Employee Discipline Procedures: Progressive Discipline

Below we talk about the following aspects of Employee Discipline Procedures:

• Setting the stage for Employee Discipline Procedures
• Issuing Warnings
• The Progressive Discipline Meeting
• Taking Corrective Action

Setting the Stage for Employee Discipline Procedures

Many managers fail to do their homework prior to launching in to Employee Discipline Procedures.  There are some things to do ahead of time:

Articulate clear expectations.  You cannot take an employee to task on things they were not aware they are accountable for.  There are a number of mechanisms to articulate those expectations:

• Job descriptions
• Performance agreements
• Regular one on one meetings

Document everything.  A key part of Employee Discipline Procedures is the paper-trail.  You should have a file on every employee, and that file should contain details of all communication pertaining to performance.

• Notes about informal discussions
• Any emails pertaining to performance.
• Documentation from more formal interventions.

Ensure you are prepared to focus on the behavior, not the person.  If you make it personal, it will much more difficult, and you may incur needless legal risk.

Have a Progressive Discipline process.  You must being your Employee Discipline Procedures knowing the various steps, and how it might end.

Progressive Discipline Process

Your first step in Employee Discipline Procedures is to check with your HR department or person to fully understand what systems and processes are currently in place.  In the absence of any such tools, use the following as a starting point for your Employee Discipline Procedures:

1. Ensure expectations are clear.
2. Highlight the gap between desired and actual performance.  You need to be as specific as possible when describing this gap.
3. Issue verbal warning – Tell the person specifically what you want them to change, and in what time frame.  If there is a knowledge or skill gap, you will need to assist the person in bridging this gap.  Write down the details of the verbal warning (date, time, discussion points, and any witnesses present).
4. Issue written warning with consequences.  If the performance has still not improved, you need to issue a formal written warning.  This should include very clear consequences as to what will happen if performance does not improve.  Again you need to be very specific about the gap between desired performance and actual performance.  You also need to specify timelines for improvement, and the next meeting.
5. Issue second written warning.  This will have all the elements of the first letter, but also include a much more urgent sense of the consequences of continued poor performance.
6. Take corrective action – a demotion, a suspension, or termination.  At this stage it will be largely dependent on the circumstances, but you need to follow through on the promised consequences in the previous warnings.

How to Issue Warnings in the Employee Discipline Procedures

1. Highlight the gap between the desired performance and the actual performance.
2. Issue a verbal warning.  Be as specific as possible, and make suggestions for improvement.  You need to document the verbal warning with the date and time, the details of the conversation, the follow up actions discussed, and any witnesses to the conversation.
3. Issue a written warning. Be specific.  Be clear on the consequences
4. Issue further warnings after an adequate period of time has passed to allow him/her to make the required improvements.

The Discipline Meeting

What to say:

• Clarify the process, and what is about to happen
• Provide in as much detail as possible with behavioral examples the deficiencies of performance or transgression that has brought everyone to this meeting.
• Point out the negative impact to the organization and to the people that the undesirable performance has.
• Describe in detail the desired behavior or action, and reference when and where this has been made clear to the employee previously

How to Say It:

• Present case in neutral language
• Be calm
• Be as specific as possible (when, where, how many, etc.)
• Focus on the facts
• Be professional

Ask the employee to reply

• Listen carefully
• Ask for clarification if necessary.
• Ask the employee for comments or potential solutions to resolve the issue.

Taking Corrective Action

Corrective action as part of your Employee Discipline Procedures, can take a variety of forms.  You need to determine what will be most likely to solve your problem.  In some cases, it may be suspension, in others it may be termination.  One thing you need to ensure when you get to this stage is that there are no surprises to the employee.  There should have been adequate warning and notice before you ever advance to this stage of the Employee Discipline Procedures.

3 Things to Remember about Employee Discipline Procedures

1. Document everything, every time, always.  You need this to mitigate the risk of harassment or wrongful dismissal claims.  It is also good practice.
2. Don’t over or under react to a situation.  Ensure the action you take is commensurate with the nature of the transgression
3. Don’t make it personal.  It makes it much easier for all concerned if you can adequately detach personalities from the situation

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Employee Discipline Procedures (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):