V Skill HF-D2.1-002 transversal 10 skills
Conversation management
Opening, steering and closing a conversation purposefully by asking questions, summarising and making concrete agreements about what happens next.
How hrmforce measures this
- Assessment method
- Assessment centre · rho 0.29 (SD 0.09)
- hrmforce instrument
- Communication Styles, Competency Check
- Competency (50-framework)
- Sensitivity
- Trainability
- high
- Demand outlook 2026 to 2030
- stable
Multiple exercises, multiple assessors, dimension-wise scoring.
Behavioural anchors
| Level | Behaviour at this level |
|---|---|
| N1 Guided | Follows a prepared list of questions, asks them in the given order and records the agreements that were made. works under supervision and follows instruction · routine, one variable at a time · own task |
| N3 Proficient | Chooses a fitting question type for each phase, summarises along the way and steers the conversation back to its goal when it drifts. sets own approach and seeks input proactively · several variables, some ambiguity · own team or process |
| N5 Leading | Leads conversations with opposing interests at board level, develops conversation models for the organisation and tests them against practice. sets the standard and the policy · strategic, under high uncertainty · organisation, value chain or profession |
N2 and N4 are deliberately not anchored. Raters place them between the anchors, following the O*NET convention.
Underlying skills
These skills inherit the assessment route and the behavioural anchors of this construct.
| T | Skill | Definition | Demand outlook 2026 to 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | Conducting an intake interview Intake interview · Initial consultation | Gathers question, context and expectations in a first conversation and records the next steps. | stable |
| V | Delivering bad news in conversation Bad news conversation · Breaking bad news | Delivers an unwelcome decision directly and clearly, allows room for reaction and then makes agreements. | stable |
| V | Conducting an exit interview Exit interview · Offboarding interview | Questions a departing employee about reasons and experiences and records usable lessons. | stable |
| V | Conducting a performance review Performance review · Appraisal conversation | Discusses results, behaviour and development using examples and makes concrete agreements. | stable |
| V | Handling an escalation conversation Escalation conversation · De escalation talk | Takes over an escalated matter, brings the facts back and reaches a supported next step. | rising |
| V | Setting conversation goal and agenda Setting the agenda · Conversation goal | Determines before the conversation what its yield must be and states that at the start. | stable |
| V | Recording and confirming agreements Confirming agreements · Action recap | Closes a conversation with who does what by when and confirms that briefly in writing. | stable |
| V | Asking open questions Open questioning · Open ended questions | Uses questions that cannot be answered with yes or no to open up the other person's story. | rising |
| V | Motivational interviewing Motivational interviewing · MI | Strengthens the other person's own motivation by eliciting change talk and not fighting resistance. | rising |
| V | Leading a multi party conversation Multi party conversation · Tripartite meeting | Leads a conversation in which parties hold different interests and ensures everyone gets a turn. | rising |