Spring Webinar Series

Session 3: How to have difficult conversations

Description

Liabilities and Opportunities: Difficult Conversations with Employees

From providing negative feedback to discussing medical accommodations and terminations, human resources professionals engage regularly in difficult conversations with employees, often with no formal training. For two years the pandemic has served as a backdrop to these conversations, infusing them with anxiety and instability and leaving professionals feeling exhausted and disconnected. Extensive guidance from legal professionals has framed these conversations as liabilities to be mitigated, but they also provide opportunities to strengthen connections and foster a healthy work environment. In this session, participants will learn techniques to provide challenging messages without eliciting defensive reactions and will explore the elements of verbal and non-verbal communication that affect the way employees receive and process information. Complementing risk management with strong communication skills will allow HR professionals to approach critical conversations with confidence.