United States Fire Administration
Chief Officer Training
Curriculum
Human Resource Development
Module 6: Managing the
Workforce
Objectives
United States Fire Administration
 Differentiate between counseling and
coaching
 Demonstrate basic counseling and
coaching skills
 State the essential elements of an
effective performance evaluation
HRD 6-2
Objectives
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Describe the organizational system of
discipline and the chief officer’s role
 Describe the key components of an
effective conflict resolution model
HRD 6-3
Counseling
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Counseling is used to correct personal
problems such as rudeness, negative
attitudes, and absenteeism.
HRD 6-4
Counseling
(continued)
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 Formal counseling is typically used for
disciplinary and performance problems
 Informal counseling is unanticipated, onthe-spot corrections or suggestions
HRD 6-5
Coaching
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What makes a good coach?
HRD 6-6
Counseling and Coaching Tips
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 Exhibit trust and
respect for each
employee
 Accept diverse opinions
and promote teamwork
 Conduct regular
coaching/counseling
sessions with each
subordinate
HRD 6-7
Counseling and Coaching Tips
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Hold employees accountable for
unsatisfactory performance
 Give praise and rewards for jobs well
done
 Value employees’ ideas
 Set high expectations for your
employees and show confidence in
their ability to perform
HRD 6-8
Activity 6-1: Counseling and
Coaching
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 Time:
– Total Time: 30 minutes
– Discussion Time: 15 minutes
 Purpose:
– To differentiate between counseling and
coaching
– Demonstrate basic counseling and coaching
skills
HRD 6-9
Performance Evaluations
United States Fire Administration
A performance evaluation summarizes an
employee’s performance during the
evaluation period.
HRD 6-10
Good Performance Evaluation
Process
United States Fire Administration
HRD 6-11
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Preparation
Review of job description
Review of previous evaluations
Performance assessment
Performance goals
Action planning
Feedback
Review or appeal process
Follow-up
Preparation
United States Fire Administration
Preparation begins by reviewing job
descriptions, observing, giving feedback, and
documenting subordinates’ job performance
throughout the year.
HRD 6-12
Review of Job Descriptions
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To clearly evaluate a person’s job
performance, you must be clear about the
duties/tasks of the position.
HRD 6-13
Review Previous Evaluations
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Before the scheduled performance
evaluation, review the subordinates’
previous evaluations to give you a review
of their growth.
HRD 6-14
Performance Assessment
United States Fire Administration
Examine overall performance by looking
back at the past year and identify:
 Greatest strength
 Professional growth
 Rating of overall employee performance
for the entire year
 Areas for needed improvement
HRD 6-15
Performance Goals
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Develop mutual performance goals that
benefit the department as well as the
employee.
HRD 6-16
Action Planning
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Develop an action plan of how goals will
be accomplished.
HRD 6-17
Performance Feedback
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Verbally communicate to an employee
positive or negative aspects of their job
performance or behavior.
HRD 6-18
Review or Appeal Process
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Employees have the right to request their
evaluation be reviewed by a higher
authority.
HRD 6-19
Follow Up
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The employee and chief officer should
meet several times between evaluation
periods, to review the employee’s
progress.
HRD 6-20
Performance Evaluation Challenges
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 Hostile, unreceptive
employees
 Lack of communication
throughout the year
 Focusing on most recent
events
 Subjectivity – whether
you like him or her
personally
HRD 6-21
Performance Evaluation Challenges
United States Fire Administration
 Not focusing on whether he or she did
the job and how well he or she did it
 Lack of time to devote to the process
 Poorly written forms to use
 Lack of performance documentation
throughout the year
HRD 6-22
Activity 6-2: Performance
Evaluation Steps
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Time:
– Total Time: 10 minutes
– Discussion Time: 5 minutes
Purpose:
To help students remember the essential
elements and steps of an effective
performance evaluation.
HRD 6-23
Activity 6-3 Performance Evaluation
Document Review
United States Fire Administration
Time:
– Total Time: 20 minutes
– Discussion Time: 5 minutes
Purpose:
To help students remember the essential
elements required for an effective
performance evaluation.
HRD 6-24
Why Use Discipline?
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 Enforce employee obedience to maintain
and gain control
 Punishment for rule violations,
disobedience, or unsatisfactory
performance
 A training tool that corrects and
strengthens employee’s behavior
HRD 6-25
Progressive Discipline Model
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1. Coaching and counseling feedback
2. Verbal warning
3. Written warning/reprimand given and
placed in personnel file
4. Suspension
5. Dismissal
HRD 6-26
Advantages of Progressive
Discipline
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 Seriousness of repeated violations is stressed
upon the employee
 Employee is given opportunities to improve
before being terminated
 Managers are more willing to address the
problem early
HRD 6-27
Preventing Discipline Problems
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How can you prevent discipline problems?
HRD 6-28
Investigate Before Disciplinary
Action
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Investigate:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
HRD 6-29
Elements of Good Documentation
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 Timely
 Objective
 Specific
 Consistent
 Focused
HRD 6-30
Discipline Guidelines
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 Same set of rules, regardless of race,
religion, gender, seniority, or position
 Authority limitations
 No negativity
 Timely enforcement
HRD 6-31
Alternative Disciplinary Action Steps
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
HRD 6-32
Listen to and consider employee’s version of
incident
Explain expectations and review rules,
regulations, or policies
Allow employee to ask questions and offer
your assistance
Develop a plan for improvement
Establish time limits and consequences
Follow up
Activity 6-4: Disciplinary Report
Statements
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Time:
– Total Time: 45 minutes
– Discussion Time: 25 minutes
Purpose:
To provide practice in the chief officer’s
role of documentation for discipline
purposes.
HRD 6-33
Eight-Step Conflict Resolution
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 Step 1: Explain why we are here
 Step 2: Clarify your perceptions
 Step 3: Allow the employee to clarify
their perceptions
 Step 4: Repeat step 2 and 3 until you
are sure you understand the situation
 Step 5: Communicate the organizational
standard/expectation
HRD 6-34
Eight-Step Conflict Resolution
(continued)
United States Fire Administration
 Step 6: Compare/contrast the
employee’s behavior with the standard
 Step 7: Solicit assistance from the
employee in developing, and or
determining proper/alternative solutions
 Step 8: Recap the meeting while
establishing a timeline for
implementation/monitoring of the
solution
HRD 6-35
Summary
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 The difference between counseling and
coaching
 Goal setting
 Performance evaluations
 Discipline and documentation
 Conflict resolution
HRD 6-36