Motivating Employees During Crisis Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Operational Managers, Department Heads and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LD-214

Before you join: Participants should have experience supervising staff, assigning work, conducting performance conversations or contributing to change initiatives.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

During a crisis, employees must often maintain essential services while facing uncertainty about safety, workload, job security, changing priorities or public scrutiny. Leaders can unintentionally worsen the situation through vague messages, unrealistic assurances, inconsistent decisions or pressure that ignores capacity. Effective motivation in these conditions depends on credible communication, fair work allocation, practical support, meaningful involvement and disciplined follow-through.

This course equips managers to sustain commitment and performance through operational disruption, restructuring, cyber incidents, public-health events, financial pressure and other high-stress situations. Participants assess motivational risks using Self-Determination Theory and the SCARF model, identify barriers to psychological safety, communicate difficult decisions, set short-cycle priorities and conduct supportive performance conversations. They also learn how to recognise stress, prevent burnout, address resistance and rebuild trust after the immediate crisis has passed.

Instructor-led teaching combines short briefings with realistic cases, facilitated group analysis, communication simulations and structured planning. Participants work with situations such as a service outage, sudden budget reduction, site closure or emergency policy change. They leave with a crisis motivation action plan, stakeholder communication map, team check-in framework and practical manager scripts that can be adapted to their own team. The five-day programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30, providing approximately 6.5 contact hours each day, in classrooms across 50+ cities or live online. Participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to managers who lead teams during disruption and need to maintain delivery without relying on pressure, unsupported optimism or constant escalation. It is particularly relevant to leaders in government, banking, healthcare, NGOs, utilities, manufacturing, technology and customer-facing operations.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess team motivation risks using Self-Determination Theory and the SCARF model
  • Diagnose crisis-related performance barriers through structured team listening and workload analysis
  • Communicate difficult decisions using message maps, acknowledgement statements and clear commitments
  • Conduct supportive check-ins that identify stress, capability gaps and immediate work obstacles
  • Set short-cycle priorities using outcome-based goals, decision rights and escalation routes
  • Apply ADKAR to address employee resistance during operational or organisational change
  • Use GROW conversations to restore ownership, confidence and practical accountability
  • Produce a crisis motivation action plan with measures, owners and review intervals

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence handling difficult questions without making unsupported promises
  • Practical scripts for communicating uncertainty, workload changes and unpopular decisions
  • A repeatable method for identifying motivation problems before disengagement spreads
  • Stronger coaching conversations with stressed or resistant employees
  • A personal leadership action plan for the next crisis response

For your organisation

  • More consistent manager communication during operational disruption
  • Earlier identification of burnout, withdrawal and workload-related performance risks
  • Clearer priorities and decision routes for teams under pressure
  • Lower risk of avoidable turnover during restructuring or sustained uncertainty
  • Improved trust through visible follow-through on employee concerns

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify how crisis conditions affect motivation, behaviour and team performance.

  • Crisis phases distinguished: onset, response, stabilisation, recovery and renewal
  • Threat appraisal mapped against controllable work, uncertainty and employee exposure
  • Business continuity decisions translated into frontline priorities and behavioural expectations
  • Motivation risks identified from workload, safety concerns, loss and ambiguity
  • Manager authority boundaries clarified during emergency governance and escalation
  • Stakeholder map separates employees, contractors, customers, regulators and communities

Participants can assess individual and team motivation using recognised behavioural frameworks.

  • Self-Determination Theory applied to autonomy, competence and relatedness needs
  • SCARF model identifies status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness threats
  • Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators compared during prolonged operational pressure
  • Learned helplessness signals distinguished from temporary fatigue and rational caution
  • Equity perceptions assessed through workload, recognition, access and decision consistency
  • Motivation profile built from observable behaviours, concerns and work constraints

Participants can build trust through fair decisions, candid communication and safe team dialogue.

  • Psychological safety separated from comfort, agreement and reduced performance standards
  • Procedural justice tested through voice, consistency, explanation and review rights
  • Trust repair sequence uses acknowledgement, accountability, action and evidence
  • Speak-up barriers identified in hierarchical, remote and high-consequence teams
  • Leader fallibility statements used without weakening decision accountability
  • Team norms establish respectful challenge, error reporting and confidential escalation

Participants can communicate credible crisis messages that reduce confusion and protect trust.

  • Message maps organise known facts, unknowns, decisions and next updates
  • Acknowledgement statements address anxiety without offering unsupported reassurance
  • Decision rationale connects constraints, criteria, trade-offs and affected groups
  • Rumour control distinguishes confirmed information, assumptions and misinformation
  • Cascade briefings align executive messages, manager explanations and employee questions
  • Communication cadence sets channels, owners, audiences and update triggers

Participants can conduct structured conversations that reveal barriers and direct appropriate support.

  • Structured check-ins cover wellbeing, workload, clarity, support and immediate risks
  • Active listening uses open questions, paraphrasing, summarising and silence
  • SBI feedback frames observed behaviour, consequences and required adjustments
  • Stress indicators recognised through attendance, errors, withdrawal and conflict patterns
  • Support referrals distinguish manager responsibilities from specialist clinical services
  • Confidentiality boundaries explained before sensitive employee concerns are discussed

Participants can organise work so employees see achievable priorities and meaningful contribution.

  • Outcome-based priorities replace activity lists during constrained operating periods
  • Three-horizon planning separates immediate response, stabilisation and recovery work
  • Workload triage ranks essential services, deferrable tasks and stopped activities
  • Decision rights clarify who recommends, approves, consults and informs
  • Job crafting identifies scope adjustments that preserve purpose and capability
  • Recognition practices connect specific contributions with customers, colleagues and mission

Participants can respond constructively to resistance, fatigue and reduced confidence during change.

  • ADKAR diagnoses awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement gaps
  • Resistance mapped as information, emotional response, political concern or capacity constraint
  • Change saturation assessed through concurrent initiatives, deadlines and staff availability
  • Sponsor behaviours demonstrated through visibility, consistency and obstacle removal
  • Local influencers identified to test messages and reinforce practical adoption
  • Recovery pauses scheduled after intense delivery periods and major milestones

Participants can use coaching conversations to restore agency while maintaining clear accountability.

  • GROW questions establish goals, realities, options and committed actions
  • Control circles separate influence, concern and non-negotiable organisational constraints
  • Performance expectations expressed through observable standards, deadlines and evidence
  • Commitment conversations test capability, capacity, confidence and required support
  • Micro-goals create visible progress during extended uncertainty and disruption
  • Follow-up agreements record actions, owners, review dates and escalation points

Participants can address conflict early and maintain productive working relationships under pressure.

  • Conflict sources separated into task, process, relationship and values disputes
  • Interest-based negotiation identifies needs, options, criteria and workable agreements
  • De-escalation language lowers defensiveness during emotionally charged conversations
  • Remote team rituals maintain connection, coordination and visible mutual support
  • Cross-functional tensions addressed through shared outcomes and service-level commitments
  • Restorative conversations repair working relationships after harmful incidents or decisions

Participants can create a practical plan for sustaining motivation through recovery and future disruption.

  • Recovery indicators track workload, absence, turnover, engagement and delivery quality
  • Pulse survey questions test clarity, fairness, confidence and support access
  • After-action reviews capture decisions, outcomes, lessons and unresolved risks
  • Recognition calendar marks recovery milestones without minimising continuing pressures
  • Manager action plans assign priorities, stakeholders, measures and review dates
  • Personal leadership commitments define behaviours to continue, stop and strengthen

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Crisis motivation action plan template
  2. Stakeholder communication map
  3. Manager message map
  4. Structured team check-in guide
  5. Workload triage matrix
  6. Psychological safety and trust checklist

Who should attend

  • Operational Managers — maintain team performance during service disruption and urgent change
  • Department Heads — coordinate consistent motivation practices across multiple teams
  • Project Managers — sustain commitment when project scope, schedules or resources shift
  • HR Business Partners — advise managers on employee support, engagement and retention risks
  • Change Managers — address resistance and build practical ownership during transitions
  • Team Leaders and Supervisors — conduct credible daily communication and support conversations

Skills and tools covered

Crisis communicationTeam motivationPsychological safetyChange leadershipSupportive coachingWorkload prioritisation

Tools and standards

Self-Determination Theory, SCARF model, ADKAR model, GROW model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each framework, followed by case analysis drawn from service interruptions, workforce reductions, emergency policy changes and major change programmes. Participants analyse manager decisions, prepare messages, practise team check-ins and respond to resistance in facilitated simulations. Group work compares alternative actions and tests their likely effect on trust, workload and delivery. Individual application planning converts the methods into actions for a current or anticipated workplace crisis.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience supervising staff, assigning work, conducting performance conversations or contributing to change initiatives. They should understand their organisation's normal reporting lines, people policies and operating priorities. Familiarity with a recent or current disruption, such as restructuring, incident response, budget pressure or service change, will help participants apply the material quickly. No formal leadership qualification, psychology background, crisis-management certification or prior knowledge of the named frameworks is required. This is not a clinical mental-health or trauma-treatment course.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have some responsibility for supervising people, coordinating work or supporting change. No formal leadership qualification or prior study of psychology, crisis management or the course frameworks is required.

Bring a current or recent team challenge, such as a reorganisation, service interruption, workload surge or difficult policy change. You do not need to share confidential information; anonymised examples are sufficient.

It is designed for managers, supervisors, project leaders, department heads, HR business partners and change managers. It is most useful for people responsible for sustaining team performance during uncertainty or disruption.

General leadership courses address broad management responsibilities, while this course concentrates on motivation when normal routines, certainty and capacity are disrupted. It focuses on crisis communication, fairness, stress signals, resistance and recovery actions.

Participants can use the check-in guide, message map, workload triage matrix and action plan immediately with their teams. The tools support both an active crisis and preparation for likely future disruptions.

Five training days run from 08:30 to 16:30 and provide approximately 6.5 contact hours per day. Time is divided among framework briefings, cases, simulations, group discussion and individual application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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