How to Conduct a Refocus Interview? Benevolence and Communication

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Without going as far as disciplinary action, it may be necessary for a manager to remind employees of rules and objectives during a formal interview. Good management training helps manage this type of refocus by providing appropriate solutions. How to conduct a refocus interview? Tips for a successful refocus in team management.

What Is a Refocus Interview?

1. What are, in your opinion, the 3 invisible frictions that slow down company growth without the leader being aware of it?

  • The misalignment/disconnection between their vision and operational implementation
  • Too few sponsors or many detractors
  • Decision-making slowed down if overly centralized

The first friction is the gap between the leader's vision and its operational translation in the company's daily life. The strategy is often clear in their head, but it gets diluted or distorted as it cascades through the organization. The second is the internal alliance games. I observe too few engaged sponsors, or conversely, silent detractors who slow execution without ever directly opposing. Finally, I would say that excessively centralized decision-making by the leader ultimately slows down the entire machine, creates dependency, and prevents the organization from gaining autonomy and speed. By wanting to go fast but deciding alone, you create significant frictions.

2. When you launch an HR restructuring mission, what do you start with? What are the first technical steps of a good HR diagnosis according to you?

I start with interviews, lots of interviews. Individual meetings with leaders at all levels. These aren't formal ones either. I want to understand their pain points. What's not working? What are the obstacles they face? What tensions do they observe in their teams? I also talk to employees at different levels, including frontline workers. Their perspective is invaluable.

Then comes the data analysis. I look at turnover rates by department, absenteeism, salary disparities. Numbers tell stories. If turnover is high in one department, there's a reason. It's usually a manager issue or a culture problem specific to that area.

Finally, I conduct a process audit. How are decisions made? How does information flow? Are there bottlenecks? An HR restructuring that doesn't address processes won't work because people will recreate the same dysfunctions in their new roles.

3. Can you give us an example of a company you've helped restructure and how your intervention changed things?

I can tell you about a distribution company with about 300 employees. Their growth had been blocked for 3 years. Financially, things were stagnating. When I arrived, they had an organizational chart that made no sense. Reporting lines were confused, roles overlapped, and no one really knew who was responsible for what.

The first thing I noticed was the leadership team wasn't on the same page. They had meetings but weren't truly aligned. I reorganized the structure into clear departments, each with a leader accountable for results. I then implemented weekly operational meetings where leaders had to commit to specific actions.

But the real change came when we addressed the company culture. We had a very top-down, fear-based culture where people didn't speak up. I worked with the leadership to shift this. They had to learn to be more open, to listen, and to empower their teams.

Within 18 months, turnover dropped significantly, absenteeism improved, and the company returned to growth. More importantly, employees said they enjoyed coming to work again. That's when you know the restructuring worked.

Refocus: A Formal But Non-Disciplinary Interview

4. What are the most common mistakes you see companies make in HR?

The first is treating HR as an administrative function. HR should be strategic. They should be at the table when business decisions are made. If HR isn't involved in strategy, you're missing the human dimension of execution.

The second mistake is not measuring what matters. Companies measure everything except what actually drives performance: engagement, team cohesion, leadership effectiveness. Then they're surprised when turnover happens or when a reorganization fails.

The third is copying best practices without adaptation. I see companies implementing elaborate programs because they read about them in a Harvard Business Review article. But if those programs don't align with your culture or address your specific challenges, they're just expensive theater.

The fourth is underestimating the importance of managers. Most of what happens in a company happens at the manager level. Yet companies often promote managers based on technical skills without training them in people management. Then they wonder why teams struggle.

5. What advice would you give to HR leaders who want to make an impact?

First, understand your business. Learn to read financial statements. Understand what drives profitability. Too many HR professionals operate in isolation from the business. When you understand the business, you can make HR decisions that directly support it.

Second, build relationships with operational leaders. Don't hide in the HR office. Spend time with plant managers, sales directors, project leaders. Understand their challenges. Offer solutions, not policies.

Third, be brave. HR is often the function that gets pushed around. Executives expect you to be their enforcer, implementing whatever they want. But sometimes you need to say no. If a business decision will harm the culture or violate company values, speak up. If a leader's behavior is damaging the team, address it. This requires courage, but it's where real impact happens.

Fourth, stay grounded in data and evidence. Don't operate on gut feelings. Make recommendations backed by data. When you do, you're much harder to dismiss.

Finally, remember that you're ultimately there for the people. It's easy to get caught up in processes and programs. But at the end of the day, HR is about enabling people to do their best work. Keep that in mind, and the rest will follow.

When Should You Refocus an Employee?

6. What would you say to someone considering a career in HR?

HR is an incredible career. You get to impact the lives of thousands of people. You get to shape how organizations operate. You get to build cultures. That's powerful work.

But it's not for the faint of heart. You'll face pressure from all sides. Executives will want to cut costs at the expense of people. Employees will feel unsupported by management. You'll be in the middle, trying to navigate competing interests. You need thick skin and conviction.

That said, if you enjoy problem-solving, if you're genuinely interested in how people work, if you have empathy combined with business acumen, HR is for you. The field is evolving rapidly. New technologies, new ways of working, new expectations from employees. It's never boring.

My advice: don't just get an HR degree. Get business experience first. Work in a department, understand operations. Then move into HR with that perspective. You'll be much more effective. And always keep learning. HR is changing faster than ever. The best HR leaders are perpetual students.

What to Do Beyond a Refocus Interview?

N’ayant pas de caractère disciplinaire, l’entretien de recadrage est à aborder comme un moment d’échange privilégié entre un manager et l’un de ses équipiers. Il s’agit pour les deux parties d’adopter un discours franc, ferme et bienveillant, en gestion des émotions et des objectifs. Plusieurs sujets sont à aborder pour réussir un entretien de recadrage.

Bien communiquer

La communication est la clé de l’entretien managérial pour recadrer un collaborateur. Les deux parties doivent pouvoir s’exprimer librement, garder l’esprit ouvert, avoir la volonté de solutionner le différend et de ne pas envenimer les choses, en adoptant une attitude bienveillante.

Quelle que soit la nature de l’acte ou du comportement qui motive la tenue d’une réunion de recadrage, il est essentiel de maintenir une bonne communication et de définir clairement les objectifs et les solutions.

Pour cela, il est souvent préférable de prendre du recul sur les événements, de ne pas réagir à chaud et de soigneusement préparer l’entretien de recadrage en définissant les étapes et les objectifs à atteindre.

Checker la qualité de vie au travail

La qualité de vie au travail est un engagement permanent du service ressources humaines et du management dans l’entreprise. Les salaries sont en principe régulièrement sondés sur des questions relevant de la QVT afin de gérer les émotions et d'améliorer leur bien-être.

La tenue d’un recadrage employé au sein de l’entreprise est une occasion supplémentaire de s’assurer que la QVT est à haut niveau, en identifiant les problèmes et en mettant en place des solutions adaptées.

L’entretien doit servir à vérifier si l’écart du collaborateur peut être le fait d’un mal-être au travail, et à gérer les émotions pour trouver des solutions de rétablissement.

Penser au crossboarding 

Les explications données par un salarié de ce qui motive son recadrage peuvent laisser entendre une envie de changement : nouvelles responsabilités, nouvelle équipe ou des objectifs personnels.

Le crossboarding, avec par exemple une mobilité verticale ou une mobilité fonctionnelle, peut être une solution pour remotiver un salarié. Ou encore le smart working pour une nouvelle expérience collaborateur et atteindre les objectifs de l’entreprise.

Soigner sa marque employeur et l’engagement collaborateur 

Les collaborateurs sont particulièrement sensibles aux valeurs d’une entreprise, comme en témoigne la tendance du conscious quitting, ce qui nécessite une gestion bienveillante et une communication alignée sur les objectifs.

La marque employeur doit servir de fil rouge à l’entretien de recadrage. Le collaborateur qui adhère aux valeurs a à cœur d’être fidèle à son employeur et de contribuer aux objectifs de l’entreprise. Il est un salarié engagé.

Ainsi, le recadrage a toutes les chances de réussir grâce à des solutions adaptées, une bonne communication et un cadre bienveillant.

Measuring the Results of a Professional Refocus

La réussite d’un entretien de recadrage se mesure sans délai. Le collaborateur doit montrer ses efforts pour adopter un comportement professionnel en adéquation avec la politique interne de l’entreprise. Il doit remplir les missions prévues dans sa fiche de poste, déployer les efforts nécessaires à l’atteinte de ses objectifs grâce à une bonne gestion et des formations en management.

Il doit pour cela accepter de collaborer avec son manager, avec son équipe et les personnels des services transversaux avec qui il est en contact. Il peut mobiliser de nouvelles ressources, suivre des formations supplémentaires, et se remettre en question pour atteindre les objectifs fixés.

L’entretien de recadrage peut être suivi d’autres rendez-vous pour réévaluer la situation et ajuster les solutions proposées, notamment si des objectifs sont fixés.

Si le recadrage se révèle insuffisant et que le comportement inapproprié perdure, la direction des ressources humaines peut prononcer une sanction disciplinaire. L’échelle des sanctions permet d’adapter la mesure au degré de gravité des faits reprochés : avertissement, blâme, mise à pied, licenciement, en fonction de la gestion de la situation et des objectifs de l’entreprise.

Recadrer un salarié est un moment souvent perçu à tort comme négatif. Il doit au contraire être considéré comme un moment d’échange, de travail, de progrès et de solution sur fond de bienveillance, d’écoute et de communication.

Portrait of a man with short dark hair wearing a grey coat over a white shirt against a dark blue background.

Geoffrey Chapuis

Co-fondateur de Wobee
Geoffrey pilote la vision et la stratégie de Wobee pour transformer les intranets d'entreprise et les parcours RH. Passionné par l'expérience collaborateur et l'innovation technologique.

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