As a manager, you’re probably used to dealing with tough situations: employees who insist on being late, team members who miss deadlines, and staff members who can’t get along. But conversations about an employee’s personal appearance are a whole different ball game. It’s something that we often avoid talking about, or worse, make light of.
This one-day workshop has two major themes. First, we’ll give you a framework for having those tough conversations. We’ll also give you some guidelines for customizing that framework for your organization. Then, we’ll look at some common tough conversations that come up, including body odor, flatulence, poor clothing and hair decisions, and bad breath. At the end of the workshop participants will have a chance to role play a tough situation. You’ll walk away well prepared for any kind of challenging conversation.
You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.
To start the day, participants will look at some of the personal and professional benefits of investing their time and energy into a tough conversation.
This session will give participants a framework for any difficult conversation and a chance to role play ways to open the conversation. Participants will also receive a checklist of company policies that they should familiarize themselves with.
Next, participants will role play what to do if the employee becomes offended, won’t admit that they have a problem, refuses to fix the problem (or fixes it only temporarily), or claims that the issue is due to a disability.
This session will focus on solutions for unkempt hair, unprofessional hairstyles, and dandruff.
In this session, participants will learn some good ways to bring up and resolve issues with inappropriate body piercings and tattoos.
Next, participants will learn how to deal with dress code violations, with a special section on issues that could be gender-sensitive. Participants will also receive some useful tips on helping employees who don’t have the resources to dress appropriately.
This session will explore the causes of bad breath (formally known as halitosis), how to resolve it, and how to discuss it with employees.
Next, participants will brainstorm ways to handle inadequate personal hygiene, body odor from medical issues, and over-perfumed employees. We’ll also take a quick look at what to do if you think you smell drugs or alcohol on an employee.
This session will look at discussing incontinence and flatulence with an employee.
Finally, participants will make a list of their favorite poor hygiene habits and brainstorm solutions for them.
In the last session of the day, participants will role play a difficult hygiene situation and receive feedback on how they handled the situation.
At the end of the course, students will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.
