proxies for bias, such as not committed or too rigid (of course, make sure no bias!) 8

10 9. Avoid absolutes, such as always or never 9

11 10. Avoid hedge words, such as it appears 10

12 11. Give employee opportunity to talk 11

13 12. Listen 12

14 13. Discuss disconnects between your evaluation and employee s self-evaluation (formal or informal) 13

15 14. Make clear expectations going forward a. Monitoring period (careful of framing) b. Touch-base points 14

16 15. Ask employee if anything he or she would like you to consider doing to support him or her in making the necessary improvement 15

17 16. Make clear that, while you want to help employee succeed to the extent you reasonably can, the employee is responsible for making the necessary improvement 16

18 17. Follow-up with employee (as promised or more often if necessary) 17

19 18. Treat employee with dignity and respect 18

20 19. Manager should consult with HR if legal issue is raised (for likely investigation) 19

21 20. Don t forget your A and B players, too 20

22 Thank You! Follow me on HR Law 2017 Duane Morris LLP. All Rights Reserved. Duane Morris is a registered service mark of Duane Morris LLP. Duane Morris Firm Offices New York London Singapore Philadelphia Chicago Washington, D.C. San Francisco Silicon Valley San Diego Shanghai Taiwan Boston Houston Los Angeles Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Atlanta Baltimore Wilmington Miami Boca Raton Pittsburgh Newark Las Vegas Cherry Hill Lake Tahoe Myanmar Oman Duane Morris Affiliate Offices Mexico City Sri Lanka Duane Morris LLP A Delaware limited liability partnership

Investigating Harassment Complaints: Best Practices* prepared for National Conference State Legislators

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