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Description

Assertiveness in HR: Holding the Line, Arbitrating and Delivering Difficult Decisions

Two days to hold your position between employee expectations and management decisions

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

HR professionals are pulled in several directions at once: a line manager demanding an immediate answer, an employee challenging a refusal, a leadership team arbitrating differently from what was announced. Giving way every time weakens the function, while hiding behind procedure makes it impossible to read.

This 14-hour programme adapts assertiveness techniques to situations specific to human resources: announcing a non-negotiable decision, declining an individual request with clear reasons, resetting boundaries with a line manager, and holding your role in a tense collective setting. Every role-play exercise is based on an HR case.

Learning objectives

  • Position your role and your real room for manoeuvre when faced with conflicting demands
  • Announce a non-negotiable decision while remaining open to dialogue
  • Decline an individual request by making the criteria applied explicit
  • Reset boundaries with a line manager who steps outside the agreed framework
  • Hold your position in a tense group discussion

What makes this programme different

Role-play exercises drawn exclusively from human resources cases
Specific work on the posture to hold between leadership and employees
Ready-to-use wording prepared for the most sensitive announcements

Programme

1Positioning Your Role

Between leadership, line managers and employees

  • Mapping the expectations of each stakeholder
  • Identifying your genuine room for manoeuvre
  • Distinguishing what is negotiable from what simply applies
  • The effect of unclear positions on the credibility of the function

2Announcing a Decision

What is not open to negotiation

  • Preparing a difficult announcement and its supporting arguments
  • Stating the framework without a rigid tone
  • Receiving reactions without reopening the decision
  • Follow-up actions after the announcement

3Declining and Resetting Boundaries

Individual requests and overstepping

  • Making explicit the criteria applied to a request
  • Declining with clear reasons without questioning the person
  • Resetting boundaries with a line manager who has stepped outside the agreed framework
  • Handling persistence and repeated requests

4Holding Firm in Tense Moments

Group settings and sensitive topics

  • Speaking in front of a dissatisfied group
  • Answering hostile questions without evasion
  • Handling information that cannot be disclosed
  • Restoring calm and resuming dialogue

Who is it for

HR managers and officers · personnel administrators and HR assistants in direct contact with employees.

Prerequisites

Hold a role in human resources or personnel administration.

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.