Progress-focused advice: consultation between an HR advisor and a manager

Below you can read three conversations between an HR advisor and a manager. The manager's approach is not effective in the first three conversations, but it is in the fourth conversation. In the first two conversations the HR advisor's approach is not effective, but in the third conversation, an example of progress-focused advice, it is.

The situation

George is a manager of a support department in a hospital. He asks Chloe, an HR advisor, for advice. George believes that his team's service to doctors should be improved. The doctors have said that they believe the service is not fast enough and not service-focused enough. George understands the complaints and discusses the situation in the team. But instead of coming up with ideas for improvement, the team members mainly come up with complaints about the doctors. George asks Chloe, advisor at the HR department, for advice. His question is: “How can I ensure that they come up with ideas about how they can improve services?”                       

Example 1: prescriptive advice

In the first example, Chloe gives advice in a prescriptive way. She tells George bluntly what she thinks he should do.

Chloe	Hi George.
George	Hi Chloe. Thank you for taking some time for me... I would like to get your advice on something. I have received the signal from the doctors that they are not completely satisfied with the service my team provides to them. They often find it not fast enough and not service-oriented enough. And I think they're right about that. So I discussed it in the team and told them that this problem exists. And I said that we really need to do something about this as a team. So I hoped they would come up with ideas for improvement but instead they came up with complaints about the doctors. They are so arrogant, they are not clear, you cannot make good agreements with them. So that didn't really work well. Afterwards I was thinking: what should I do next? How can I ensure that they come up with ideas on how they can improve the service?
Chloe	Yes absolutely. I have a lot of experience in this area and it doesn't surprise me at all that those consultations yielded nothing. Because, look, in this organization we expect them to take the lead and focus on targets and what team members have to show. And with these types of major problems, where the timing really isn't right, they don't work fast enough, the service is not customer-oriented enough, you have to intervene as a manager. Tell them what the problem is now, give them targets, check that, weekly reports. And if that is still the case with some people, right, that they still do not do what is intended, then yes, then it is time for a performance review and a process so that you can create a file for those people.
George	Yes, I can relate to what you're saying. I'm just afraid that if I follow such a strict approach, some resistance will arise. The relations in the team are quite good now. I'm afraid it will decrease somewhat.
Chloe	You shouldn't be so anxious. Look, you're the manager. Don't be afraid of resistance. That's just part of it. That is part of your job. There is a customer satisfaction system that you can actually use as is . Didn't you know that was there? You can just use it like that . And that simply has very clear targets on which you can manage. So, look at that customer satisfaction system. You can use that for the doctors. And then start setting targets, checking, conducting performance reviews. just do things like that. That's the way…
George	Um... Chloe, sorry to interrupt you. I only had a few minutes. Thank you very much for your ideas and for taking some time for me. I also have an appointment with Jeroen shortly about the same subject. Also just to hear: how does he view the situation? Thank you very much in advance for these ideas.
Chloe	[With an irritated look] Okay…

► Disadvantages of this approach : The advice of the advisor does not match the needs and priorities of the person seeking advice. The advisor does not recognize the perspective of the person seeking advice and focuses unilaterally on the benefits of her advice, ignoring the less desirable aspects. This leads to resistance to the advice and a deterioration of the relationship. The situation escalates further when the advisor reacts irritated to the failure of the advice seeker to accept the advice.

Example 2: Offering irrelevant choice

In the second example, Chloe does offer a choice, but it does not fit in well with what the person seeking advice finds important.

Chloe	Hi George.
George	Hi Chloe. Thank you for taking some time for me... I would like to get your advice on something. I have received the signal from the doctors that they are not completely satisfied with the service my team provides to them. They often find it not fast enough and not service-oriented enough. And I think they're right about that. So I discussed it in the team and told them that this problem exists. And I said that we really need to do something about this as a team. So I hoped they would come up with ideas for improvement but instead they came up with complaints about the doctors. They are so arrogant, they are not clear, you cannot make good agreements with them. So that didn't really work well. Afterwards I was thinking: what should I do next? How can I ensure that they come up with ideas on how they can improve the service?
Chloe	Oh yes, difficult yes. So what you did didn't work, huh? Do you know that quote from Einstein? “You cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that caused the problem.” That's what I really think about when I hear this. So you've tried to let the team come up with ideas themselves and that doesn't work, does it? So I think that way of thinking, maybe it's in there. I think you should try to break that way of thinking. I have two possible solutions.
George	Oh? I'm curious.
Chloe	Yes, so the first is: I have had good experiences with a consultancy firm that could examine the work processes of your team and come up with improved work processes in a very targeted manner. That's one. And the second is that you focus more, via an assessment center, on the weak and strong sides of each team member individually and how those individual team members should develop, so that improvement should also take place at team level. The consultancy is more focused on the system level, right? How do you organize your work processes? And that assessment center is more focused on the soft skills, really the development side, the strengths and weaknesses of individual team members. So those could be two things that could work well.
George	That sounds a bit logical in itself, but I'm just thinking: gosh, how much money will something like that cost? Isn't that way too expensive?
Chloe	Yes, of course it costs something. On the other hand: the hidden damage now, but perhaps also visible damage later... Imagine that something goes wrong in the treatment or that we are held liable by patients because appointments have not been completed properly. Then we might lose a lot more money, right?
George	Do you think it will ultimately lead to very concrete ideas to improve services?
Chloe	Well, maybe not so much ideas from themselves. Because yes, you've already tried that. And that didn't get off the ground. That's why I think, yes, bring in external people. Because what you have tried so far is not working with this team.
George	Okay, Chloe, thanks for your ideas. I'll let it sink in for a moment. I'll let it sink in and I'll get back to you, okay?
Chloe	Yes, well, I hope it was of some use to you and if you want to engage one of those parties, I have good relations with them... I wouldn't wait too long before choosing whether to go with the consultancy firm or with the assessment center desk to work. Because if you want to work with them, they will of course not be available immediately next week. Of course, these are also people with busy schedules. So don't wait too long.
George	Okay, I'll think about it some more. I have to let it sink in for a moment.

► Disadvantages of this approach : Although the advisor takes into account the need for autonomy of the advice seeker by offering options, the advice will probably not be perceived as relevant because it does not fit well with what the advice provider wants to achieve (that the team members themselves come up with ideas for improvement).

Example 3: progress-focused advice

In the third example, Chloe takes a progression-focused approach. She focuses her advice on what the person seeking advice wants to achieve and provides options so that the person seeking advice can choose for themselves.

Chloe	Hi George.
George	Hi Chloe. Thank you for taking some time for me...
Chloe	Yes of course. How can we spend this time in the best possible way as far as you are concerned?
George	I'd like to get your advice on something. I have received the signal from the doctors that they are not completely satisfied with the service my team provides to them. They often find it not fast enough and not service-oriented enough. And I think they're right about that. So I discussed it in the team and told them that this problem exists. And I said that we really need to do something about this as a team. So I hoped they would come up with ideas for improvement but instead they came up with complaints about the doctors. They are so arrogant, they are not clear, you cannot make good agreements with them. So that didn't really work well. Afterwards I was thinking: what should I do next? How can I ensure that they come up with ideas on how they can improve the service?
Chloe	I would like to think along with you. If I understand correctly, you have received feedback from the doctors that they are dissatisfied with the service? This is mainly due to two things. They think that your team members do not work fast enough and they think that the service orientation of your team members is insufficient?
George	That's right.
Chloe	And you really wanted those team members to come up with ideas about how they could improve this. And you tried to discuss that during the meeting. But instead of coming up with their own ideas, they came up with complaints?
George	Yes.
Chloe	And what you are trying now… you would like to do something different so that they can come up with their own ideas on how to improve the services provided to doctors?
George	That's right.
Chloe	I have two associations. Would you like to hear them?
George	Yes please.
Chloe	The first is: there is a technique called: the circle technique . And that is an accessible and popular technique to use in teams so that team members come up with ideas on how they can take steps forward in the direction of improvements that really need to be made. This circle technique works with two circles, an inner and an outer circle. In the inner circle you can invite team members to write down those things that they say are already working well in providing services to doctors. In the outer circle they can then write down: this is important to continue to achieve in the services provided to doctors. And then you can have team members work in pairs to take an item from the outer circle and let the two of them come up with an idea about how they can move that item from the outer circle to the inner circle. What you often hear and notice in such a session of about an hour and a half is that the team members become more optimistic through the inner circle, the outside circle gives them an idea of ​​direction and by focusing on improvement step by step, everyone walks out with an idea of ​​what to do. can do it yourself. This means that after such a session, improvements will actually be made by the team members themselves.
George	Sounds very interesting. I had heard that name before, Circle Technology. Now I see what it's about. I find it very interesting.
Chloe	Nice. I have a second association. Would you like to hear that too?
George	Yes please. Let me hear.
Chloe	That is a written inventory. And you do that using the PTV model. PTV stands for Progression-oriented Future Projection Questions . These are five questions that you send to team members and which those team members can then answer individually. These five questions are: what would we like to maintain in the services we provide to doctors? What needs to be achieved in the provision of services to doctors? What makes us optimistic that it is possible to achieve that improvement? What do we think the team should do first? And what do I want to tackle first to achieve that improvement? Team members can complete this individually and send it back to you. And then you can put those answers together. You often notice two things. There is a variety of perspectives, but we also agree on many things, we want to move in the same direction. And in such a discussion, team members often come up with ideas about what they can do together and individually to really get that improvement off the ground. Is there anything useful from those two ideas?
George	I think they both sound very interesting so I would like to read more about them both. At first glance, the circle technique really appeals to me because I notice that I can already see it in my mind. Could you perhaps supervise such a process?
Chloe	Yes, I could definitely supervise that. At the same time, I also notice that when I explain to them how it works, managers can also easily start using the circle technique themselves. There is a very clear explanation on paper available. So I'm okay with guiding it. You could also see if you want to do it yourself after I have given you that explanation.
George	Sounds very good.
Chloe	How would you like to proceed with this?
George	If you would like to send me those things, I will just read them. And I will let you know what my preference is. Maybe we can sit around the table again. And then try it out I guess.
Chloe	Yes, good idea. I'm going to email it to you. Then we can sit around the table again and you can choose what you would most like to do. Was it useful to discuss it with each other like this?
George	It was certainly useful because it strengthens my idea that there is a way to get ideas for improvement from the people themselves. That seems very valuable to me. With this approach I can see that this is indeed possible. So, yes, I find that very useful, indeed.
Chloe	Yes, that really appeals to me too. That you try to achieve that it comes from themselves. Then the involvement is greater and the chance that they will actually do something with it is much greater. Is it enough for now?
George	Of course. Thank you very much and we will hear from each other then.

►  Effect : George notices that the advice actually answers his question. He constantly notices in the conversation that his need for autonomy is supported. Trust in and the relationship with the advisor improves.

Reflection

This article about a consultation between an HR advisor and a manager makes it clear how the application of progression-focused working can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of advice. When analyzing the different approaches that Chloe, the HR advisor, uses, the importance of tailoring to the specific needs of the person seeking advice is underlined

The first two approaches, in which Chloe prescribes or offers irrelevant options, show how a lack of connection with the real needs of the advice seeker leads to resistance and a reduction in the effectiveness of the advice.

This contrasts strongly with the third approach, in which Chloe provides progression-focused advice. The emphasis is on supporting the autonomy of George, the manager, and offering practical, relevant options that are directly relevant to his questions. This approach not only leads to useful solutions, but also strengthens the relationship and trust between the advisor and the person seeking advice.

This example clearly illustrates how a progression-focused approach, which is aligned with principles such as autonomy, competence and relatedness, leads to more meaningful and effective interactions in professional contexts.