How do you run an underperformance conversation role-play?

Give the manager the results over time, such as the months a target was missed. Give the employee the private brief with the cause in it. Run the conversation for ten to twelve minutes. It should end with actions, support and a review date, so check for all three.

How long should an underperformance role-play last?

Ten minutes is enough for most managers to reach the real cause. Allow a few more for the harder scenario, where the employee pushes back and the manager has to stay with it.

What should you score in an underperformance conversation?

Score how the manager opens with the facts, and whether they found the cause before they proposed a plan. Tell the manager which ones first. Then check the ending for actions, support and a review date.

Underperformance conversation role-play scenarios

Two underperformance conversation scenarios you can run in your next session. Each has a situation, a private brief for the employee and a short scoring guide. Judge the answers by your own method.

Three months of missed targets
An employee who blames everything else

A manager and an employee sitting side by side in a quiet one-to-one conversation

What is an underperformance conversation role-play?

An underperformance conversation role-play is a practice management conversation. One person plays an employee whose results have dropped over time, and holds a hidden brief. The manager has to find out what is behind it and agree actions, support and a review date.

Where it fits in a programme

Run these after you have taught your approach to hard conversations and before managers hold a real one. Results that slip over weeks are hard to raise, and most managers wait too long to try.

What good looks like

States the facts about the results calmly, without blame.
Finds out what has changed before deciding what to do.
Ends with agreed actions, support and a date to review.

Scenario 1

Three months of missed targets

10 minutes
Intermediate

The situation

The learner manages a small sales team. One account manager used to hit his numbers with ease. He has now missed target three months in a row, and the gap is getting wider.

The learner’s goal

Agree actions, support and a review date with him.

Private brief for the employee

Liam, an account manager who has been on the team for four years.

You are tired and on edge. You know your numbers are down and you would rather the conversation did not happen.
Your parent is ill and you are caring for them. You have been leaving early most days and you have told no one, because you fear for your job.
If your manager states the facts calmly and asks what has changed, tell them the truth. If you are compared with your colleagues, or the manager jumps to a formal plan, go quiet and say you will do better.

The employee’s opening line

"I know the numbers aren’t great. It’s been a slow quarter for everyone."

What to look for

1 Names the three months of results without comparing him to colleagues.
2 Asks what has changed, then waits for the answer.
3 Leaves with a review date, and support that fits what he shared.

Debrief questions

What did Liam say that told you something was behind the numbers?
At what point did you want to move to a plan, and what did you do?

Make it harder

Have Liam share what is happening at home and then ask the learner to tell no one. The learner has to agree support that fits what he asked.

Scenario 2

An employee who blames everything else

12 minutes
Advanced

The situation

The learner manages a reporting team. One team member has missed four deadlines in two months. Others on the team have noticed, and the learner can see the gap growing.

The learner’s goal

Agree actions, support and a review date with her.

Private brief for the employee

Nadia, a team member who moved into this role after a restructure.

You are defensive and you feel under attack. You think the problems are not your fault, and you have said so before.
You were moved into this role in the restructure and no one trained you on the reporting part of it. You are embarrassed and have not said so. One of your complaints is true: the system is slow.
If your manager accepts the true part and then comes back to your part, open up. If every reason you give is waved away as an excuse, shut down and repeat your complaints.

The employee’s opening line

"If the system worked and the other team sent things on time, we wouldn’t be here."

What to look for

1 Accepts that the system is slow, and says so plainly.
2 Comes back to her own part without raising her voice or giving in.
3 Finds the training gap by asking, not by guessing.

Debrief questions

Which of Nadia’s reasons was true, and how did you handle it?
What did you do when you felt she was making excuses?

Make it harder

Have Nadia bring up two more reasons, one true and one weak, so the learner has to tell them apart in the moment.

Common questions

How do you run an underperformance conversation role-play?: Give the manager the results over time, such as the months a target was missed. Give the employee the private brief with the cause in it. Run the conversation for ten to twelve minutes. It should end with actions, support and a review date, so check for all three.
How long should an underperformance role-play last?: Ten minutes is enough for most managers to reach the real cause. Allow a few more for the harder scenario, where the employee pushes back and the manager has to stay with it.
What should you score in an underperformance conversation?: Score how the manager opens with the facts, and whether they found the cause before they proposed a plan. Tell the manager which ones first. Then check the ending for actions, support and a review date.

Build these scenarios on your method

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