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Tips for Effective Coaching Conversations

When coaching your employees, you help them gain self-awareness and insight into their demonstrated behavior. Coaching helps identify desirable performance and behaviors as well as identifying less desirable or unacceptable performance and behavior. An effective coaching discussion should include explanation of why the performance is positive or why it needs improvement, including pointing out potential outcomes, results or effects. The discussion should also identify how the employee can improve where needed, and how they can maintain and build upon positive performance.

Here are some tips for effective coaching conversations.

Coaching Tips for Reinforcing Successful Behavior:

Focus on one successful behavior.

Recount the successful behavior, its outcomes and impacts in detail to the employee.

Use specific examples to highlight the employee’s successful performance.

Point out the elements that contributed to the result being such a success.

Discuss with the employee to identify the root causes for the successful outcome.

Brainstorm with the employee about ways that the behavior can be replicated in other circumstances.

Describe the benefits of this behavior and your confidence in the employee’s ability to continue to demonstrate it.

Document notes of this discussion.

Watch for and praise repeated demonstration of the successful behavior. Encourage the employee in their positive achievements!

Coaching Tips for Addressing Poor

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Performance:Focus on the specific behavior that you consider to be poor performance.

Rather than describing in detail the behavior that is causing lower than desired performance, describe one thing the employee could do differently to achieve greater success.

Describe the benefits of this new desired behavior and your confidence in the employee’s ability to demonstrate it. Discuss in a way that helps the employee understand how modifying the approach or behavior will position them to achieve desired outcomes.

Use specific examples. Share insight and discuss approaches you’ve observed or found to be effective in navigating related challenges.

Listen carefully and be open to the employee's perspective without judgment.

Involve the employee in identifying how they can master and apply the new desired behavior. Discuss and plan with the employee ways that they can approach future challenges and opportunities productively and effectively.

Identify additional supporting resources such as education, training courses, or the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that can assist the employee in skills development.

If needed, draft a performance improvement plan, working in collaboration with your Human Resources Department.

Set dates for a follow up discussion to check in with the employee and review progress, or provide additional assistance or guidance as needed.

Document detailed notes regarding this discussion.

Provide ongoing, regular, and timely feedback regarding desired behavior.

Coaching Tips for Following Up on Poor Performance:

Ensure that you have gathered sufficient evidence of demonstrated behavior and results. This

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may include direct observation, specific work results, reports and records, and feedback shared from others.

Discuss specific information that has brought the performance concern to your attention again, if the issue has continued.

Listen to the employee’s comments regarding the information presented. This may provide insight regarding the root cause of a continuing performance issue, or it may help you identify new strategies to guide the employee to employ in efforts to overcome this performance issue.

Review the initial conversation addressing performance concerns, and discuss progress made by the employee in demonstrating the new desired behavior, as well as progress on their development or performance improvement plan, if applicable. (Ensure you are acknowledging factual demonstrated progress, and not just seeking a way to make the conversation easier.)

Engage the employee in discussions about why certain improvements in behavior are insufficient, if this is the case. Acknowledge progress, but also discuss the additional actions required.

Describe again, in detail, the desired behavior and when/how it should be exhibited.

Discuss consequences of poor performance (these should be consistent across the organization) and agree on next steps.

Check in with employee to ensure they have all the support and resources necessary to help them change their behavior; allocate as required.

Set dates for improvement milestones.

Document this performance coaching discussion.

Communicate with the employee in support of their development. Continue to work in support of performance improvement, identifying and allocating appropriate resources as needed.

Work with your Human Resources Department to implement a performance improvement plan, if needed.

Work with your Human Resources Department to complete a thorough investigation and determine appropriate disciplinary action for continued failure to comply with performance directives, if applicable.

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