Don't Waste the Chaos
Don't Waste the Chaos is a weekly podcast for small business owners and HR professionals who want practical, no-nonsense people strategy.
Host Kerri M. Roberts is an HR strategist, consultant, and founder of Salt & Light Advisors with 20+ years of experience turning reactive HR into proactive systems.
Each Tuesday, she breaks down hiring, onboarding, compliance, culture, and leadership - the kind of strategy that typically costs thousands in consulting, delivered in under 40 minutes.
If you're managing people and want to do it better, this show is for you.
New episode every Tuesday.
Learn more about the show and Kerri at www.kerrimroberts.com.
Don't Waste the Chaos
How to Have a Performance Conversation With an Employee (Step by Step)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
You know the conversation I'm talking about. The employee who's consistently late, creating tension, or putting up bare minimum numbers - and every week you find a reason to put it off one more time. Today that ends.
In this episode, I'm giving you the exact 5-step framework to have the performance conversation you've been avoiding - what to say, how to say it, and how to make sure it actually changes something.
What you'll learn:
→ Why avoiding it is costing you more than having it (your best employees are watching)
→ The 5-step performance conversation framework
→ What to do when it goes sideways - defensiveness, tears, or silence
→ The one thing you must do after the conversation to protect yourself legally
→ Why an imperfect conversation had beats a perfect one avoided every time
If you manage people, whether you're a business owner, team lead, or HR professional, this episode will give you the clarity and confidence to stop avoiding and start leading.
🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED
HR Foundations (self-paced course — frameworks, tools & templates): https://www.saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations
Work with Kerri directly: https://www.saltandlightadvisors.com/contact
Free tools & resources: https://www.saltandlightadvisors.com/freebies
📌 IF THIS HELPED YOU
Subscribe for a new episode every Tuesday - practical HR and people strategy for small business owners and leaders who want to build strong teams without burning out.
🎙️ ABOUT KERRI M. ROBERTS
Kerri is an HR strategist, consultant, author, and founder of Salt & Light Advisors. After 20+ years in corporate HR and operations, she helps business owners fix broken HR systems, build strong teams, and create cultures that retain good people.
