Disciplining Employees

Address problems early and offer clear steps for improvement

By Judy Rakowsky, Freelance writer/editor

Firing an employee risks litigation and other expenses and brings unpleasantness for all involved. But even though you may want to avoid swinging the axe, it does not mean you should allow problems to fester and drag down morale and productivity. It’s best to deal with problems as soon as they arise and to take disciplinary actions to correct them. Problem employees can be rehabilitated if:
1. Expectations are clear from the start.
2. Communication is strong.
3. Discipline is taken when required.

Create a disciplinary policy

Set up a structured policy for employee discipline. Include the various techniques to be used, how they will be documented and who will perform disciplinary actions.
Try: Improve your disciplinary practices with training materials, including a CD kit, webinars and in-house training, available from LegalWorkplace's Compliance Training Center. Or sign up for an online course in employee discipline at BrightlineCompliance.com.

Practice progressive discipline

Experts recommend a progressive disciplinary process, beginning with oral warnings and proceeding to written warnings, coaching/counseling, suspensions and ultimately termination if necessary. If it's time for a written warning, make sure you couple it with coaching and work out an improvement plan while you make it clear that failure to comply will lead to suspension or termination.
Try: Get dynamic feedback on your disciplinary practices from WillItFly.com and download Nolo’s podcast on Disciplining Employees: What Are Common Mistakes.

Suspension

If your employee's actions do not improve, you can suspend the employee without pay for a designated period of time. This is typically the last step in the progressive disciplinary process before termination.
Try: Put all the details about the suspension, including the start and stop dates, in a formal document. Purchase a sample employee suspension notice letter that you can customize from ProposalKit.com.

Document all disciplinary actions

It's imperative that you keep records of all disciplinary actions, especially if you end up terminating the employee. Keeping records can also help you dole out disciplinary actions fairly and objectively, using your past actions as a guide when similar situations arise.
Try: HR Document Center offers a number of useful forms that can be used for documentation, including disciplinary warning notices, disciplinary interview checklists, action plans and coaching/counseling worksheets.

The job should be clear

Writing or revising the job description at the time of hiring and when jobs shift or change is essential to being able to enforce requirements, duties, and expectations.
Try: Spend the time you need to make sure the job description fits and is up-to-date. Look at sample job descriptions on human resources sites or from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can also get job description writing software at www.biztrain.com.

Spell out all expectations

Your field and your workplace may have requirements for avoiding conflicts of interest or company software and hardware abuse that employees must know about before you can enforce them.
Try: You need to establish an employee manual so shop around for the policy and procedure manuals that fit your business to draw the necessary lines of behavior.

Start early

During a new employee's initial probationary period, conduct frequent reviews that are substantive and directive. This due process alerts the employee to specific performance issues and gives him a chance to change.
Try: Choose the appropriate evaluations after you gather an array of possibilities from online sources such as EchoSpan and SuccessFactors.