When it
comes to employee conduct, an effective disciplinary process can often help
correct a problem before it becomes a performance issue. This HR Tip provides
guidance for proactive measures to prevent performance issues, and a checklist
for handling performance issues when they do arise.
Preventing
and Responding to Disciplinary Issues.
Proactive Measures. Employers who take proactive steps to help prevent problems from occurring have the best chance of avoiding issues down the road. It is always a best practice to clearly communicate workplace rules and procedures so that employees know exactly what is expected of them. Maintaining an employee handbook is one of the best ways to communicate your expectations. It is also important to provide feedback regularly and inform employees of performance expectations when setting goals and conducting performance reviews. Employee and supervisor training is another way to communicate and reinforce your behavioral expectations, and help to prevent workplace issues. As always, having employees acknowledge that they received the written policies, and attended the trainings is a good way to manage expectations.
Response
Checklist. Despite your best efforts to maintain a positive, productive work
environment, behavioral issues can occur. The following checklist will help you
to handle them promptly, fairly, and consistently.
- Assess the whole picture. Before you take
disciplinary action against an employee, make sure you have a full
understanding of the issue, and that you have an accurate and impartial
assessment of the employee's performance. Review the employee's goals and
reflect on previous performance discussions. If the issue is related to
alleged wrongdoing in the workplace, you generally have a responsibility
to conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into the
allegations.
- Comply with antidiscrimination laws. Avoid
judging the employee's performance based on any protected factors. For
example, various federal, state, and local laws provide job-protected
leave to employees. If an employee takes leave under one of these laws,
adjust performance expectations to account for the leave. For instance, if
an employee is expected to make 100 sales within six months, but takes
three months of job-protected leave, consider reducing his or her sales
target.
- Determine the form of discipline. If you
determine the employee violated your performance or conduct standards and
disciplinary action is appropriate, consider the severity of offense, the
employee's past performance and conduct, and how you have treated other
employees in similar situations (to ensure consistency), before imposing
disciplinary action. Employee discipline can take many forms, including
but not limited to:
- Counseling and training. Typically the first step in the disciplinary
process, counseling generally involves a conversation between the
supervisor and employee. Make sure you document counseling discussions,
including the date and substance of the conversation. Training may be
appropriate when the employee is failing to meet job expectations because
of a missing or underdeveloped skill.
- Verbal warning. A
verbal warning is generally tied to potential consequences if the
behavior or performance issue continues. Document verbal warnings and
store the documentation in the employee's personnel file.
- Written warning. A
written warning involves more formal documentation of the conduct or
performance problem, including the steps the employee agrees to follow in
order to correct the problem, the timeframe with which the employee is
expected to improve, and consequences for failing to do so. Have the
employee sign the written warning and retain it in his or her personnel
file.
- Suspension and termination. These are the two most serious forms of
discipline and are generally limited to serious performance or conduct
issues or repeated failure to improve performance. Given the impact and
risks of suspensions and terminations, consider requiring that these
decisions be reviewed by upper management, human resources and/or legal
counsel.
- Give yourself flexibility. Reserve
the flexibility to take disciplinary action based on the facts and
circumstances of each case. For example, don't imply that a verbal warning
will be given for all first offenses no matter how severe. In your
employee handbook, make clear that violating the company's conduct and
performance standards may result in disciplinary action, up to and
including termination, and that the employer reserves the right to decide
what disciplinary action to take in any given situation.
How to
Conduct Disciplinary Meetings. Once you
have decided on the form of disciplinary action you will take, you will conduct
the disciplinary meeting to convey the decision. Below are some general
guidelines and best practices for conducting a productive disciplinary meeting:
- Keep it private. Hold the discipline
meeting in a private location, away from co-workers.
- Have a witness. Have the employee's
manager conduct the meeting with another company representative present as
a witness.
- Be straightforward. While it may be helpful
to remind the employee of their strengths, remember the purpose of the
discipline meeting is to pinpoint and improve upon poor behavior. To
accomplish this goal, tell the employee exactly what the problem is, what
steps he or she must take to correct it, and the consequences of failing
to do so.
- Remain calm. The employee may
respond with anger, intimidation, complaints, blame, silence or an
unwillingness to acknowledge the problem. Remain calm, regardless of the
employee's reaction.
- Be respectful. Let the employee know
that you want him or her to improve and that you are willing to help.
Provide the employee with an opportunity to respond and make sure to
listen to his or her concerns. Remember to be sensitive to the employee's
feelings and be constructive in your use of criticism.
- Explain impact to the company. By
explaining how an employee's misconduct or performance affects the
company, you are focusing attention on the welfare of the business, rather
than on the employee's personal attributes.
- Work with the employee to find a solution.
Explain that you are trying to help the employee improve their performance
or behavior. This approach allows the employee to view the situation as an
opportunity to succeed, instead of feeling he or she has been set up for
failure.
- State the consequences. Be clear on the
consequences if the employee fails to improve. At the conclusion of the
meeting, confirm that the employee has fully understood the purpose of the
meeting and the expectations for improvement.
- Provide employees with an opportunity to comment. Give employees the opportunity to comment and ask them to
acknowledge the discussion in writing. While the employee may not
necessarily agree with the disciplinary action, their acknowledgment
serves to document that the employee has received and reviewed the notice
of disciplinary action and cannot later allege that he or she was unaware
of the problem.
- Follow up. After any meeting, follow up with the
employee and look for improvements in performance or behavior. If their performance
has not improved, further disciplinary action may be necessary.
While
delivering discipline is difficult for any employer or manager, an effective
disciplinary process is necessary to ensure a fair and productive work
environment.