The task that managers and supervisors dread most is having to deal with employees who are not doing what they're supposed to. Consequently, they tend to put it off or try to ignore the unacceptable behavior, hoping that it will just go away. Bad idea!
Bert has been coming in a few minutes late. It's no big deal: about ten minutes on Monday, five minutes on Tuesday, came in on time on Wednesday, then fifteen minutes late on Thursday.
Bert's manager, Bill, has noticed his tardiness. He realizes it's no big deal and he doesn't want to blow things out of proportion. But he also knows that if he allows it to continue he might seem to be condoning it. He recognizes that other employees have also been aware of Bert's coming in late. They won't say anything, of course, out of loyalty to Bert as their friend and coworker. But he knows they don't like it.
In fact, some of Bert's fellow workers have commented on it among themselves. They laughed about it, but one of them commented, "What the heck! If Bert can come in late and get away with it, maybe I can stop to pick up some coffee first. Then, if I come in a bit late, I guess it's OK. Bill doesn't seem to mind." Rule infractions, when not corrected, tend to be "contagious".
While Bill recognizes that Bert's tardiness is not a terrible thing in itself, still, it isn't right. He likes to run a tight ship and he is smart and experienced enough to know that not only can a bad habit —like tardiness — spread, if left unchecked, but will, ultimately, cause him to lose the respect of other employees, and that would be serious indeed. He realizes that it's time to act. Disciplining is called for.
No manager likes having to reprimand an employee. But it is a crucial and significant part of the manager's job. Savvy managers will face up to their responsibilities and not duck the need to correct unacceptable behavior. First, though, the manager must make the primary diagnosis, i.e., he must determine if the poor performance is caused by the employee'slack of knowledge or skill — in which
case some form of training may be called for — or if the problem is caused by the employee simply choosing to not follow the rules — in which case discipline is necessary. In Bert's case, it's obvious:
it's not that Bert simply can't come in on time: he simply isn't doing whatÕs necessary to ensure his punctuality.
Like most companies, Bill's has a formal policy, called Progressive Discipline, for dealing with rule infractions. This policy is designed to give workers a fair chance to change their unacceptable behavior, while protecting the organization against potentially devastating lawsuits for inappropriately disciplining (and possibly terminating) an employee. It also provides a clear guide to disciplining, so that managers can more comfortably and knowledgably deal with disciplinary issues.
Progressive Discipline involves a series of increasingly severe actions to be taken against an employee who continues to break the rules. Typically, the policy outlines six steps:
 Problem counseling
Oral warning
Formal written warning
Suspension
Last chance contract
Termination
The purpose of this plan is to give workers who violate rules or policies plenty of opportunity to correct their behavior. After all, the goal of discipline is to change undesirable behavior — most emphatically, it's not designed to punish and ultimately lose valuable employees.
Bill knows that Bert has generally been an effective and cooperative worker, and he doesn't want to see him developing any bad work habits. He knows that early intervention is usually the best strategy. Since Bert's infraction (coming in a few minutes late for several days) isn't terribly serious in itself, Bill realizes that just going to the first stage of the company's progressive discipline policy will probably be enough to forestall the problem. He decides to call Bert into his office, to initiate the progressive disciplinary policy. This involves using the six-step Problem Counseling procedure:
State the problem
Ask the employeeÕs view
Ask the employee for a solution
Agree on a plan
Issue a warning
Set up a review
Step 1, stating the problem, is straightforward. It follows the formula of stating what's expected, then stating what was actually observed; the difference between the two is the discipline
problem. In this case, it might go like this:
"Bill, your workday is supposed to start at 8:00 AM (the expected behavior). Monday, you were ten minutes late, Tuesday you were five minutes late and Thursday you were 15 minutes late (the observed behavior). Coming in late is a violation of company policy" (the discipline problem).
Notice that Bill is very specific. He states exactly what the problem is. Instead of using a vague ÒYouÕve been coming in a bit lateÓ, which would practically invite a rebuttal, Bill is very specific, using observable and, in this case, measurable, data.
Bill then goes immediately to Step 2: "How come?" He'll give Bert a chance to respond and will listen respectfully. Since Bert has no really valid reason for being late Ð he talks about traffic jams and road construction delays — Bill responds by telling Bert, very directly, "that's not acceptable. You have to be here by 8:00 AM sharp."
The phrase, ÒthatÕs not acceptableÓ, should be a significant part of the vocabulary of every manager. Often, by saying ÒthatÕs not acceptableÓ and then quietly waiting, the employee will be forced to deal with the issue, instead of trying to circumvent it and make excuses.
Since Bert offers no valid, acceptable reason for his tardiness, Bill can go immediately to Step 3, asking Bert, "what do you propose doing about this, so we can make sure it doesn't happen again?"
In this case, the solution is obvious: Bert will have to leave his home 15 minutes earlier. It's better, of course, if the solution comes from the employee, rather than the manager, because the employee will then have greater commitment to the plan. But, if necessary, the manager must propose a solution.
Step 4 has Bert agreeing that he will leave his home 15 minutes earlier than he had in the past.
At this point the manager should thank Bert for his cooperation and for his willingness to find a solution so that the problem can be resolved. But the manager also must go to Step 5 and issue a warning: "I'm glad we've gotten this resolved. But I must warn you, Bert, that should you be late again in the next two weeks, I will issue a formal warning. As you know, that could lead to further, more serious consequences."
Bill would then immediately go to Step 6 and set up a review: "Let's get together one week from today, next Thursday at 9:00 AM, and see how it's going."
Setting up a review serves three important purposes. First, it reduces or eliminates the possibility that the employee will just blow off the meeting and forget all about it. He knows that the boss will be checking up on him and he'll be accountable for his behavior.
A second important purpose is that the plan might have some unforeseen defect or limitation. If so, then when they come together for the review they can modify the plan or develop an alternative plan.
Finally, the review provides a great opportunity for the manager to give an "attaboy" and show his appreciation to the employee for resolving the problem.
A few additional ideas managers should keep in mind when disciplining:
It's serious: don't smile!
Don't wait: address small problems right away, so they don't become big problems.
Maintain your perspective. Focus on specific behavior, not the employee in general.
Don't overdo it. Make the reprimand, make sure it's understood and stop. Go back to work. Rubbing it in only breeds resentment.
In most cases, discipline problems can be handled through informal problem counseling. (Of course, if an employee continues to violate company rules and policies, the stages of the Progressive Discipline plan must be put in play.)
Learning to use the six step Problem Counseling procedure outlined here can ease the manager's burden and help him/her run the organization as it should be. Being familiar and comfortable with this procedure is an important tool for the capable and sophisticated manager.
Some of the more common problems for which a manager must impose some disciplinary action are absenteeism and tardiness, dishonesty (which can take many forms), violations of the dress code, safety violations, using abusive or obscene language, fighting or horseplay, substance abuse, general goofing off, disloyalty and harassment (sexual, or harassment based on ethnicity, religion, age or any other factor.)
Before any disciplinary action is taken the manager must be able to state the employee's discipline problem specifically and objectively. Here are some examples of poorly stated discipline
problems, followed by more objective and specific Ð and legally defensible — statements of the problems:
"Arlene spends too much time on the telephone talking to her family."
Vs.
"Arlene has averaged twenty-five minutes a day, for the last two weeks, on the telephone with her family. Company policy permits up to two, five-minute personal calls per day."
"Barbara dresses in a way that does not represent us to the public appropriately."
Vs.
"Barbara violated the dress code twice last week by wearing skirts shorter than two inches above the knees, prohibited by our company's personnel manual."
"Dorothy is late too often."
Vs.
"For the last three days, Dorothy has been coming to work 12-15 minutes late."
"Harry argues with everyone and his client complaint rate is much too high."
Vs.
"Last Thursday, Harry was involved in a loud argument with Phil, his coworker, on the showroom floor. And he has been averaging five complaints per month from customers, for the past six months, whereas the average number of customer complaints for people in his position is only 1.6 per month."
As should be clear from these examples, in order to understand clearly what the discipline problem is, the employee's infractions should be stated very specifically and objectively, with specific times and dates, and, as much as possible, quantifiable data.
Of course, if a company doesn't have a stated policy about absenteeism and tardiness it cannot be violated; if it doesn't have a dress code, then the dress code cannot be violated. In order to fairly and legally enforce discipline, a company must have a public, clearly understood set of personnel policies.
Typically, when hired, a new employee is asked to read the company's personnel manual and asked to sign an agreement stating that he will abide by those rules. The manual should include the company's discipline policy, usually consisting of a Progressive Discipline program, as described above.
Lacking a clear and acknowledged discipline policy the company could come in for a world of hurt. Try firing someone for good cause… and they turn around and sue you for wrongful termination. You say it was for being a poor worker and refusing to follow the standard procedures; they say it was because they were black, or Hispanic, or Jewish or… and you're in trouble. Generally, courts tend to be sympathetic to the complaints of employees, often seen as fighting against the might of the large and powerful organization. Who wouldn't root for David over Goliath?
When disciplining, documentation is crucial, every step of the way. All disciplinary actions should be recorded and placed in an employee personnel file. Beyond the initial problem counseling, at any disciplinary meeting when issuing an oral or written warning, or suspending an employee or giving a last-chance agreement, the history of the problem should be reviewed in detail, citing specific instances in which the unacceptable behavior occurred.
By having a formal Progressive Discipline policy of which all employees are aware, an organization will be seen as fair and just by its employees, will guard itself against difficult lawsuits and, most importantly, will provide managers with a clear and unambiguous guide to that least liked task of managers, disciplining employees.  |
