Talking to Staff!™ | Managing People Training Activity

If you are looking for an effective way to help managers in your organisation hold meaningful conversations with their team members, look no further! This experiential training activity is designed to help managers overcome their fear of confrontation, develop a constructive approach to communication, and improve their relationships with team members.

In the activity, first teams study the Profile of an employee or colleague (six are supplied for variety). Each briefly describes the individual's background and an 'issue' that is impacting on their work - and affecting the morale etc of others.

The first task is to identify the exact nature of the issue. The profile also gives views from other managers about how they would deal with the situation. These views differ widely and give teams the basis for a lively discussion on the best way forward.

Next, teams work on preparing for a meeting with the 'employee', to address the issue and work towards a prompt resolution. Teams (after 15 minutes) receive a Meeting Planner to help structure their preparation. It asks about:

•  the main issue(s)
•  the tone they will adopt at the meeting
•  the questions they will ask
•  how they will in general terms conduct the meeting
•  how they feel/hope it will go
•  their proposal for the way forward

Next teams work through a set of 30 Statements, considering the type of language to use and scoring each statement (0, 1 or 2) as to how appropriate they think they are. The debrief follows, where teams explain the rationale for their plans and consider the statement scores. Here the learning points emerge. The Trainer's Notes includes a brief commentary on the statements and a Sample Meeting. To conclude participants receive a Key Points Handout. During the debrief, it is worth going through each point and relating it back to the teams' plans.

This activity can be used in face-to-face or virtual training sessions, and also includes an optional online program that delegates can work through in teams. By providing managers with the tools and techniques needed to hold effective conversations with their team members, Talking to Staff! will help them build the skills they need to communicate effectively and lead their teams to success.

We also have Difficult Conversations™ Training Activity which is more targeted at how to handle difficult situations. Rather than dealing with everyday issues that managers face, it highlights specific, possibly embarrassing, interviews relating to managing performance. Often avoided by managers, these occurrences need to be nipped in the bud and dealt with speedily and professionally. (click for more info).

• Be vigilant and quick to identify staff issues
• Intervene immediately
• Plan a strategy for meeting with a member of staff
• To have knowledge of 'critical incidents'
• To be professional and objective - with emotions under control
• Ask the right questions and foster a two-way process
• Monitor and review progress/change

1. Briefly introduce the activity and what will happen. Arrange the group in teams (eg at separate tables or in virtual break-out rooms).
2.  If using the online program, send delegate access codes to Team Leaders and allow teams to work through the program (giving guidance on timing at the start). Then bring teams together for the Debrief.
3. If running in a face-to-face setting (or if you prefer to use the PDF files in a virtual setting) issue a Profile Card to each team. After 10 minutes, issue a copy of the Meeting Planner. Then show the 30 Statements and issue the Response Forms and ask teams to rate them (0, 1 or 2) for tone and suitability when talking to staff.
4. When time is up, run the Debrief in plenary. Ask each team in turn how they saw the situation and how they planned to conduct the meeting. How did they feel the meeting would go and what outcome were they aiming for? Go through each statement in turn and discuss team responses.
5. Summarise key learning points that emerge for the Debrief. Issue the Key Points Handout. Optional extra: discuss the Sample Meeting which gives a good example of how to conduct a staff meeting.

Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.

• Trainer's Notes
• Optional Program (internet access required)
• Six Staff Profiles
• The 30 Statements
• Meeting Planner
• Response Form
• Sample Meeting
• Key Points Handout

This activity is supplied digitally (both as a set of PDF files and as an optional online program teams can work through together) via the Northgate Trainerhub, for face-to-face and/or virtual training. No delivery charges apply.

This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 24 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site.

All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.

For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.