If you are a leader or aiming to be one, difficult conversations on the workplace with employees are going to be quite common.
Irrespective of whether it is a performance issue, project feedback or general upkeep, it is critical to keep the conversation and the follow-up professional.
In this blog post, we will explore how you can write an email to an employee after a difficult conversation using commonly used best practices, tips/hacks to keep it cordial and professional and finally a template that you can modify to use for yourself. So let us begin.
Tips to Remember
With a difficult conversation, it is essential to maintain a professional tone throughout and ensure that the other person is not hurt over something that could have been avoided.
Be clear and specific about your feedback so that there are no ambiguities
Offer support in places where they might need it so that they can work on getting better. Focusing only on the problem will not bear any positive change, instead focus on what can be done.
Set clear expectations as to what success or improvement will look like and share a likely path they might want to take to reach there as most people need some guidance moving forward.
Best Practices
Be prompt while sending the email after a difficult conversation so that they can start the improvement process as soon as they can.
Empathize and understand the predicament of your employee so that you are able to better phrase the points you want to cover without sounding tone deaf.
Focus on solutions instead of just the problems, this approach is a lot more constructive and productive for the team/organization plus guidance will help your employees get better faster.
If applicable, keep the feedback confidential so that the employee doesn’t feel embarrassed or insulted while going about their work. Improvement is important but it should be balanced with employee well-being.
Sample Follow-up Email Template After a Difficult Conversation
Subject: Follow-up on our conversation
Hello {Recipient’s Name},
Hope you are well. After our conversation today, I must say that I feel we have made significant progress in addressing the areas of improvement.
I understand that this was not easy, but it is something that will benefit both you and the organization in the long run. If you need any assistance with executing the plan we discussed today, please feel free to reach out to me.
To clarify, successful execution of the plan will [Explain the Parameters of Success]. If you have any questions, do clarify it with me or your team lead.
Be assured that our conversation is completely confidential. Thanks for your commitment to improvement and I look forward to your growth in our organization.
Regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Designation]
Conclusion
An email after a difficult conversation with an employee can be one of the most tricky emails to send. But with the tips and best practices shared in this post, you are well equipped to handle this situation professionally and politely.
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