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Feedback and hard conversationsfree online awareness course for New Zealand team leaders

How to raise a problem, listen, agree next steps, recognise good work and take feedback, and when a quiet word needs your employer's formal process.

  • About 38 min
  • 5 short modules
  • 15 questions
  • 80% to pass
Two people sitting across a wooden table from each other, each holding a cup of coffee.

About this course

The report is late again, and you have been meaning to say something for a week. This course is about that talk: how to prepare, what to say, how to listen, and how to agree what happens next and write it down. It also covers praise people believe, and what to do when the feedback is about you.

It then covers the line every new leader needs to know: when a quiet word has become a performance or misconduct matter that needs your employer's formal process. It explains good faith, support people and personal grievances in plain terms, and says who can help for free. It is general awareness and not legal advice, and your workplace's policies come first.

You can study and sit the assessment free, with no account. Employment New Zealand also runs free online modules on resolving employment disputes, linked on this page, and you may prefer them. Pay only if you pass and want our certificate.

What you will learn

  • Prepare for a hard conversation by separating what you saw from what you assume
  • Choose a private place and a prompt time, and check what your workplace's rules say
  • Describe what you saw, listen without interrupting and agree next steps in writing
  • Recognise good work in a way people believe, and take feedback without getting back at anyone
  • Spot when an informal talk has become a performance or misconduct matter, and take it to your manager or HR
  • Explain good faith, support people and personal grievances in plain terms
  • Name the free help available from Employment New Zealand and Employment Mediation Services

Who this course is for

  • Team leaders and supervisors who need to raise a problem with someone on their team
  • New leaders who are not sure when a quiet word should go to a manager or HR
  • Office workers who give feedback to workmates or want to take feedback better

How the course works

  1. 1. Before you say anythingHow to work out what you saw and what you want, then pick the right time and place.About 5 min, ending with a quick check
  2. 2. In the room: say it, listen, agree itSix steps for the talk itself: staying calm, describing what you saw, listening, finding solutions and writing down what you agree.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
  3. 3. Recognising good work and taking feedbackHow to thank people so they believe it, and what to do when the feedback is about you.About 4 min, ending with a quick check
  4. 4. When a quiet word is no longer enoughHow to tell an everyday talk from a performance or misconduct matter, what to stop doing and who to tell.About 7 min, ending with a quick check
  5. 5. Good faith, support people, grievances and free helpThe plain meaning of the terms you will hear, what changed in 2026 and where free help is.About 7 min, ending with a quick check
  6. Sit the assessment15 questions drawn at random. You need 80% to pass, and there is no time limit. If you do not pass, you will see which topics to review, then try again with a new set of questions.Free, and so are retries
  7. If you pass, the certificate is your choiceYou pay once, then get the PDF straight away and a copy by email. Your place is saved on this device the whole way, with no sign-up.NZ$24.90, optional
A sample Steadyhand Training certificate of completion made out to Your Name, with its details blurred.
Sample. Yours shows your name, the course, the date and an ID anyone can check.

What this certificate does and does not show

  • This is general awareness of everyday conversations at work. It is not a qualification or legal advice, and it does not show that you or your employer meet any legal duty.
  • It does not teach you to run a disciplinary process, an investigation or a performance improvement plan, and it gives you no authority to warn, suspend or dismiss anyone. Those belong to your employer's process, your manager and HR.
  • Your employment agreement and your workplace's policies come first. Where they set a process, follow it, and ask your manager or HR if it differs from this course.
  • Employment law is changing. The legal points were read on 3 November 2026 and may have moved on by the time you read this. For a real situation, ask your manager, HR or an adviser.

If you go straight to the assessment without completing the modules, your certificate is titled Certificate of Knowledge Assessment, because that is what it records.

Anyone can check a certificate on our verification page using its ID or QR code. More about the certificate.

Questions about this course

How is this different from Employment New Zealand's free modules?

Its free modules on resolving employment disputes explain how to prevent problems and what options exist for resolving them. They are linked on this page, and you may prefer them. This course spends more time on the conversation itself: what to say, how to listen and when to stop and get help.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is general awareness, and employment law has been changing. For a real situation, start with your manager or HR. Employment New Zealand's line on 0800 20 90 20 gives general information but cannot give legal advice, so for that you would need a lawyer or a community law centre.

Can I give someone a warning myself?

Only if your employer has given you that authority and you follow its process. A warning needs a fair process, and an unjustified warning can lead to a personal grievance. If you are not sure, treat it as a no and ask your manager or HR.

Can someone bring a support person to an ordinary catch-up?

Treat that as a yes. Employment New Zealand says employees can bring a support person such as a representative, a friend, a family member or a trusted workmate to a meeting, and that a third party can help prevent misunderstandings. Find a time that suits and let your manager know.

What if the hard conversation I need to have is with my own manager?

Much of this course still applies. Employment New Zealand's guide, Talking to your employer, is written for that situation. You can bring a support person. If you do not feel able to raise it directly, for example because of bullying, Employment New Zealand's page on informal action suggests seeking advice from a union, HR, a trusted manager, an EAP, a lawyer or a community law centre.

Will my employer accept the certificate?

Ask them first. Each employer decides what training it accepts. The certificate shows that you passed this assessment. It is not a qualification, and it does not show that you can run a formal process.

Official sources behind this course

The lessons are original summaries of these sources. For your own situation, the source is what counts.

Show all 31 sources

Version 1.0.0, last checked 2026-11-03. Approved for publication by our editor on 2026-11-09. Not reviewed by an external professional. How we check our content.

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Free to study.
Certificate NZ$24.90 if you pass.