Progressive Discipline
The best advice I ever heard: if you have a strong progressive disciplinary practice, the employee is going to know exactly when they are going to be terminated. If you haven’t already, go back and read my previous blog post regarding documentation. Some of the ideas I presented there will be referenced here and will help with building a foundation for successful disciplinary actions.
Despite the name, progressive discipline is not a punishment. It’s an opportunity for the manager and employee to have an open discussion regarding performance or behavioral deficiencies in the workplace. There are five steps to progressive discipline:
Verbal Warning
Written Warning
Final Warning
Suspension
Termination
Many organizations choose to skip final warnings and suspension. The logic is that if an employee has gotten to that point in the disciplinary process, they are highly unlikely to change after a few unpaid days of work, therefore termination is the appropriate course. This can reduce the administrative burden on the employer and removes a underproducing employee from their workforce. The culture of the organization determines whether three, four, or five steps are appropriate.
Whenever counseling an employee regarding their performance or behavior, stick to the facts. The conversation or written warning should contain the following three elements:
What the employee did that was wrong
The policy that was violated, and
The corrective or measurable steps needed to ensure it doesn’t happen again in the future.
Avoid phrases like, “I think you did this because…” or “problems at home have caused…” While those statements may be relevant, personal or at-home issues detract from the focus on the deficiencies of their duties.
For example, the employee may be working a second job to make extra money for the holidays. This is causing him to be unfocused and sluggish at work. The employee’s job is to produce 30 widgets and hour, and lately he is barely making 20 widgets. The first step is to speak with the employee and let them know that he is not meeting his production goals. Give him a chance to acknowledge and fix the problem himself. If the problem persists, move on to a written warning. This warning should include a reference to the verbal warning to keep the documentation trail consistent and trackable. The language should give a timeline on when the performance should improve and the consequences if it does not. Written warnings include a phrase similar to, “continued deficiencies can lead to further disciplinary action, up to and including termination.”
If the process is followed consistently, by the time you call the employee in for the meeting to terminate, they will know exactly what is coming. They should be prepared for it and likely accepting of the decision. I plan on a future blog post on how to manage the termination meeting.
I cannot emphasize enough to follow these steps for every employee, every time. Consistency in these practices protects the organization from potential claims of discrimination or wrongful termination. Unless the violation of policy is truly egregious, and immediate termination is warranted.