Financial - “Aubrey, you exceeded your chargeable hours target by 20% last month. Great job, that’s really going to help us meet our overall Department Targets and Financial Goals. How did you do it? Are you able to share your progress with the rest of the team at next week's Team Meeting?"
Behavioural - “Kris, at the meeting this morning I noticed you getting defensive when your knowledge was challenged during your presentation. When Evan asked a question about your proposal, you were short with them and insisted that they need to trust you”. When you responded in that way, they shut down for the rest of the meeting and seemed angry. You really need Evan's support, and I’m wondering if you’ll have it now. What should you do differently?
Career Progression - “Tracy, I think you have partnership potential. You’ve demonstrated an ability to lead and motivate teams, you can deal with ambiguity, and you are a quick learner. Is partnership something that you are interested in exploring? If so, we will liaise with HR about the Partnership Potential Programme.
Team Development - “Alva, I’ve heard and noticed that our new Trainees have been coming to you for advice on how to succeed in our firm. You seem to be developing a reputation as someone that understands how we do things around here. That’s great, thanks for helping them out, I really appreciate it. You’re a role model for our values, and I’m sure our newer trainees value your advice.”
Feedback from Others - “Jan - I’ve received feedback from others in the department regarding you being overly critical to them about their work. While I’ve not directly seen you do this myself, I’m concerned that others have noticed, and it bothered them enough to come to me. Can you shed any light on this?”
Personal - "Elliot, I’ve noticed in the last two weeks you’ve not been yourself. You made two significant errors on your last two proposals, you missed an important deadline, and when we met yesterday, you didn’t seem to be paying attention to me. I had to repeat myself twice. I’m concerned – this isn’t like you at all. If there’s something going on in your life, I realize that may be private and none of my business, but I’m concerned that it’s impacting your job. Is there something going on?
Disengaged Team Member - "Jude, you don't seem to be engaged on this current client engagement. Is there something wrong or is there something you are worried about with regard to the work you are doing on this matter? Let's sit down to discuss this, just to make sure that we stay on track for the client and to make sure you have the help and support you need."
Lack of Delivery - "Asa, we didn't finish Project Alpha on time, can you help me understand why? As you know, we were trying to get the tax aspects of the deal finished for more than two weeks and we delivered it late. The whole project was then behind schedule which meant we could not complete in time for the client. Next time we will need to ensure that you have enough time and resources to finish the work. Maybe you could schedule more blocks of time to focus on your aspect of the work, and keep me up-to-date if you are falling behind schedule. I will then make sure you are not overloaded with other things at the same time."
Client Issue - Kyle, we've had some feedback from the client that you didn't send their fee updates on Friday. As it turned out it wasn't a problem as they got it on Saturday, but the client did raise it as an issue we should consider. Maybe next time, you can set yourself a diary reminder to send the information, in case you get busy and forget."
