Good companies realize that when their employees get better, so does the company. And that's the primary mission of performance reviews.

This module outlines a concrete framework for conducting better performance reviews that improve performance.

In this module:

• The ingredients of the best performance reviews
• Why performance reviews fail - and how to fix them
• Face-to-face discussion: Keys to handle tough talks with underachievers and motivate "A" players
• 9 sample questions you can adapt for one-on-one performance reviews
• Written evaluation: Creating a winning blueprint for the future
• 4 sample written reviews for different types of employees

Which would you rather do: cut your department budget by 15% or tell an employee he or she needs to address an odor problem? The second choice represents just one type of tough talk managers avoid like the plague.

This module lays out proven ways to handle these difficult conversations in a way that leave both the manager and employee happy with the result.

In this module:

• 7 dos and don'ts to help control the conversation
• 5-part conversation method to keep things on track - and away from disaster
• Why shutting up during conversations is often better than talking
• Specific ways to soften the blow - and get the message through with clarity
• How to steer clear of emotional blow-ups
• Confidential or "on-the-record": The only rule of thumb for managers

Good employees flock to great bosses. What makes a manager a great boss? Effectively challenging employees and motivating them to succeed - for themselves and the company.

This module details how to use soft management skills to maximize good people's intrinsic talent.

In this module:

• The 3 core responsibilities every managers must do
• Why more money doesn't equal more productivity - and what really drives people to perform
• What employees really want from their managers
• The difference between being a friend and being friendly - and why this distinction is critical
• How to reward people without the rewards becoming entitlements
• Keys to recognize and motivate employees without money

You spend countless hours sifting through stacks of resumes and screening people to find the best candidates. Unfortunately duds still slip through the cracks. What went wrong? The interview. It's the portion of the hiring process where opportunities for mistakes is highest.

This module delivers road-tested tactics to strengthen both the interview process and your managers' interviewing skills.

In this module:

• Why the best applicant doesn't always make the best hire
• 6 myths that hinder good hiring - and how to overcome them
• 40% of resumes have falsehoods and why trying to catch lies isn't necessary to hire the right person
• 5 ways to tilt the interview scale in your favor
• Why having a good feeling about a candidate early in the interview actually hurts your chances of landing the right person
• 3 things to tell candidates before you invite them in for an interview that almost guarantees they'll tell the truth like they're under oath

Managing isn't easy. And it is even harder without adequate training and preparation. Our study uncovered that 79% of companies either have no training or just informal training for newly promoted managers.

This module is designed to help new supervisors acquire the skills they need to succeed and avoid the 9 biggest mistakes most newly promoted managers make.

In this module:

• The four key components of good management
• Why simply continuing to do what got a new manager promoted in the first place could actually hurt him or her as a supervisor
• The type of employees that give new supervisors their biggest challenge - and 4 ways to manage them better
• Properly handle friendships with former peers and avoid unintentional favoritism
• Two activities that will help new supervisors develop their own management style
• The worst decision a new manager can make (it's not what you think)

A fair and equal workplace - what exactly does that mean? There are federal laws that define what a fair and equal workplace is. And at the end of the day, those anti-discrimination laws are the only definitions of bias that really matter because they are the ones that have costly legal consequences for employers who knowingly or unknowingly violate them.

This module will help managers understand the federal bias laws and test their ability to make the right call in tough situations.

In this module:

• The 10 protected classes - and which 6 all employees are a member of
• What does it mean to be biased? A simple equation clarifies the answer
• Detailed explanations of 11 adverse employment actions
• Someone makes a complaint - now what? 3 critical steps
• 3 real-life decision-making scenarios where a supervisor can find himself or herself smack in the middle of a bias complaint

More than one in three complaints filed with the EEOC are for retaliation - the single biggest complaint the agency receives. Every manager and supervisor needs to be aware of the concept of retaliation ... and how retaliation is related to legally protected activities employees might get involved in.

This training module will familiarize managers with what the law says regarding retaliation. It also looks at the different ways retaliation can occur in the workplace - so managers know how to recognize it ... how to prevent it ... and how to handle it if a claim occurs.

In this module:

• Why retaliation claims stick even when bias charges are thrown out
• The three legal elements of retaliation
• 8 activities all employees can do that are protected by federal law
• How retaliation protections kick in even if a complaint isn't officially filed
• Why an employee's perception of being retaliated against can be just as damaging as if there were, in fact, retaliation taking place
• Scenarios that illustrate circumstances in which retaliation might occur - and how subtle the differences are between illegal and legal actions

Employers get into legal trouble when managers fail to recognize what harassment really is, and the widely different ways it can occur in the workplace. The challenge is that harassment at work could be a lot of things and it's not as simple as looking out for a few items on an official list.

This employment law module will help supervisors to spot and stop workplace harassment before it escalates.

In this module:

• The two ingredients of harassment
• What "unwelcome conduct" is and why it's one of the most difficult legal terms to deal with in the real world
• Why managers must delve into the intent when considering harassing behaviors
• The two ways harassment goes from innocent teasing to illegal conduct
• What is a hostile work environment and why an employee must show it existed to win a harassment case
• Why an employee can quit and the court view it as if he or she was improperly fired - and the employer will be on the hook for heavy financial penalties
• The #1 thing managers and employers should to do to deal with harassment

There is perhaps no other workplace behavior that is as pervasive, misunderstood and challenging for a manager than sexual harassment. There are a wide variety of behaviors that constitute sexual harassment that many people don't even account for. One comment or one action and your company and any manager who witnessed or dealt with the incident are on the hook.

This training module will give managers a fundamental understanding of sexual harassment law and how to spot and respond to it.

In this module:

• The two basic types of sexual harassment
• How two almost identical real-life sexual harassment cases ended in opposite court rulings
• 6 things a judge and/or jury might consider when a sexual harassment case goes to court
• When does conduct cross the line? 5 questions to ask
• Why all organizations should follow this wise advice to avoid sexual harassment in the workplace
• 4 scenarios to test managers' judgment in real sexual harassment cases