Secrets of communicating with “difficult” colleagues. Conversation on a special occasion: how to reprimand an employee Blurred behavioral boundaries

When you have to release a subordinate from the obligation to cooperate not on his personal initiative, he is guaranteed a number of unpleasant emotions. If the employer's decision hurts the self-esteem of the fired person, this threatens with hidden grievances that could damage the company in the future. Don’t want to be at risk of having to litigate the legality of your dismissal in court? And unpleasant reviews about the enterprise, spread by the offended, can damage the image.

It is also not easy for an employer to decide with his power to radically change a person’s fate, especially if this happens for the first time. But when dismissal cannot be avoided, it is better to carry it out as correctly as possible.

Evaluation of sheepskin and dressing

Any leader, before pointing to the door, must ask himself the question: is it possible to avoid separation? You must first evaluate the reasons that prompted you to make a fatal decision and try to find minimally costly ways to solve them, allowing you to avoid dismissal.

1. Regular violations of labor discipline. Being late, leaving work early, appearing in an unacceptable state (for example, after drinking libations) naturally irritates the employer and negatively affects the quality of work. But even the Labor Code does not consider 1-2 such facts to be a justified reason for dismissal; first, it is proposed to use other measures of influence. The exception is truancy, but even in the case of this gross violation it is not necessary to immediately apply extreme measures. Perhaps it would be more effective to publicly reprimand the offender with a warning of future consequences. Most likely, after a reprimand in front of witnesses, the “candidate for freedom” will note that the employer is aware of his sins and he does not intend to let them go. In this case. He may well “come to his senses” and will not be lost as an employee.
2. Position mismatch. If an employee fails to cope with responsibilities, the reason may be a lack of awareness or practical experience. You can offer an internship with a skilled partner or advanced training courses. The employee you trained will be more grateful and loyal “cadre” than a recognized professional from the outside.
3. Personal motives. When an employee “does not fit into the team” or cannot get along with his superiors, it is not always his fault. The dismissal of a professional for this reason (the wording “agreement of the parties” will cover up the true motive) can cast a shadow on the manager himself, “a tyrant who does not value personnel.” If you really have to break up, it is better to actually reach the declared “agreement”, and do it respectfully.

Unconditional reasons

There are circumstances when parting with an employee is really necessary and it is better not to postpone it. Without regret, point to the door:

• divulging official secrets and classified information;
• someone who simultaneously cooperates with competitors;
• who wastes company money;
• allowing gross violations in work that could cause trouble for the offender himself and/or those around him.

With regret, but without fail we have to say goodbye:

• with employees whose employment contract is not going to be renewed for one reason or another;
• with abbreviated ones;
• with all employees upon liquidation of the company.

IMPORTANT! When dismissing an employee for unacceptable actions, it is worth taking care of moderate publicity: this will serve as a lesson to other employees and warn other employers about unreliable personnel. In all other cases, the “velvet” option is preferable.

Mistakes during dismissal

When the moment comes for a decisive conversation, do not make psychological mistakes, which, unfortunately, are quite common in organizations during dismissal.

Mistake 1. “Not me”

To avoid a painful scene, the manager asks the secretary or another subordinate to tell this news. At the same time, the “messenger with bad news” can neither answer questions nor prove that the decision was actually made by management. He only takes the blow on himself, receiving undeserved negativity. As a last resort, the participation of a personnel officer is acceptable, but still, dismissal, like hiring, is the responsibility of the manager.

Error 2. “Have you heard everything? He's fired!

Sometimes employers prefer to announce dismissal in the presence of third parties in order to smooth out the outburst of emotions and obtain witnesses. This puts the person being fired even more in an awkward position, humiliating him in front of strangers. It is correct to conduct all unpleasant conversations one-on-one.

Mistake 3. “Two days alone with pain”

It is better not to present difficult news before the weekend, ruining it for the person being fired; it is more productive to do it at the beginning of the week. Then the employee will have the opportunity to immediately plan for future employment, he can begin to act immediately, which alleviates stress.

Mistake 4. “Long foreplay”

You can briefly thank the person for their cooperation, a slight apology is not forbidden, but you should not “cut the tail in parts”, stretching the procedure for longer than 15-20 minutes. The person being fired is especially annoyed by the long praises before the announcement. That the company no longer needs him.

"Contactless" dismissal

Rather than shocking an employee with unexpected news, you can create a specially predicted situation that pushes the employee to think about quitting:

• outplacement: services for active employment of an employee even before his dismissal from his position (recommendations to other employers, distribution of his resume, etc.);
• "silk fetters": an employee is given a task doomed to futility (after a while, the inappropriate project is closed, and the employee finds himself gently removed from the company’s affairs);
• "anti-poaching": the dismissed person is offered a new position, having secured the consent of another employer, who allegedly assessed the promising employee;
• insulation: the employee is gradually pushed away from the social life of the company, and he himself understands that he has become “superfluous”;
• "ruble whip": allowances are removed, the next bonus is not paid, the paid workload is reduced or the unpaid workload is increased - and, most likely, the employee will soon quit;
• gossip: if a person “accidentally” finds out in advance that his position will be reduced in the future, he will have the opportunity to look for a new job in advance, and he will not be dumbfounded by the unexpected “freedom”.

The perfect dismissal

1. Prepare the soil: use one of the above methods.
2. On Monday or Tuesday, invite the employee to your office and offer to sit down.
3. Show respect: in two or three sentences, highlight the positive aspects of the employee and celebrate his successes. Don't be verbose, otherwise he will decide that the dismissal is unfair.
4. Briefly state why the company will no longer do business with him. If possible, do not focus on the employee’s guilt, because in the case of, for example, layoffs, there is practically no guilt. If someone who is truly guilty is fired, then he already knows why and for what (after all, you warned him in advance, see above). Instead of “it’s my own fault,” try using “thank you.”
5. Give the opportunity to respond to the message. Answer questions if any arise. Treat a possible outburst of emotions calmly. Listen to accusations or pleas and calmly respond when the flow dries up: “I’m sorry, but the decision has already been made.”
6. After a short pause, express confidence that the employee will be able to realize himself in conditions that are more suitable for him: his skills will definitely be appreciated in another company. If appropriate, you can add that the employee has “outgrown” the framework of this organization, and dismissal for him is a new start for the next round of his career.
7. Discuss the amount of severance pay and other nuances of dismissal.
8. Finally, here are some tips for getting a new job. Re-emphasize the employee's strengths. If there is another employer in mind with a suitable vacancy, promise a good recommendation.

The entire conversation should not take more than 20 minutes.

To summarize, we can conclude that if the employer has time to wait and does not want to say “You are fired” to the employee’s face, then you can try to use contactless dismissal, unobtrusively creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for him. Otherwise, you need to muster up the courage, if necessary, and, taking into account the tips listed above, inform the employee that he is free.

Maxim Morshchikhin, manager of the ALEX FITNESS club in Omsk, shares his experience.

By talking to an employee, I mean not communicating regularly on a daily basis. Not a coffee break. Not conferences or meetings. A conversation with an employee is much more and more important than it might seem at first glance. We can call it a targeted event aimed at extracting a certain benefit.

To make it clear, I’ll try to outline the pros and cons. Pros:

a) You will be able to get to know the employee better.

c) Conversation is a favorable atmosphere for the “birth” of new ideas.

d) The employee’s disposition towards the company.

Now the cons. Hmm... I don't see them. The only thing is that it takes time to prepare for communication and the conversation itself. Let's talk about the advantages in more detail.

A) Let’s get to know the employee better. Has this ever happened to you? You work side by side with a colleague. You communicate with him every day, and a year later you find out that he is interested in fishing or knitting. Moreover, as a rule, his hobby is quite unexpected. You just don't expect something like that from an employee. A real incident from my life, when from a conversation with a colleague I learned that she was engaged in pole dancing. Although up to this point we had been working side by side for almost two years.

What can such information provide? Firstly, it becomes clear how a person spends his free time, how he relaxes. This can say a lot. Secondly, with the help of a hobby you can sometimes understand how to motivate an employee. Thirdly, it is simply necessary to know everything about your subordinates.

B) An employee shares a painful problem. Sometimes conflicts arise within departments. This is normal in a live work environment. But the conflict may be hidden. And then it's a ticking time bomb. If this “bomb” is not defused in time, the consequences can be disastrous.

At one time, a good friend of mine faced such a problem. He began to notice a decline in mood in one of his units. There were no prerequisites for this problem. The department carried out the plan. I was pleased with all the managers. But there was a problem with the working spirit.

After talking with the entire staff, he was shocked, to put it mildly. Absolutely all managers complained about the head of the department. In particular, because he demotivated everyone with his behavior, managers lost the desire to work. The manager was full of negativity and whining. However, no one from the department raised this problem. Everyone kept everything quiet.

Conversation can help resolve hidden conflicts. The main thing is to win over the employee. Show him that he can open up to you. Explain to the employee that if he has a problem or something is bothering him, then you are the right person who can solve it. This is your task: to make working conditions comfortable for your subordinates. A good leader is full of humility - he serves his subordinates.

B) We are creative. Take it as an axiom: every person is creative to one degree or another. In almost every conversation with an employee, I hear some new interesting ideas that will allow our business to become better and simpler. Ask the employee what, in his opinion, is lacking in him, the department, the department and the company as a whole? Believe me, the answers may surprise you.

D) We are favorable to the company. With this conversation, you let your subordinate understand: “You are important to us,” “We are interested in you, your concerns and problems,” “We are not indifferent to your opinion about work.”

Preparing for the conversation

The most important point. If you don’t devote enough time to this, you simply won’t be able to “reveal” the employee. You won't have anything to ask. Therefore, talk to colleagues of the intended target of conversation. Go to social media pages. Look at the groups that the employee is subscribed to - this is what he is interested in. Study his hobbies to become a little “in the know.”

If an employee is interested in sheep shearing, the magical world of Harry Potter, or the folklore of Southern Laos, research that topic. It's corny, but Google it.

Prepare all questions in advance. It is important to understand that there is a list of standard questions: How do you like working in our company?

What do you like/dislike about your work?

What should I add/remove to improve performance?

Where do you see yourself in 1-2-3 years in the company?

What are your personal plans/goals?

If you wish, you can add your own questions to this list.

The duration of the conversation is at least 1 hour. If you spend less time, then there is no point in it. Well, I hope there is no need to explain about disconnected phones, etc. and so on. Treat your interactions with the employee with respect. Do you remember that “listen” and “hear” are different verbs?

After the conversation, you will definitely need to conduct an analysis. Both the employee himself and you as the interviewer. Everything is clear with the subordinate. Analyzing yourself as a loved one is more difficult. Only a voice recorder will help you here. But another difficulty immediately arises. Your interlocutor may not like this, and he will be squeezed. Therefore, in each individual situation, a decision must be made based on the employee.

From personal experience: in my first conversations I used a voice recorder. Subsequently he refused. A few days after the conversations, a couple of employees approached me to discuss some topic. And in the conversation one could see the idea that the recorder did not allow them to be extremely frank.

Have conversations at least once every six months. Believe me, it's interesting and useful!

Know Your Company CEO Claire Liu shares six ways to get employees talking and understand what they really think about you and your company

One day, about five years ago, my CEO invited me to a one-on-one conversation. The year was ending and he wanted to know what I thought the company needed to improve, whether he could improve as a leader. And he wanted to hear from me exactly what I thought. But despite his assurances that he could “handle the truth,” I couldn’t bring myself to tell him like it was.

But the truth was that I was not sure of the overall development strategy of the company. I was concerned that some staff felt they were being treated unfairly. But it seemed pointless to me to talk about it. I couldn’t imagine that the CEO would listen to me and change something in the company. On the contrary, it seemed to me that this would only cause a negative reaction. Therefore, it seemed to me that it was better to remain silent.

I will never forget this feeling when you are hiding something. You prefer to remain silent because you don’t believe in the possibility of any changes. I'll be honest: I'm not proud of my silence. Now, knowing everything about the need for feedback from the manager, I would not do this. As a CEO, I can imagine how disappointed my manager felt when I left the company a few months after this “straight talk.”

From my own experience, I am very careful about one-on-one conversations with employees in my own company. I don't want my team members to feel the way I did when I was on the other side of the table. And I don’t want to repeat the experience of my former boss, for whom the real feelings of his employees became a revelation.

And here’s what you need to do to make the one-on-one conversation as open as possible.

Make empathy your goal

Every time I have a one-on-one conversation, I have to understand how the other person is feeling. Everything else fades into the background. During the conversation, I do not criticize the employee’s performance, nor do I say that it’s time for the project to reach a new level (all this will be a separate conversation). A one-on-one conversation is an invaluable, sacred time to find out how the employee is truly feeling.

When you make empathy your mission, the entire nature of the conversation changes. You start listening more. You start asking more thoughtful questions. You view yourself as an equal to the employee, admitting that you do not have all the answers. Employees notice that you are trying to empathize with them and not just draw your own conclusions. One-on-one conversations become less intimidating for the employee. And then he will be more honest with you.

I demonstrate empathy in conversations with employees to avoid feelings of intimidation. For example, I might say, “Today I want to listen and truly understand how you feel—that’s all. This is not a performance analysis. This is a conversation for me. I need to figure out what I can do to create the best place you've ever worked."

When you openly make empathy your mission, you give employees permission to say anything they might not otherwise be able to tell you.

Ask questions that reveal two things: tension and energy

To get to the core of someone's opinion—especially about negative things—I ask questions that tap into specific moments of tension and specific moments of energy. By tense moments I mean situations where someone was angry, frustrated, bored, etc. Moments of energy are situations where someone felt inspired, enthusiastic, and motivated. Knowing which of these situations occurred can help you understand how to create more positive conditions that energize employees and how to eliminate negative ones that create tension.

When you ask someone about specific times when they felt disappointed, confused, proud, they will point to their emotions during real events rather than something ephemeral or imaginary. For example, if you ask the question “How are you?”, nine out of ten of your employees will answer “I’m fine” or give some other vague and general answer. Question “When did you feel disappointed in the past year?” refers to a specific moment, a specific situation and emotions. You force the employee to think concretely, giving him permission to talk about how he feels working in your company.

Here are some examples of questions you can ask an employee to find out what to avoid:

• When were you disappointed in the past year? What can I do to make things like this less frustrating and less disruptive to your work?
• When have you felt depressed or demoralized in the past year? What can I do to support you and reassure you that this is not an obstacle to further development?
• When have you been disappointed with a decision or direction a company has taken in the past year? Is it possible that we missed something? Where did we fail? What do you think would be the best thing to do?
• When have you been unhappy or annoyed with my actions as CEO? Why? What can I change in my behavior in the future?
• When were you bored last year? What can I do to stop you feeling this way?
• When have you been stressed or overworked in the past year? What can I do to stop you feeling this way?

Please note that when I talk about a specific point of tension, I also make sure to ask what I or the company can do in the future. This way, your frank conversation does not turn into plaintive tirades, but becomes productive, helping to find a way. This does not mean that you need to solve the problem here and now. But for yourself, you will raise the question of what measures need to be taken in the future, and begin to think constructively.

Here are some examples of questions you can ask about specific energy moments to help you know what to do more of:

• When were you excited about your work in the past year? What can I do to make it more possible for you to feel the same way?
• In the past year, when were you most proud to be a part of the company? What can I do to make you continue to be proud of this?
• When did you feel the most motivated at work? How can we create an environment where you feel this more often?
• When did you feel most “in flow” in the past week? What can we do to give you more space and time to support this feeling?
• What did you want to learn, what skills to improve? Can the company help you with this?
• When did you feel like this company was the best place you've ever worked? How can I make it so?

If this all seems too snotty to you, and it's not really your style, you don't like to talk about emotions - I understand. Try sneaking at least one or two questions about moments of tension or energy into your next candid conversation. I guarantee that these couple of questions will shed a lot of light on the level of employee morale.

And keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with being emotional. How employees feel while working directly affects how well they perform it.

Admit what you did wrong

Sometimes when you ask employees about specific moments of tension or energy, the question itself is not enough to encourage them to open up. People are especially wary of admitting or talking about something negative, and an extra boost may be needed. Why? Because there is a certain relationship between the employees and the business owner, and you have to find a way to neutralize it.

The best way to overcome this barrier is to admit that you think you have fallen short in some areas. Use a question to show where you went wrong. For example, if you ask “What can we do better as a company?” and receive silence in response, share what you are struggling with or unsure about. "I think... it could be better... What do you think?" Or “I think I could be better at... Do you agree or disagree?” By showing vulnerability, you give the employee confidence that their feedback will not be taken negatively.

Explain why you need their help

One of the key things you can do to encourage an employee to speak up is to explain why their input is valuable. I often forget to do this myself. But when I do explain, it shows the employee that I'm not asking questions out of vanity or a desire to set limits. I explain how his response affects the success of the company and his own career. Professor Amy Edmondson, who coined the term 'psychological safety in the workplace', recommends making it clear that there is huge uncertainty for the future and huge interdependence. In other words, since the future is uncertain and there is still much to understand, everyone's opinion and response is important. For example, you could say something like this to your employee: “Your opinion actually matters a lot to me because we haven't figured out how... There's still so much we don't understand, and we need your feedback in order to solve assigned tasks."

Don't be defensive

When someone has answered your question candidly, you need to be sure not to become defensive. Defensiveness kills a culture of openness. By being defensive, you tell your employee, “I didn’t really want to hear that,” and you won’t get honest answers the next time. So when someone brings up a difficult topic, watch yourself. Are you becoming restless and defensive? Or do you listen calmly and ask thoughtful questions further? Your reaction is an indicator to them of whether they will feel comfortable having these difficult conversations in the future.

Talk less

Don't try to refute every comment your interlocutor makes. Don't make excuses about how busy you've been. Ask a short question. Listen. Take notes. Thank the employee for the message and promise to think about what he said. If you find yourself debating, stop. Remind yourself that your job is empathy. This means you need to talk less. The less you say, the greater the opportunity for the employee to tell you the truth about how he or she feels at the company.

It is not so easy. Every time I have a one-on-one conversation, I get a little nervous when I ask about moments of tension. And I always take a deep breath to avoid reacting defensively when employees respond to me.

Having honest conversations requires discipline and a certain amount of courage. And above all, it requires a true desire to know the truth. What makes me look for honest answers in these conversations every time is the belief that an objective picture of the current reality - how our business is developing, what our employees think about the company - is the only way to build a better company and become a better leader. Without knowing the truth, I'm wasting the chance to make the company better and even pushing a valuable employee to quit.

Having an honest conversation with an employee is one of the few ways to find this truth. Let us redouble our efforts to do this well.

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Given the democratization of society, an understanding of the value of each individual, new methods, principles and styles of team management were needed. A new type of leader must not only be a good organizer, analyst and psychologist, but also have such personal qualities as to earn authority among his subordinates.

Boss and subordinates, how to manage a team and what qualities a leader should have, you will learn in this article. A modern leader must have a high moral culture in order to earn the recognition and respect of colleagues. Such qualities as honesty, fairness, decency, ability to understand and listen are required. Equally important for a manager is knowledge of etiquette and rules of conduct.

Communication between a manager and subordinates should take place in a business style, but at the same time it is necessary to observe mutual politeness, attentiveness and goodwill. This is the key to a healthy atmosphere in the team and a willingness to cooperate. Managing a team requires that the manager needs to give orders, make requests, conduct interviews, fire, motivate and punish. How to do this correctly?

Boss and subordinates: Business communication between a manager

1. When giving orders, the leader must rely on his own authority. An order can be given in a commanding tone only in emergency situations, when it is necessary to solve the problem immediately. In this case, the initiative of the performer is suppressed and he, in fact, is released from responsibility. He's just following orders.
   Labor efficiency decreases if an order is given with the threat of punishment.
   An effective method of managing an employee is an order in the form of a request. Then the employee feels that they trust him, want to cooperate with him and believe in his abilities. Especially if the assignment concerns something that is not part of his duties. Effective management comes down to the fact that employees need to be stimulated, develop their activity and be given the opportunity to take initiative. Only in this case will labor efficiency be the highest.
2. The manager's responsibilities include both punishment and encouragement, and motivation of employees.
   The legislation defines possible sanctions against employees, but the manager himself should not forget about etiquette. Even when punishing, you need to try to maintain normal relationships in the team.

How to punish correctly?

• Under no circumstances should you punish or criticize a person without confirmed evidence of a violation;
• If the work was performed poorly, you need to find out who assigned it to the employee, how control was carried out and determine the degree of responsibility of the employee for poor quality work. After all, there are often situations where a person simply did not have the necessary materials, knowledge or support to complete the job;
• A leader must be able to admit his mistakes;
• It is necessary to talk with the employee and find out his motivation and reasons for the violation;
• Never criticize an employee publicly;
• The punishment should depend on the severity of the offense. Moreover, the requirements for all team members must be the same.

3.Psychological team management implies the manager’s ability to properly conduct a conversation with subordinates. Before you start talking about misconduct, you need to calm down and start the conversation with the employee’s achievements and successes. The conversation should be conducted in a private setting so as not to create intragroup conflict in the team. It is advisable that the manager explain to the subordinate what he is dissatisfied with, cite the facts of the violation and listen carefully to the subordinate’s explanations. The conversation needs to end with the fact that the manager must emphasize the employee’s strengths and instill in him the belief that in the future he will succeed.

4. The system of employee motivation in the matter of how to manage a team is of great importance. But even to encourage employees you need to be able to do it correctly. Material motivation of personnel should be expressed in rewards for successfully completed work immediately after its completion. The effectiveness of a specific immediate incentive is much higher than waiting for a bonus at the end of the month. Intangible employee motivation can be more valuable than material motivation. For example, if a manager publicly praises an employee in the presence of colleagues whose respect is important to him. Recognizing the success of a subordinate on time with the right words is an excellent motivation. Previously, organizations often practiced presenting certificates and honor boards. Nowadays, in some government organizations such methods of team management remain, but the new generation no longer takes them seriously.

5. The manager’s responsibilities include dismissing employees. This is a rather painful procedure. The manager should not apologize so as not to give unnecessary hope to the subordinate. You should not fire before weekends or holidays. The conversation should take no more than 20 minutes, since the employee, being under stress, simply will not be able to hear detailed explanations and reasons for his dismissal.

The manager's attitude towards his subordinates must be respectful in any situation. It is best to address employees as “you”. When talking with a subordinate, the manager should listen more than talk. Ask questions about what the employee thinks about the quality of his work, what he would improve, what he considers his strengths. In the process of dialogue with subordinates, a leader who knows how to listen can extract a lot of useful information. In particular, how to improve the management of the organization's personnel.

Until recently, the functions of HR managers were performed by line managers. It was enough to simply issue orders for dismissal, hiring and promotion. Now this is not enough. HR managers must be involved in recruiting, developing employees, motivating and stimulating work.

Personnel management helps to use all the potential capabilities of employees to achieve the goals of the organization. But at the same time, ensure a normal psychologically healthy atmosphere in the team, monitor working conditions.

The main tasks of the organization’s personnel management:

1. Determine employee needs;
2. Help adapt to a new team;
3. Select personnel;
4. Stimulate interest in career growth;
5. Develop the right motivation system;
6. Promote development, both personal and professional;
7. Resolve conflicts.

Principles of good management

The manager must analyze the situation, predict the strategy and manage its implementation. The subordinate must implement the manager's decision. Therefore, the basic principles of effective management are certain qualities of a leader - professionalism, organization and integrity. Since he has to solve problems from any area of ​​the organization.

The subordinate, in turn, must be efficient, proactive, honest, decent and striving for promotion.

Team management styles: personnel management, which management style is better?

There are 6 main styles of personnel management, each of which has its own pros and cons:

1. Command style - immediate subordination of employees, mainly in an orderly tone. This style helps keep employees under control, motivate them with discipline and sanctions. It is advisable in critical situations when the risks are very high with the slightest mistake. But at the same time, employees do not develop, do not learn anything, and there is discontent in the team, which will lead to frustration.
2. The authoritarian style involves building a development strategy and creating prospects for subordinates. The manager behaves strictly, but fairly and clearly directs employees in which direction to develop, showing by example what can be achieved. The disadvantage of this style is that if employees do not trust the leader, they simply will not follow him. In addition, subordinates work only according to step-by-step instructions, and therefore have low qualifications.
3. A partnership style of managing employee work involves creating harmonious relationships, the absence of conflicts and motivating a good mood. This style works great when combined with other styles. Since partnership does not increase productivity. This style is only good in cases where you need help or advice when resolving conflicts.
4. The democratic style is designed to involve employees in the work process and maintain mutual understanding in the team. This style is effective when employees work as a team, strive together for the same goal, and have enough experience that everyone can be trusted with a specific task. The only disadvantage of such an organization of personnel management is that subordinates constantly need to be organized, directed, supervised and hold meetings quite often.
5. The leadership style called “pace-setting” is doing the job as well as the leader himself does it. This style implies self-organization of employees and the desire to perform work at the highest level, following the example of the manager. Ineffective when third party assistance or additional training and coordination is needed.
6. The “coach” style is constant professional development of employees, inspiration, search and development of strengths. This motivates employees, but at the same time, this style of management will be useless if subordinates are lazy. Not everyone has the desire and strength to work on themselves every day.

How to manage a team and what style to choose? Most likely, the effectiveness of personnel management depends not only on the style and methods of management, but also on the personal qualities of subordinates. Therefore, depending on different situations, you need to combine different management styles.
The employee management system includes not only styles, but also management methods.

Team management methods

Personnel management methods - ways to influence the team. They are administrative, economic and socio-psychological.

• Administrative methods influence the awareness of the team, the understanding that it is necessary to maintain discipline, have a sense of duty, strive to work in this organization, and comply with the rules and regulations established in the organization.
• Economic methods - material incentives for employees. Social and psychological – taking into account the social needs of employees, maintaining a healthy atmosphere in the team.

All methods are interconnected and their implementation in team management is clear. But there are also innovative methods of personnel management. For example, setting goals for an employee and a manager for the next six months or a year. An employee sets a specific goal for the benefit of the organization. If it is achieved, the manager, for example, promotes him in position or increases his salary.

• The quarterly reporting method works effectively. This way, the employee sets his own goals and learns how to manage time correctly. As a result, he works more fruitfully and shows initiative. In addition, the need to report to your boss every quarter motivates you to show your best side. No employee goes unnoticed. Everyone receives a reward for their efforts.
• A wonderful method of personnel management is structured planning. Each department sets itself a specific goal, which complements the goals of other departments for the benefit of the development of the organization. To organize work in departments, “team management” is used. Groups bring together those employees who have a similar view of achieving the organization's goals.
• The situational management method is applied only as problems arise. Functional management - each head of his department is responsible for certain functions.
• The comparison method works well when the management system of a given organization is compared with a more advanced organization and the management system is recreated based on its example.
• The expert-analytical method involves the involvement of personnel management specialists. The expert studies the problems of the organization and gives an opinion on what methods are best to manage in this organization.
• In practice, the method of functional-cost analysis is often used. When experts determine which functions are not performed and why, unnecessary management functions and the degree of centralization of personnel management are removed.
• The method of creative meetings gives excellent results. Experts and managers express their suggestions on how to improve the personnel management system, which gives rise to many creative ideas.

Every manager wonders how to effectively manage staff? To do this, it is necessary to apply all management methods and styles in a comprehensive manner. In addition, do not forget that you need to strictly follow the rules of ethics when communicating with employees. The right system of management, motivation, punishment and reward will help create a prosperous company. The manager himself will not be able to achieve anything if his employees do not approach their work creatively and with initiative. The main thing for a manager is to be able to interest, motivate and support employees.

European companies have much more extensive traditions of personnel assessment. Russian companies have only recently begun to experiment in this area. But the majority prefers to adopt the experience of their Western colleagues, not always adapting it to our conditions. An assessment interview is often used as part of personnel assessment. It involves conducting a dialogue with the employee. Based on the results of the assessment, the employee’s goals for the next year are formed. The quality of the dialogue determines in what mood and with what thoughts the employee will work. Therefore, it is necessary to observe certain principles in order for the dialogue to be effective both for the one who conducts it and for the one with whom it is conducted.

The most important step in assessing the work of subordinates is the evaluation interview. An assessment interview is an interview with the person being assessed, solving well-defined problems.
Such an interview helps the manager and subordinate determine their mutual expectations. An appraisal interview with employees is also conducted to inform them of the result of the assessment of their performance. It allows a manager to review a subordinate's performance, reinforce desired behavior, point out performance deficiencies, and work with the manager to develop a plan for improvement.

Until recently, our company did not have the practice of conducting such dialogues, however, when the decision was made to change the evaluation system, the need arose to find new models for personnel evaluation.

In our company, instead of personnel certification, a European model was introduced, which I designated as “Annual assessment and dialogue with the employee.”

And while managers were able to sort out the issue of grading employees at the end of the year, big problems arose with conducting dialogues with employees, because Most managers did not have such practice.

Dialogue with the employee is a key point in the annual personnel assessment procedure. The construction of the dialogue is based on the manager’s ideas about the process of managing people and ways to influence their behavior. There are at least three approaches that can be used by a manager:

• force- force improvement of work or behavior, suppress resistance.
• convince- convince the employee of the need for change.
• involving employees in decision making- convey your point of view, understand the employee’s point of view and come to a common agreement. Awaken the employee’s desire for professional growth and personal development. Determine what needs to be done to solve problems that hinder the improvement of his work efficiency.

Obviously, the third option is correct from the point of view of the most effective employee motivation. The employee makes his own decisions, which means he is responsible for them.

To make it easier for our managers to take into account, a training program for conducting assessments and dialogue with the employee was written.

First of all, it was necessary to explain why we were holding a dialogue at all.

For the manager and for the employee, different goals were identified in the dialogue:

for employee:

• Understand the Company’s goals and relate them to your professional goals;
• Understand how well he does his job, to what extent the manager is satisfied with his work results;
• Receive timely recommendations that contribute to better performance of work, plan your activities more effectively;
• Be included in the process of drawing up development plans and setting goals;
• Convey your point of view to your manager.

for the manager:

• Receive feedback on employee expectations;
• Help the employee to increase the efficiency of his work, to make fuller use of his professional potential;
• Achieve increased productivity and fulfillment of business objectives by increasing employee motivation.

To make it easier to control the annual assessment process and to help managers with planning, the dialogue procedure was outlined in stages.

Step 1. Employee training.

Before going through the dialogue, the employee must be familiar with the evaluation criteria and also prepare to answer the following questions:

1. What did you plan to do during the reporting period?
2. What was done?
3. What failed to do and why?
4. What tasks are planned for the future?
5. How will their achievement be assessed (how will it be possible to understand that they have been achieved?)
6. How can we improve today's results? What needs to be done for this?

The employee can also prepare a report on the implementation of the work plan and other documents necessary, from his point of view. An employee may not agree with the manager's assessment, and therefore he should be able to argue his opinion. In addition, during the dialogue, the results of the employee’s work are summed up, and he needs enough time to repeat for himself once again what goals were set for him and which ones he achieved.

Employee training is important for himself, first of all. Therefore, at first, managers may forget to inform the employee about the upcoming assessment, or not inform him of the need to prepare.

To prevent the dialogue from becoming a stressful situation, the personnel assessment group independently sent information letters to employees with a detailed description of the issues and the procedure for conducting the dialogue and recommendations.

• Review your goals from the previous year and evaluate your level of achievement for each goal you set.
• Assess your strengths and identify areas that need development.
• Determine your next steps to continue your personal development.
• Identify and clearly describe 3-6 personal goals that you want to focus on achieving in the next year, and determine how you will measure their achievement.
• Think through your plans for the future so that you can describe them clearly and clearly.

The more actively an employee participates in the assessment process, the higher his responsibility for implementing the decisions made during the assessment interview.

Step 2. Preparation of the leader.

For a dialogue with an employee to be successful, the manager needs:

• be able to find psychological contact with subordinates;
• be able to plan and analyze the work of subordinates;
• understand the goals of the organization and the tasks facing the employee;
• know the standards and criteria for performing work;
• collect the most complete information about the employee’s work results.

These are the requirements for leadership training that I spelled out when I conducted the training. But it is quite obvious that not all managers will take this responsibly and not everyone can fulfill these requirements. Practice has shown that some managers cannot set goals for the year for their subordinates, cannot highlight the main thing, etc. Of course, this applied more to low-level managers... But still, the discovery was not a pleasant one. To eliminate this problem, we placed an order to write goal setting training for our training center.

With the first point (the ability to find psychological contact with a subordinate), the situation was more complicated. This already required a whole battery of trainings to develop communication skills. If a manager had difficulty conducting a dialogue with employees, he was offered to undergo training first. Anecdotally, many managers openly admitted that they had certain problems and asked for training.

We also recommended that managers create a database in which they could enter interim evaluations of the employee during the year, mistakes made, initiatives, etc. Continuous monitoring throughout the year will help the evaluator get a clear picture of the employee's achievements, difficulties and possible failures.

According to previous employee assessments, the assessment group had the entire database and the manager could use this information. There he could find recommendations for development, weaknesses, career expectations of the employee and determine what progress the employee had made in each parameter.

From a psychological point of view, the manager must keep in mind that the purpose of the assessment is to help improve the employee’s work efficiency, his output and the fuller use of his professional potential. There should be no place for emotions and subjectivism. The manager must be willing to listen and think about what the appraisee is saying and engage in dialogue with him.

The appraisee must know exactly the goals and criteria by which his work and work behavior are assessed. The more fair an employee considers the assessment of his work, the higher his responsibility for implementing the decisions made during the appraisal interview, the more satisfied he is with the course of the interview, the more ready he is to agree with the final assessment and the higher the likelihood that he will take real action. steps to improve the efficiency of your own work and your professional growth in the future.

Step 3. We conduct a dialogue with the employee.

The manager must schedule an interview for each employee at least two weeks in advance (the interview usually takes between half an hour and one and a half hours, depending on the position of the employee being evaluated and what duties he performs).

But at first, the entire procedure of annual assessment and dialogue was monitored by the personnel assessment group. To ensure that the dialogue was carried out and that no one fell behind the schedule, we scheduled all the meetings in person. Labor-intensive, but necessary work.

Meetings were scheduled for the manager and employee (as a rule, meeting rooms were used for these meetings so that work calls, etc., did not interfere with the dialogue).

Until the procedure became familiar, specialists from the assessment group were present at the dialogues and helped ensure the correct flow of the process.

Some leaders themselves asked that we be present, others, after several dialogues, were able to conduct the dialogue on their own and did not experience any difficulties.

To avoid long silences or conversations on unrelated topics, each manager was offered a list of sample questions for conducting a dialogue with an employee:

1. What are the basic requirements for your position?
2. What level have you achieved in each of these requirements?
3. What goals did you have for the past period? (2-3 goals)
4. Were there any additional, unplanned tasks?
5. How would you evaluate the work you have done?
6. To what extent were each goal achieved?
7. What didn't work? Why did this happen? What prevented this?
8. What tasks are planned for the future?
9. For what purpose will these tasks be performed?
10. Achieving which objectives will be the most significant?
11. How will their achievement be assessed (how will it be possible to understand that they have been achieved?)
12. How often and in what way would it be optimal to evaluate them?
13. What difficulties may arise during their implementation? How can you prevent their occurrence (what can you do about this?)
14. How could you improve your current results?
15. Are your skills, knowledge and abilities being used in the best possible way? If not, what should be done?
16. What training would help you improve your performance?
17. What are your expectations from work in the future?
18. What types of incentives will be preferable for you?
19. How satisfied are you with the feedback your manager provides you?
20. What kind of feedback would you like him to provide you with and how often?

As it turned out, the questions greatly helped the leaders in building a dialogue.

At the same time, the manager must constantly remember that dialogue should motivate the employee.

Some aspects of an employee’s work activity may be hidden from the manager, so sometimes an assessment of one’s own work (self-assessment) is more accurate than an assessment by superiors.

Based on the results of the dialogue, the manager formulates goals for the employee for the next year.

In order for goals to be clear and achievable, they must be:

1. Specific- the formulation must contain the answer to the question “what to do?”, i.e. a perfect verb (provide, implement, increase). Words that do not carry a semantic load should not be allowed in the formulation of the goal. For example: optimal, worthy, comprehensive.
2. Quantitatively (qualitatively) measurable- when setting a goal, it is necessary to set clear measurable criteria that will help judge its achievement. Numbers are used for quantitative measurability. For quality - technical specifications or other document.
3. Related to the goals and objectives of the Company and/or division- the goals you set must follow from higher-order goals. Ideally, it is necessary to define a hierarchy of goals, from the philosophy of the enterprise to the strategic and tactical goals of the organization and division.
4. End- if a goal does not have a deadline, it has a good chance of never being completed. Therefore, when setting goals, you need to determine the deadline for completion.
5. Compromise (reality and challenge)- goals must be realistic, i.e. achievable. At the same time, they must contain an excess of the previous indicator.

Employee participation in setting their own work goals leads to better results than coercion or criticism from the manager.

The better an employee understands how the results of his work are related to achieving the goals of the entire organization, the greater results can be expected from the dialogue.

The number of goals for one employee, as a rule, should not exceed five to seven. If there are more of them, the employee will not be able to keep them all in the field of attention and will begin to become scattered.

Practice has shown that almost no one was able to set more than five goals, because... it's quite difficult. Here you need to distinguish goals from tasks. There is no need to simply list all the tasks that the manager wants to assign to the employee. Goals should be set for development, both professional and personal, and there is no need to simply rewrite the annual plan.

So that managers can understand how goals should be formulated, you can conduct a short training and invite them to conduct a dialogue and set goals for an imaginary employee. We came up with several cases for working in a group with managers (for an example of a case, see Appendix 1).

During the training, managers were asked to consider the proposed heroes and, based on an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, set goals for them for the next year.

Then the group worked through the mistakes of the leaders - the so-called. "wrong goals" For every “wrong” goal, managers formulated a “right” one.

As a result of the dialogue, the manager needs to make sure that the objectives of the assignment and the expected results are clear.
Our company has developed a form in which the results of the dialogue are entered (Appendix 2). The manager is required to promptly fill out the assessment form developed by the organization for his subordinate. If he leaves this task until the last minute, he may simply forget what goals were set.

The success of an appraisal interview critically depends on the manager’s level of development of the necessary skills and ability to create conditions conducive to achieving the main goals of the annual appraisal during the conversation with a subordinate. There are a number of factors that influence the success of an assessment interview.

Level of development of the evaluators' necessary skills:

• Ability to establish psychological contact
• Mastery of active listening techniques
• Work planning and analysis
• Ability to select and use assessment methods appropriately
• Consulting and development of subordinates

The quality of preparation for the interview of assessors and assessees:

Leader training:

• Understanding the goals of the organization and the tasks facing the employee being assessed
• Knowledge of work performance standards and criteria
• Collection of the most complete information regarding the work results of the employee being assessed
• Identification of ways to obtain the greatest return from the evaluated employee

Subordinate preparation:

• Understanding the purpose of the job/task
• Knowledge of work performance criteria and standards
• Knowing your strengths and weaknesses
• Understanding the connection between work results and prospects for your professional development and career

Process:

• Active participation of the assessed employee in the assessment process
• Constructive attitudes of the manager and, if necessary, assistance to evaluated employees

Reaching agreement on the content of the work:

• Developing an action plan to solve work problems that reduce performance
• Setting work goals for the future
• Defining the parameters of expected results
• Reaching agreement on the issues being discussed

Control

• Setting deadlines
• Setting Benchmarks
• Choosing a form of control
• Ensuring that the rewards the employee receives are consistent with the results of the evaluation.

Such dialogue provides an opportunity for the employee and manager to receive feedback regarding counter expectations related to the performance of work, future tasks and conditions necessary for effective interaction. Therefore, when preparing managers for an interview, special attention should be paid to how to provide feedback to a subordinate and how to receive it from him.

The manager’s questions during the interview are designed to establish not only the true level of the employee’s performance, but also to identify factors that negatively affect his work. However, one should not overestimate an employee’s ability to analyze the factors that determine the effectiveness of his work. The ability to listen presupposes the ability to identify, even by minor details, individual strokes, the presence of serious problems that affect the employee’s work. This will help formulate certain assumptions that can be tested during the interview.
The assessment interview requires the manager not just to listen, but to listen actively - this is a skill that needs to be trained.

Step 4: Completing the assessment interview

This is the most important stage of the assessment interview. At this stage, the assessments given earlier are summed up, and the goals and priorities for the coming year are once again spelled out.

At the end of the interview, it is important for the manager to pay special attention to the constructiveness of the criticism. The subordinate must clearly understand not only that he did something below the established requirements, but also how to correct the mistakes made in the coming year.

It is especially important to pay attention to the motivation of the employee. After completing the interview, will he be eager to improve and reach new professional heights or will he leave depressed with the thought of having to look for a new job? You should end the interview on a positive note so that the subordinate leaves the manager with a good attitude towards work. At the end, you should once again repeat those goals that must be achieved in the future. In addition, it is necessary to determine the date when the interim results of the work planned during the interview will be summed up.

When our company was just introducing a new personnel evaluation system, we decided to conduct a survey of employees directly after the dialogue.

As it turned out, many managers liked to conduct the dialogue, because they had the opportunity to talk with their subordinates not about current tasks, but about their pressing problems and prospects. During the dialogue, many managers (especially young ones) noted that they received completely unexpected information, which greatly helped them in establishing contact with their subordinates.
Employees who were evaluated also noted the importance of holding such dialogues.
However, in addition to interest and enthusiasm, there was also disappointment - some managers were very disappointed with the answers of their employees (for example, the employee could not clearly define his job responsibilities). The managers, of course, saw the reason for such poor training of employees in their shortcomings.

During the dialogues, career plans were also discussed. Several employees were recommended for inclusion in the personnel reserve, they were subsequently promoted, and two people during the dialogue expressed a desire to leave the company, because they had accumulated many unspoken complaints that could no longer be overcome.

In general, the dialogue with the employee had a motivating effect on the employees.

Annex 1

Case for teaching the procedure for conducting an annual dialogue

Fidget Ivan

23 years old. He has been working in your department as a sales specialist for six months. He is active like no other, takes on tasks of any complexity, despite the fact that many of them cannot be solved on his own. He craves to gain experience and develop, but he clearly lacks knowledge, he often misses important details, is impulsive, and does not calculate his strength and time. A lawyer by training, I just graduated from university.

According to the plan, you gave him a 2, because... it does not show stable results.
But in terms of potential, he can be given a 4, because Ivan is simply an inexhaustible source of energy and activity, which needs to be given the right vector. In addition, he is young and shows high loyalty to the Company, strives for career growth and, in principle, quickly learns new knowledge.