Imagine the following scenario: Marc settles behind his desk and feels a small knot forming in the pit of his stomach. It is the beginning of the 3-to-11 shift he supervises at a call center for a large Internet retailer. Marc’s crew of 25 customer service representatives fields phone calls from customers with problems ordering or receiving merchandise. The work can be intense at times; Marc’s shift handles the highest daily call volume. But his employees are all well-trained and can resolve problems quickly. All, that is, except for one representative.

Debbie had recently come to Marc’s department after a long career in retail. With her experience in retail sales and customer service, Debbie seemed like a natural fit for the call center. But despite company training and two coaching attempts by Marc, Debbie still has one of the worst records among his employees. Her callers’ time spent on hold is among the worst in the company. Her call-abandonment rate – the rate at which callers hang up after a long period on hold – is also unacceptably high. Marc knows if Debbie doesn’t change her behavior soon, he will have little choice but to fire her. As he contemplates the upcoming discussion, the knot in his stomach grows larger.

Decreasing Dread
Few phrases carry a greater feeling of dread than the words, “we have to talk.” After all, that’s usually shorthand for “you’re in trouble.” Talent managers dread these discussions as much as employees do. Most people don’t like receiving criticism, no matter how constructively it’s intended. Employees’ biggest fear is losing job security. For supervisors, the biggest fear is that the employee will become defensive, hostile or possibly violent.

Jennifer Ciccone, vice president of human resources for Matthews International Corporation, said there are several factors that prevent supervisors from holding constructive discussions about job performance with their employees.

“Many managers are not equipped to give high-impact feedback, so they may lack confidence in taking on this responsibility,” she said. “Other managers rarely give positive feedback, so whenever an employee is called into a one-on-one discussion, both brace for the worst. Giving positive and constructive feedback in a balanced fashion predisposes an employee to give the manager a fair hearing. But there are managers that have trouble setting aside their frustration with the employee’s behavior so the meeting either doesn’t happen at all or it is not constructive.”