"Navigating Defensiveness: Strategies for a Constructive Performance Evaluation"

When an employee gets defensive during a review, it's crucial to maintain a constructive dialogue. Here's how to manage the moment:

- Approach with empathy. Acknowledge their feelings and provide specific examples to ground your feedback.

- Encourage dialogue. Ask open-ended questions to understand their perspective and involve them in creating solutions.

- Set clear goals. Define actionable steps for improvement, emphasizing support and resources available to them.

If there has been an issue between the manager and the staff, it can help to have a third party, for example the HR Business Partner, in the room. However, this needs to be communicated in advance.

Fabian Hoshino