Scenario #1 - Setting Expectations, you are meeting with Sally, a new employee, to get her feedback on her first few weeks on the job. You are going to review and reiterate her personal responsibilities as an employee, as well as ask her for feedback about the job. Sally is on the schedule to work Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and you set the meeting time for 8:00 a.m. that day. You reminded her of the meeting time on Saturday, just before she left work. Sally's day off was Monday. You check in at 8:20 a.m.
on Tuesday morning and Sally has not arrived for work. She comes in at 8:30 a.m., which is the second time she has been late. When Sally arrives, you approach her and say, 'Good morning, Sally. Let us have the follow-up discussion we planned for this morning,' and you both go to your office to talk. Sally starts the discussion by telling you that she ‘loves working in the store’ and has always been a dedicated employee. Sally really likes the people she works with, and she likes the company. She says she wants to do well and needs the job. Sally also reminds you that she does not have much experience in the company's industry, and that it can be ‘hot work, customers are rude, and it is hard to be friendly with them during busy times.' Opening: “Good Morning Sally, I hope you are doing well this morning. Did you get a good breakfast this morning? How is your commute to work? With my opening, I wanted to start with small talk to get Sally a bit more comfortable with talking to me since she is new. I expect Sally to respond well and piggyback with small talk herself.
Feedforward: “I am meeting with you this morning to simply get some feedback about your first week of work. I want you to feel comfortable talking to me, and I want you to know that what we talk about stays
between us. Here, I am forging a path to having a direct conversation with Sally by reassuring her and providing additional comfort so that she can open more into her feedback from her first week of work. Business: “I understand that you may lack experience in this field and being friendly to customers during busy times can be challenging. In this industry, the customer is number 1, and it is important that we do not lose sight of that. There will be many times where the opportunity to become frustrated may present itself, but it is important to never let that frustration trickle down to the customer. I do not expect you to be a pro at this right, as it does take practice. Always reflect and ask yourself, what if I was the customer in this moment? How would I want to be treated?” In discussing the focus of the conversation, I thought it important to reiterate some things Sally has already mentioned and let her know that it is normal to experience what she has experienced for someone in her situation. Providing with the “What?” and “Why?” was important in creating a mental picture for her. I would expect her to respond with a light bulb moment. Feedback: “I appreciate you sitting down with me and providing some feedback as to how your first week went. This job can be challenging, and it requires more mental work than most people expect. Again, we are here only because we have a customer to serve. We want that customer to continue to come back, so no matter how hard of a day or how stressful a situation, we must maintain high quality service to the customer.” Closing: “Sally, I want you to know that I understand things happen, we are all human. We cannot live perfect lives, but a part of working effectively as a team is having effective communication. Anytime you are going to be late, reach out and let us know. It is not just a matter of you showing up late, we want to be able to plan so your tardiness or absence have a minimal impact on customer service. Also, we want
