You have recently received the following complaints regarding your team members:

Complaint 1: Ajay is a high performing and experienced member of your team. But, in the past few weeks, his performance has declined, and he has not been able to meet the performance benchmarks. Apart from the performance issues, he has been guilty of many misconducts at work, such as:

• Persistent lateness
• Not completing a piece of work on time
• Not following procedures properly
• Being rude to junior staff members

Complaint 2: Susan and Louise are your team members. Susan is a devout Christian and has religious figurines in her cubicle. Louise is a professed atheist who feels that extremely religious people are less intelligent.

Both women try to avoid discussing religion, but they both know the other's feelings on current events, and at times there is palpable tension.

One day Susan comes to work wearing a shirt declaring inappropriate wordings for the atheists, and Louise decides she has had enough. She feels this action is alienating and hostile.

She has lodged a complaint to the management regarding Susan.

The management wants you to address these issues. They want you toprepare, facilitate and lead difficult conversations and address these issues.

For conversation 1:

• The role of Ajay to a staff member/student.

Behaviour guidelines for Ajay

• Ajay will be very emotional and distressed.
• Ajay will explain that he has recently gone through a divorce and he feels stressed and at time unwilling to go to work.
• He will further explain that at the time, he does not have control over his emotions.

For conversation 2:

• The trainer/assessor will assign the roles of Susan and Louise to the staff members/students.

Behaviour guidelines for Louise

• Louise will discuss his complaint.
• Louise will defend herself, stating that she never intentionally passed any remarks.
• Louise will be angry at Susan during the conversation.

Behaviour guidelines for Susan

• Susan will discuss that there have been provocations from Louise when she has passed remarks against her religion. She will further explain that in reply to these conversations, she took this step.
• Susan will regret her action but also be very clear that she will not tolerate any remarks on her religion.

Follow the conversation process provided below:

Conversation process
Steps for successful conversation	Description
Step 1 - State the problem	State the problem and provide examples. Discuss the conversation content as per the conversational plans prepared in Complaint 1. State the impact that the problem is having on the business.
Step 2 - Listen and question	Put aside your view and let the employee explain their side of the story and motives. Try to understand their point of view.
Step 3 - Acknowledge	Acknowledge the employee's feelings and view of the situation. Confirm and clarify your understanding of what they have said and validate them where appropriate.
Step 4 - Reassess your position	After the employee has put forward their point of view, it is your turn to clarify your position without minimising theirs. What can you see from your perspective that they've missed? Has your position changed based on the information they provided?
Step 5 - Look for solutions	Work with the employee to develop solutions. Agree on a way forward.
Step 6 - Close the conversation	Clarify and document the agreed actions and next steps. Thank the employee.

Template 1: Outcomes of conversation

Outcomes of conversation

Employee name:

Date and time of conversation:

What was the employee's response to the issue or concern raised?

Are there any facts, issues or entitlements that need to be checked?

Has any new information come to light?

What solution/s did your employee suggest?

• Was the team member referred to relevant support services?
• Any support or training to be provided to the employee

Describe the agreement you reached in the conversation

What are the next steps?

For you:

For your employee:

Date for a follow-up meeting:

Template 2: Outcomes of conversation

Outcomes of conversation

Employee name:

Date and time of conversation:

What was the employee's response to the issue or concern raised?

Are there any facts, issues or entitlements that need to be checked?

Has any new information come to light?

What solution/s did your employee suggest?

• Was the team member referred to relevant support services?
• Any support or training to be provided to the employee

Describe the agreement you reached in the conversation

What are the next steps?

For you:

For your employee:

Date for a follow-up meeting: