Gone are the days of arbitrary--a.k.a.
inappropriate--discipline. Today's employers must implement
consistent and fair disciplinary policies, especially when it comes
to dealing with terminations, or face an increase in unemployment
costs and/or discrimination claims. Typically, employers most often
use disciplinary guidelines as a basis for handling employee
misconduct, such as insubordination. Initial performance
deficiencies, on the other hand, are usually best addressed with
coaching.
Understanding the difference between performance deficiencies
and misconduct can help you understand which techniques to use to
handle each type of situation and will help you achieve better
results. To avoid confusing the two, remember to address
performance deficiencies, such as poor quality work or low
production output, through performance management, as these issues
reflect your business's core competencies, and address
improper behavior with discipline, because it endangers your
business's core values.
Performance management, counseling statements and coaching are
the preferred methods for addressing your initial problems with an
employee's performance deficiencies. If the deficiencies
continue, however, you may need to resort to disciplinary measures
as well.
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The first step in addressing employee disciplinary problems is
to review your company's disciplinary policy. If you don't
have one, this might be a good time to develop one. Your
company's prior practices in handling problems and complaints
are very helpful in figuring out what may be appropriate for
current or future situations. Also, with a formal policy in place,
your company can re-emphasize its values and philosophies regarding
employee behavior and conduct.
Putting emotions and personality aside, enforcing a disciplinary
policy fairly and equally minimizes problems and increases office
morale. An HR professional can act as an objective third party to
help defuse emotional situations, as well as advise on corrective
measures that are aligned with your business's philosophy,
policy and the law.
As incidents arise, there will be questions to answer and
decisions to make. The first thing you need to consider is whether
the incident is a minor issue, a first offense, or a repeat. A
first-time, minor offense can be handled with a verbal warning or a
written counseling statement. Beyond this, an HR professional or
employment attorney, who can both offer a legal perspective on
disciplinary issues, should be consulted to determine the best
strategy for settling the situation, which could mean a written
counseling statement, suspension or possibly termination.
If and when the time comes for a face-to-face sit-down with the
employee, you should be supportive and non-confrontational, with
specific objectives and deadlines outlined for correcting the
situation. It might be a good idea to have a third, non-involved
person present as a potential witness in case the situation leads
to legal action. Set dates and times for follow-up meetings, and
continue meeting until the issue's been resolved. Be sure to
supply the person or persons handling HR for your company with all
related documentation.
The keys to successful employee discipline are:
- notifying employees of company policies
- treating every employee in the same manner
- good documentation
- putting the employee on notice of the inappropriate conduct
through a verbal or written counseling statement
- addressing infractions properly and timely, rather than letting
them grow into bigger issues
Remember, your goal is a productive, happy staff that will help
you succeed.
Mary Massad is the director of HR product development for
Administaff, a leading personnel management company
that serves as a full-service human resources department for
thousands of small and medium-sized businesses throughout the
United States. For additional HR information, visit HR PowerHouse, an
HR website powered by Administaff.