Course Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes
This CPD-certified Difficult Conversations Training course prepares managers to identify problems, correct behaviour and support employees through effective communication.
The course provides step-by-step instructions for managers on how to have difficult conversations while keeping things professional in the workplace. It helps managers formulate an effective strategy on how they should communicate with employees regarding individual issues.
| Course Duration | Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes |
|---|---|
| Approval body | CPD |
| Format | Fully online |
| Assessment | Multiple choice |
| Certification | Same-day digital certificate |
| Certificate Valid For | 3 years |
This course contains the following modules:
The course certificate includes:
An CPD-certified certificate will be available for download and printing instantly upon course completion.
Users must complete an assessment before earning their certificate.
The end-of-course test is:
A score of 80% is required to pass.
Many managers assume dismissal is the hardest conversation. In practice, the earlier conversations about performance, behaviour or expectations are often the ones managers delay. These are the conversations managers put off.
This avoidance, however, is costly. Acas-commissioned research estimated that UK organisations deal with around 1.7 million formal disciplinary cases a year, based on pre-pandemic workplace conflict data and published assumptions.
At the same time, CIPD research suggests performance management is often inconsistent, with fewer than a third of employees experiencing systematic performance management.
Some formal issues will have started as lower-level concerns that could have been addressed earlier — before they escalated into grievances, resignations or disciplinary processes.
This training gives managers a clear, repeatable method for handling difficult conversations early and professionally, so issues can be addresse while they are still small.
Most workplace problems don’t announce themselves. A reliable employee starts missing deadlines. A team member goes quiet after a decision they disagreed with. Two colleagues stop speaking and everyone works around the gap. Each is a conversation waiting to happen — and harder the longer it’s left.
Handled early, many issues can be resolved informally before they need formal action. Left too long, the same issue becomes a formal disciplinary, a resignation the team can’t afford, or a grievance that pulls in HR and weeks of management time.
The law raises the stakes, too. Under the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, employment tribunals can increase relevant awards by up to 25% where an employer unreasonably fails to follow the Code.
From 1 January 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 will reduce the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection from two years to six months in England, Scotland and Wales. It will also remove the statutory cap on compensatory awards, although awards will continue to be calculated by reference to proven actual and projected losses.
When managers are equipped to handle these conversations well, organisations can benefit from:
For managers themselves, the benefit is more immediate: fewer conversations they’re dreading, and more that actually move things forward.
Difficult conversation training prepares team leaders to manage difficult conversations at work that involve discussing issues, correcting behaviours, and giving constructive feedback effectively and professionally.
The 3 C’s to difficult conversations are Compassion, Clarity, and Courage. Compassion requires understanding the employee’s perspective, Clarity ensures the message is understood correctly, and Courage ensures the issue is addressed directly and constructively.
Managing a difficult conversation well comes down to preparation and structure, not just confidence. The approach taught in this course follows a few clear steps:
This difficult conversation course is designed for anyone in a managerial or supervisory role. Examples include team leaders, HR professionals, project managers, customer service managers, sales managers, and operations managers.
You will learn how to:
This difficult conversations eLearning course consists of two modules and takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
Yes. This Difficult Conversation course is certified by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification Service.
