Practise this conversation
How to handle an employee who pushes back on a new process
Blues aren’t being difficult when they ask the ninth question. They want it right. The skill is giving them what they need without letting the job stall.
Martin is waiting for you
Before you go in
Martin has run stock control for eleven years. Head office is moving the store to automatic ordering in two weeks, and he’s sent you nine questions and a spreadsheet saying it won’t work. You’ve booked half an hour with him in the office before the delivery.
Good luck.
Your goal
Reassure Martin that the move to automatic ordering is going ahead, and show him where he can help make it work.
Up to 8 turns, about five minutes, then feedback from our AI coach. Your first go at this conversation is free. After that, one credit a go (packs from £3).
Want the full rehearsal? (Pro, 6 credits for both)
What you’ll practise
- Giving the reasons for the change plainly, then taking his spreadsheet seriously.
- Saying "I don’t know yet" and when you’ll have the answer, in writing.
- Agreeing what goes ahead in two weeks and giving him a part of it to own.
Your goal
Your free go at this one is used
One credit runs the whole conversation
Each new go costs one credit: a full conversation with Martin and the coach’s feedback. Your free go at the other conversations is still there.
No code? Get BOM Credits, from 10 for £3. Your code comes by email and works across the coach tools. Full refund within 14 days if you haven’t used a credit.
What worked
Where it slipped
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One thing to practise
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Ready for the real one?
Rehearse it with Martin until you’re ready
Practise the conversation until it feels like the second time, not the first, and walk in with your best words.
- Two full rehearsals: up to 20 turns each, out loud or typed
- On the second, a hint from the coach after each reply
- Your own best lines on a card to take in with you
With the Best value pack (50 credits), 6 credits is about £1.45 · $1.90 · €1.70 · A$2.90. After that, one more go with hints is 2 credits. Private: use made-up names, and nothing you say is kept.
What we keep: nothing you typed. Your conversation stays in your browser and goes to our AI coach only to write the next reply and your feedback. Use a made-up name for the person you’re thinking of. The feedback is written by AI from your conversation and is a second pair of eyes, not a verdict on you.
Practice for reflection, not legal or HR advice. If it involves harassment, discrimination, health or safety, talk to HR or ACAS.
The full picture
Martin has run stock control in your store for eleven years. He builds the weekly orders by hand, he knows which lines sell out on a bank holiday, and availability on his aisles is the best in the area. Head office is moving every store to automatic ordering in two weeks: the system orders, and the team checks the gaps each morning.
Yesterday he emailed you nine numbered questions and a spreadsheet. It shows that when the trial store switched over, availability on promotion lines dropped for a month. Some of his questions you can answer. Some you can't, because nobody has told you either. You've booked half an hour with him in the office before the delivery.
Why it's hard
Martin isn't being awkward. He's checked it, and some of what he's found is right. The temptation is to fall back on "it's coming from head office", which tells him his work doesn't count, or to rush through the questions because you don't have every answer. A Blue settles when the reasons are clear, the detail is taken seriously, and the gaps are named honestly with a date for the answer. The other half of the skill is keeping the change moving: agreeing what you'll find out, what goes ahead anyway, and what part he owns.
Two-thirds of managers say they're uncomfortable communicating with the people they manage.
Lou Solomon, Harvard Business Review, March 2016 (survey by Interact and Harris Poll)What usually goes wrong, and what you'll practise
What usually goes wrong
- Saying "head office has decided" and leaving it there, so the spreadsheet feels ignored.
- Guessing at answers you don't have, which he'll spot straight away.
- Trying to get through all nine questions in half an hour and agreeing nothing.
What you'll practise
- Giving the reasons for the change plainly, then taking his spreadsheet seriously.
- Saying "I don't know yet" and when you'll have the answer, in writing.
- Agreeing what goes ahead in two weeks and giving him a part of it to own.
Read before you practise
Questions people ask
What if I don't know the answers to his questions?
Say so. A Blue trusts "I don't know yet, I'll find out by Friday and send it to you" far more than a guess. Then make sure you do send it.
Isn't the decision already made?
Often it is. You can still explain why it's happening, take his evidence back to head office, and ask him to track the part he's worried about. That's different from asking his permission.
Credits here are BOM Credits: packs from 10 for £3 to 100 for £20, and one code works across every coach tool on the site. Full refund within 14 days if you haven't used a credit. Anything wrong, email [email protected]. How credits work