One of these things we enjoy is teaching lawyer employers how to motivate and manage their most valuable asset, their employees. We love the ah-ha! moments when something we say makes perfect sense and creates a new direction for employee performance.

We tend to find (why we have no idea) that while lawyers get to the point quickly and precisely when doing their job (delivering legal solutions to clients through verbal communication) they tend to fail at this when delivering comments to employees. We have set in on my conferences between employers and employees and we find that there is a great deal of time spent justifying the reason for having the conference versus setting clear and defined talking points (this sounds like MSNBC or Fox News..take your pick).

Feedback we get from employees is that they usually leave the conference more confused than before it started. This is whether it is a pro-active conference or one where deficiencies in work need to be discussed. Certainly we believe that any conference is a blend of what is good and what is not so good.

Here are our recommendations:

1. Write down why you are having this meeting? Don't cloud it with too many issues. It just makes the message to cumbersome to handle.
2. What key points do you want to make? List what is important to you to cover. Under each point pick 3 things you need to say.
3. What are you seeking to accomplish? Write it down. Do you want improved performance. Be specific. If you are complimenting someone, be specific. Saying "you are doing a good job" is not as effective as saying "when you talked with Mr. Jones the other day I was impressed how you.....".
4. What is the follow-up? Again write it down. What are your expectations following this meeting.
5. Allow time for the employee to talk and give you feedback on understanding. You can ask them to repeat or discuss the talking points.
6. Follow-up! I have seen too many conferences where a lind in the sand was drawn (expectations) and then it was allowed to go unnoticed until it got worse again. Employees know this.

KEEP YOUR WRITTEN LIST IN FRONT OF YOU AND CHECK OFF AS YOU COVER EACH POINT.

Finally don't beat a dead horse to death! Say what you have to say. We were doing a course oN communication skills and an employee said "I wish they would just get to the point!". Today's generation of employees want to know, want fairness, and what clarity. Your job is not to be the most well liked employer but the employer who leads the firm through defined and clear communications and expectations.