Employee Motivation and Performance Management
The performance review was a surprise. That is the failure.
Almost every serious performance problem was visible months before anyone named it. The manager noticed, hoped it would resolve, waited for the review, and by then the employee had a reasonable case that nobody had told them. That delay is the single most expensive habit in management.
This workshop is about closing that gap. Not the annual process, which most organizations already have, but the daily practice underneath it: naming a problem early, being specific enough to be actionable, and following up in a way that either fixes it or builds a clean record.
HR leaders use this where performance issues arrive late, escalate fast, and consume disproportionate time. Senior leaders use it where review ratings do not match reality, or where good people leave because nobody ever told them they were doing well either. Motivation gets equal weight here, because the same manager who avoids the hard conversation usually skips the recognition too. This is the performance-specific counterpart to Effective Managerial Leadership.
Content, scenarios, and examples are built around your actual work before delivery. Most groups train live online, and on-site in-person delivery is available by request. This workshop is available by request only, with a three participant minimum, and sits alongside our other leadership development workshops.
This course includes
- Live, instructor led workshop delivered in two 4-hour sessions
- Practice conversations drawn from real performance situations
- Frameworks for diagnosing behavior, skill, and systems problems
- Guidance on factual, non-adversarial documentation
- Digital learning materials and take home reference guides
- Certificate of completion for every participant
Description
The day opens on expectations, because a performance conversation without them is just an opinion. Participants learn to define what good looks like in terms an employee could actually verify, distinguish a behavior problem from a skill problem from a systems problem, and recognize which of the three they are actually looking at. Most performance issues are misdiagnosed at this stage.
The middle is the conversation nobody wants. Participants practice raising a problem early, staying specific, and separating the behavior from the person. They work on hearing the reason without accepting the excuse, agreeing on something concrete, and following up on the date they said they would. They also practice documentation that is factual rather than adversarial, which is what protects both sides.
The last stretch is motivation, treated as a practical question rather than a theory. Participants learn to find out what actually drives a specific person instead of assuming, deliver recognition that lands, and understand why the same incentive produces different results across a team. Scenarios come from real performance situations.
What You'll Learn at a Glance
- Define what good looks like in terms an employee can verify
- Tell a behavior problem from a skill problem from a systems problem
- Raise a performance concern while it is still small
- Stay specific and separate the behavior from the person
- Document factually without turning the conversation adversarial
- Find out what actually motivates a specific person rather than assuming
- Deliver recognition that lands and follow up when you said you would
Details
Duration
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is designed for people who currently supervise others. Managers who also need the broader foundations of the role can pair it with Effective Managerial Leadership.
Your Leadership Training Goals, Customized to You
DWC provides expert leadership training aligned to your organization’s needs, your funding requirements, and your participants’ skill levels. With customization at every level, from content to scheduling to delivery format, DWC builds leadership training programs that produce measurable outcomes.
20,000+ Participants Trained | 90% Completion Rate | 1,500+ Organizations Served
Tuition
Employee Motivation and Performance Management is available by request only, scheduled around your team.
- $495 per participant, with a three participant minimum
- Private training: request a custom quote. One on one sessions and teams below the three participant minimum are priced case by case
- Larger groups: request a custom quote. We price larger cohorts case by case based on group size, schedule, and delivery format
Colorado state agencies, higher education institutions, cities, counties, school districts, and certified nonprofits may purchase this course directly through our State of Colorado Price Agreement. Request a quote and we will build pricing around your team.