Preventing issues from escalating and improving day-to-day performance
This workshop helps managers, leaders, and HR professionals address issues early, improving performance and reducing the risk of escalation into formal processes such as grievances and investigations.
Difficult conversations are not limited to performance or conduct. In practice, they often relate to behaviour and impact, expectations and boundaries, working relationships, workload, pressure, team dynamics, or values and culture.
Shaped by mediation experience and work in complex workplace situations, this workshop helps leaders recognise when conversations are needed and handle them clearly and constructively. This reduces reliance on HR to manage avoidable issues and supports more effective day-to-day management.
Who This Is For
Designed for managers, senior leaders, and HR professionals responsible for handling people issues:
Senior leaders
Directors and executives handling complex stakeholder conversations
Managers
Line managers responsible for performance, behaviour, and team dynamics
HR professionals
Supporting managers through sensitive or escalating situations
Outcomes
Format
Half-day, interactive format. Small groups of 6 to 10 participants. The workshop is delivered online or in person. Includes a virtual 90-minute follow-up session three months later.
Why avoidance happens
Understanding what drives avoidance: uncertainty, emotional risk, fear of making things worse, and lack of confidence in how to have the conversation
A practical structure
A simple, flexible framework participants can adapt and apply across different workplace situations
Practice and application
Working through representative workplace scenarios in a psychologically safe environment, with peer feedback and structured reflection
Why Laura
Laura is an accredited workplace mediator with over 20 years' HR leadership experience, including Executive Director-level roles. She has worked across organisations of different sizes and sectors, advising on sensitive people situations, conflict and disputes, restructuring, and high-exposure decision-making involving senior leaders.
This experience means Laura understands how and why issues escalate, what prevents resolution, and where people and organisational risk sits. Her approach is considered, practical, and discreet. She focuses on helping leaders address difficult conversations with clarity, fairness, and confidence, particularly where issues are emerging or becoming harder to contain.
Pricing
This workshop helps reduce the time, disruption, and cost associated with avoidable people issues, improving day-to-day performance and reducing the need for formal processes such as grievances and investigations.
The half-day workshop is offered for a fixed fee, including a 90-minute virtual follow-up session three months later.
In-person delivery (6 to 10 participants): £3,000 plus VAT
Virtual delivery (6 to 10 participants): £2,800 plus VAT
Want to prevent issues escalating?
A confidential conversation can help decide whether this workshop is the right preventative step for your organisation.
Start a Confidential Conversation