CPHR CPD · HRPA CPD · Online · Self-paced
Difficult Conversations HR CPD Course Online: 2.5 CPHR and HRPA CPD Hours
Difficult Conversations That Actually Work is a practical, self-paced CPD course for people managers, team leads, HR professionals and anyone who has to hold hard conversations at work. Its nine narrated lessons include: Why Difficult Conversations Are Hard; Prepare Before You Speak; Open Well in the First Minute. You practise on realistic situations and finish with a 36-question final exam. Built to align with CPHR and HRPA CPD requirements, it gives you 2.5 instructional hours and a certificate for your CPD log.
✓2.5 CPD hours built to align with CPHR and HRPA CPD requirements
✓Nine narrated video lessons (about 152 minutes) with slides, transcripts and a participant workbook
✓Knowledge checks with instant feedback, then a final exam to complete the course
✓Certificate on completion, ready for your CPD log. Access never expires
Need more than one course? Get all 27 HR CPD courses for $349 CAD: 67.5 CPD hours and a certificate for each. Save $974 compared with buying courses separately.
See the CPHR & HRPA CPD Package
Difficult Conversations That Actually Work at a glance
| Credit |
2.5 instructional hours, built to align with CPHR and HRPA CPD requirements |
| Format |
Online, self-paced: nine narrated video lessons (about 152 minutes), exercises and a participant workbook |
| Completion |
Pass the 36-question final exam at 80 percent. Knowledge checks and quizzes can be retaken as often as you like |
| Documentation |
Certificate showing course title, completion date and 2.5 hours |
| Competency areas |
Professional Practice; Leadership |
| Level |
Professional: for practising HR professionals, managers and leaders |
| Price |
$49 CAD, or all 27 courses for $349 CAD |
Why this course
Practical skills you can use at work the next day
This course is built for people managers, team leads, HR professionals and anyone who has to hold hard conversations at work. Each lesson is about 17 minutes of narrated video with on-screen exercises where you pause and work a realistic situation, followed by a three-question knowledge check that explains every answer. You finish with a written plan or tool you can use at work, a participant workbook with templates, and a final exam that confirms you have the material.
What you’ll be able to do
What you will learn in this difficult conversations HR CPD course
- Explain why some conversations feel risky, name the three conversations that happen at once, and decide when a conversation can wait.
- Prepare by separating observations from stories, identifying their own contribution, and choosing a purpose.
- Open a conversation using Situation, Behaviour, Impact, a contrast statement and an open invitation.
- Respond to tears, anger, silence and defensiveness by listening, reflecting and pausing with a set time to resume.
- Give specific corrective and positive feedback with a clear request, and receive feedback without becoming defensive.
- Run a performance conversation using a five-part structure, agree specific and dated commitments, and document fairly.
- Respond to personal disclosures and complaints about others without promising secrecy, and escalate properly.
- Push back on a manager, raise a concern with a peer, say no clearly and deliver bad news.
- Apply the full method to realistic scenarios and build a 30-day plan.
What’s inside
Difficult Conversations That Actually Work course curriculum: nine lessons, built around real situations
Short, narrated video lessons with worked examples, each closing with a knowledge check so you know the material has landed. Slides and a transcript are included for every lesson.
Lesson 1: Why Difficult Conversations Are Hard
You will explain why some conversations feel risky, even when the issue itself is small; name the three conversations that happen at once whenever two people discuss something difficult. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 2: Prepare Before You Speak
You will separate what you observed from the story you added; identify your own contribution to the problem, which is not the same as taking the blame. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 3: Open Well in the First Minute
You will explain why the first minute shapes the whole conversation; describe a situation using three parts: situation, behaviour and impact. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 4: Listen When It Gets Emotional
You will use open questions and reflecting to understand the other person; respond calmly to tears, anger, silence and defensiveness. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 5: Give and Receive Feedback That Lands
You will explain why feedback often fails to land; give specific corrective and positive feedback, with a clear request. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 6: Performance and Behaviour Conversations
You will work out whether a performance gap is about clarity, capacity, skill or motivation; run a performance conversation using a clear five part structure. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 7: Sensitive and High-Stakes Conversations
You will recognize conversations that need extra care; respond to a personal disclosure by listening, not diagnosing. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 8: Up, Across and Under Pressure
You will push back on a manager respectfully, and bring options; raise a concern with a peer who has no obligation to listen to you. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Lesson 9: Practice Lab and Your 30-Day Plan
You will apply the full method to a realistic scenario; spot the common mistakes that undermine a good conversation. Ends with a three-question knowledge check.
Who should take this difficult conversations that actually work course
People managers, team leads, HR professionals and anyone who has to hold hard conversations at work. It is available to HR professionals in every province and territory.
CPD hours
Difficult Conversations HR CPD course: 2.5 online CPD hours for CPHR and HRPA professionals
This course is built to align with CPHR and HRPA CPD requirements for self-directed online learning. It counts as 2.5 instructional hours. You complete every lesson, pass the final exam at 80 percent, download your certificate, and enter the activity in your association’s CPD log yourself. Keep the certificate and your final exam result as your evidence. It is not accredited or pre-approved by CPHR, HRPA or any other association.
It is written for HR professionals across Canada, including CPHR members in British Columbia and Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and HRPA members in Ontario, whether you hold a CPHR, CHRP, CHRL or CHRE designation or are working toward one.
Taking more than one course? Get all 27 for $349
The complete HR CPD pack gives you all 27 courses, 67.5 CPD hours and a certificate for each, for $349 CAD. Bought one at a time they would cost $1,323, so you save $974.
See the CPHR & HRPA CPD Package
FAQ
Difficult Conversations That Actually Work course: common questions
What is the Difficult Conversations That Actually Work course?
It is a self-paced online CPD course for HR professionals across Canada. It has nine narrated video lessons (about 152 minutes of video), a three-question knowledge check after each lesson, a participant workbook and a 36-question final exam. Passing the final exam at 80 percent completes the course and gives you your certificate.
How many CPD hours is the Difficult Conversations That Actually Work course worth?
It counts as 2.5 instructional hours. The video runs about 152 minutes, and the exercises, workbook and final exam add to your study time. The credited time is rounded down to 2.5 hours.
Does the Difficult Conversations That Actually Work course count as CPHR CPD hours?
It is built to align with CPHR CPD requirements for self-directed online learning. You get a certificate showing the course title, completion date and 2.5 hours to keep as evidence and enter in your CPD record yourself. It is not accredited or pre-approved by CPHR or any provincial association, so confirm the current rules with your association before you submit.
Can I use the Difficult Conversations That Actually Work course for HRPA CPD?
It is built to meet HRPA CPD rules for self-directed learning, and the certificate gives you the title, date and 2.5 hours for your CPD log. It is not accredited or approved by HRPA. Check HRPA's current CPD requirements and how they treat self-directed online courses before you claim the hours.
Which HR designations is this for?
It is written for HR professionals holding or working toward CPHR, CHRP, CHRL or CHRE designations, and for HR generalists, managers and leaders who want practical learning. Each provincial association sets its own CPD rules, so confirm yours.
How much does it cost?
The course is $49 CAD. The complete HR CPD pack with all 27 courses (67.5 hours) is $349 CAD, which works out to about $13 a course.
How do I log these hours?
Finish the course, download your certificate, and enter the activity in your association's CPD log yourself. Keep the certificate and your final exam result as evidence in case you are audited.
What do I need to pass?
Pass the 36-question final exam at 80 percent. The knowledge checks give instant feedback with an explanation for each answer, and you can retake any quiz as many times as you need.
How long does it take to finish?
Most people take an afternoon or two. The video is about 152 minutes, plus the exercises and the final exam. You can pause and resume at any time, and your progress is saved.
Is this course only for HR professionals in one province?
No. It is available across Canada. Where rules differ by province or territory, the course says so and shows you how to check what applies to you.
Is there an HR CPD pack that includes this course?
Yes. The complete HR CPD pack includes all 27 courses (67.5 hours) for $349 CAD, instead of $1,323 if you bought them one at a time at $49 each.
✓
Earn 2.5 CPD hours and build skills you will use on Monday.
Self-paced, with your certificate ready as soon as you finish.
