Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee

ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic counseling interviews is the interviewer's tendency to talk too much. Numerous studies have shown that in counseling interviews the average manager will talk as much as 85 percent of the time. For a counseling interview to serve its purpose of drawing out responses from the employee, the interviewer must be an effective listener, not a talker. The manager must know how to ask questions which force the employee to speak about his or her unsatisfactory performance. After asking the question, the interviewer should remain silent, thus compelling the employee to speak.

NEVER BE AFRAID OF SILENCE: Most people talk too much because they feel uncomfortable when silence prevails. For example, a manager may ask an employee to suggest how his or her job performance could be improved. If the employee was unprepared for such a question, it may take a few moments to prepare a cogent answer. These few moments may seem like hours, compelling the manager to say something else or to elaborate on the original question. If the manager succumbs to this compulsion, the employee's chain of thought will be interrupted, and he or she will be encouraged to lapse back into a passive mental frame. It's far easier for the employee to listen to the boss talk than it is to try to construct a meaningful answer to a pointed question.

BE AN ENCORAGING EMPLOYER: This encouragement can be in the form of visual feedback (having a facial expression of interest, keeping eyes upon the speaker's face, or nodding) as well as oral comments. The employee will be inclined to tell all he or she knows if the interviewer, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, retains a noncommittal facial expression and tone of voice. By rewording the employee's input, the manager may be able to process the information related more clearly as well as "compel" the employee to elaborate on those parts which they feel that the manager didn't clearly understand.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

---

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: Team Dynamics and Communication

This article relates to the Team Dynamics competency, which evaluates... Read More

Your Organization Is Only as Good as Your People

Let's begin by singing the jingle from an old US... Read More

Focus On the Prize

People talk to me about making personal and professional changes... Read More

Beyond Management Coaching: When Things Are Getting Out of Control

Leaders and Managers often ask us, 'What do you do... Read More

Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees!

Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you... Read More

Real Costs in Distribution and What it Means To Your Company

Ever feel that all the lawyers in thh Country need... Read More

Coaching Champions at Work

I saw Brian Kerr (the Irish national football coach) on... Read More

How To Manage A Difficult Employee

Having to manage a difficult employee is never fun and... Read More

Five Strategies for Profitable Services Growth

In today's era of Professional and IT Services competition and... Read More

Business & Family Safety and Health Rating

For good reason, practically every endeavor in life is rated.... Read More

Strategic Clarity for Communication Management

Over the past few weeks I've been developing plans for... Read More

Training and ROI (Return On Investment)

Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today's contact... Read More

Communication: Managements Responsibility

I've just watched, again, an episode in the Back to... Read More

Innovation Management ? Eliciting Dominant Ideas

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

I Am Not A Number - Why Too Many Change Projects Fail

Many of you will recognise this quote from the 1960s... Read More

How to Build Your Business and Still Take Time Off

We all know people who are like human dynamos. They... Read More

3 Keys to Being a Fearless Executive

In my work with business executives, I have come to... Read More

Feedback - Make it Descriptive

Have you ever heard yourself say to a team member... Read More

Build Rapport Fast! - Eight Easy Steps

Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the... Read More

Be a Change Agent ( Part 1)

Aligning business organizations to be successful in the present and... Read More

Few Things Are More Destructive Than An Insecure Boss

Few things are more destructive to a career than a... Read More

Leaders Versus Cheerleaders

Everyone wants to describe themselves as a leader. Everyday, new... Read More

The Challenges of Human Resource Management

IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with... Read More

Manage Your Business from the Rockies, not the Prairies

The day job as a manager is all about managing... Read More

How to Fire an Employee

One of the most difficult tasks you will face as... Read More

A Corporate Facelift With Sound Bytes

If Baby Boomers can get botox and tummy tucks, then... Read More

When Business Becomes A Battlefield

"We have to be careful it's like a minefield out... Read More

Power of Pinpointing Accountability

I have always said that if I were to write... Read More

A Sense of Humor in the Workplace ... Is it Me? Or, was that not funny?

When I was first initiated into Corporate America, I had... Read More

How To Use Outsourcing To Beat Your Competition

Outsourcing is when you hire outside professionals or services to... Read More

Is this A Good Time To Sell Your Body Shop Business?

Have you ever asked yourself the question? "Is this a... Read More

Pricing Strategy for Retail Flower Shops

When you create your profit and loss statement to assess... Read More

Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy?

How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is... Read More