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Performance Conversations for Managers
Manage Appraisals to Align, Inspire and Empower
High Performance
Published on 11 Jul 2023
Performance management is often misunderstood and misapplied. I want to help organisations, managers and supervisors inspire and motivate staff through effective performance management practices and conversations.
Performance management, when done well, can truly inspire performance. Supervisors and managers want to have more productive performance conversations. Employees also want to apply their talents and skills, and be recognised. Let's have more meaningful conversations to realise individual and organization aspirations.
Dr. Lee Kang Yam
Chief Learning Curator
Here are some challenges and misconceptions
One misconception about performance management is the thinking that performance management equals performance appraisal or review. Performance management encompasses more than appraisal. It includes planning, monitoring, and developing staff. Appraising or reviewing performance is just one
of the stages in performance management.
Woes of Human Resources
One of the main contributors to employee dissatisfaction is the ineffective and unproductive performance reviews and appraisals from their supervisors. HR doubts the quality of the reviews and has to handle complaints from both managers and employees.
It is frustrating for HR to educate supervisors and staff on the aims of performance management, the importance of feedback and effective performance appraisal practices. Yet HR has to ensure that performance management processes are followed and effective performance conversations are undertaken by supervisors and staff.
Doubts of Managers
It is common for managers to feel uncertain about how to manage and motivate the performance of their staff. They dread difficult performance conversations, struggle to provide objective ratings of their employees' performance and neglect constructive feedback to improve performance.
Frustrations of Employees
Oftentimes the expectations of work goals and results of performance appraisals are not clearly communicated to the employees, hence staff perceive that the performance management process lacks objectivity and fairness. They also feel demotivated by a lack of feedback and meaningful conversations to improve performance.
What are we offering?
Performance conversations for managers refer to:
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Clarifying the work expectations and needs
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Providing feedback to improve performance
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Monitoring performance to avoid surprises
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Coaching staff to motivate performance.
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Our step-by-step structured conversational process is designed to help managers develop a clear appreciation of each stage in the performance review process, prepare and plan the performance conversations so that managers can surface wants, concerns, and expectations in a clear and positive manner, provide specific feedback to improve performance and handle difficult performance conversations.
What are the learning objectives of this learning experience?
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A two-day interactive and experiential learning with practical tools, templates and in-depth practices
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Face-to-face workshop for close guidance
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Internal workshops with flexible delivery options are available to accommodate different needs e.g., First-time Supervisors, Middle Managers, Individual Contributors or HR.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
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Apply goal setting and deep conversation techniques to explore needs, wants and individual ownership and commitment to work goals
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Apply evidence-based behavioral observation to link individual’s strengths and work achievements
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Provide effective performance feedback to improve the performance of staff
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Explore individual’s possibilities and aspirations in heart-to-heart review conversations with manager
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Explore learning and developmental options to improve capabilities and grow the individual
What are the benefits?
Managing performance goes beyond simply understanding the organization's appraisal process or the forms to be filled to having effective performance conversations to inspire performance. Learners will be able to:
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Develop clarity on work expectations, needs and wants to ensure greater ownership and commitment
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Help staff leverage their strengths and address the areas for improvement through effective feedback
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Foster a growth mindset to embrace challenges and growth
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Manage performance reviews effectively
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Hold difficult performance conversations to deliver a consistent and right message to improve performance
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Handle resistance during difficult performance conversations
This workshop focuses on:
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Structuring and navigating performance reviews
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Understanding workplace drama in managing performance
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Using growth mindset in performance conversations
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Delivering behavioural based feedback with care and honesty
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Building trust and rapport in review meetings
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Using language of appreciation in performance conversations
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Using questions to uncover motivation
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Deepening ownership and commitment through conversations
Here are some of the tools you will use:
Automatic Negative Thoughts
Barriers to Performance
Who Should Attend:
Managers, Directors, Heads and Team Leads who are leading teams and need to have performance appraisal conversations.
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Learning Experience and Fees​​​
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Performance Management workshop
Performance Management workshop
1/2
Facilitator: Dr. Lee Kang Yam
Grow in Skills
We asked participants to rate their skills before and after the workshop to see how they have grown. These are our average scores before and after the Performance Management workshops.
Performance Management Course for Managers:
Manage Appraisal Conversations Effectively
Performance Management for Individual Contributors:
Manage Appraisal Conversations Effectively
Grow in Contribution
We also asked participants to rate the outcomes of applying their Performance Management conversation skills. Here is the business impact.
Performance Management Course for Managers:
Manage Appraisal Conversations Effectively
Performance Management for Individual Contributors:
Manage Appraisal Conversations Effectively
You may be thinking . . .
​Performance management is too complex and takes a lot of time
​Our performance management training offers easy-to-follow performance conversation templates and tips on handling difficult performance situations.
Performance management is just about performance appraisals
Our performance management training addresses the holistic process of inspiring, managing, reviewing and developing staff to improve performance.
Performance management is about following the processes
How supervisors conduct the performance conversations and manage the performance of the staff contribute to a significant extent to the perception of objective and fair performance review and appraisal.
Inspiring staff performance through effective performance conversations contributes to employee satisfaction and increased productivity and effectiveness.
Learn how to do that.
Check out what others say...
I appreciate how the trainer helps me see how manageable the appraisal process is and how we can use different tools and strategies to have more uplifting appraisals. The training was very interactive with rich breakout sessions, active sharing, open discussion of difficult issues and excellent facilitation by the trainer. Thank you!
Anonymous
Manager, educational institute (2021)
We found the framework/ tools/ skills practice extremely useful, practical, and intuitive to follow. Kang Yam brings the ideas to life through rich sharing and skillful facilitation. It was particularly helpful to have a follow-up session because one, we could recall and practice all that we had learnt and two, we could address all our wins and failures to use the tools and framework that was taught to us.
Anuradha Naik
Asst Director, People and Organisation,*Scape (2023)
Here are some resources on Performance Management
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who usually attends your workshops?
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Managers and supervisors who want to learn best practices in performance management;
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Managers and supervisors who want to apply effective performance conversations techniques;
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Managers and supervisors who need to provide effective and specific feedback to improve performance;
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Managers and supervisors who want to conduct effective performance appraisals; and
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Managers and supervisors who need to convey difficult messages and reactions.
We already have internal performance appraisal sessions, why do we need this training?
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It's great that you have internal sessions, and in our experience, these sessions tend to focus on the organization processes and systems. They are briefings and not skill-building sessions.
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We cover difficult scenarios that managers face.
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We role-play and give feedback to managers on their skills.
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We facilitate rich discussions so managers shift their mindset on the importance of these conversations.
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Why are performance management conversations beneficial for managers and supervisors? ​
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Managers and supervisors are able to avoid surprises by clarifying expectations, providing just-in-time feedback and coaching staff to improve performance.
How do I know you’re the best in this topic? How is this different from other “performance management” courses?
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We harness best practices in performance management and focus on performance conversation skills.
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We have also been conducting performance management training for senior management, managers, supervisors, and individual contributors since 2009 extensively for public sector organizations and private sector companies.
Will I get any certificate for attending the workshop?​
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You will also receive an e-certificate of completion from Flame Centre, which you can add to your Linkedin profile.
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