How Progressive Discipline Works

How Progressive Discipline Works In a progressive discipline system, the severity of the penalty increases with each infringement of the rules. Among the advantages of a progressive discipline system is the fact that you can work with the employee to try to retain him or her as a productive worker without having to resort to termination immediately. Typically, the progression is: Oral warnings Written warnings Suspension Termination A progressive discipline system contains the following elements: Both you and the employee know in advance, to the extent possible, the appropriate discipline for the violation of a specific work rule. The degree of discipline is greater for repeated offenses in a given time frame. All violations are treated the same unless there are unusual mitigating or aggravating circumstances. Usually, after a specified time period (like six months or a year) passes without another infraction, the worker gets a "clean slate." Any later infractions will start the process again with an oral warning. Some cases of misconduct are so severe that you may skip the first one, two, or even three steps. For example, assaults or fighting, stealing, intoxication on the job, gross insubordination, destruction of company property, etc., may all justify immediate action. But don't fire the worker on the spot! Firing someone is a serious action, not to be done off the cuff. Sometimes situations are not as they appear. Give yourself some time to investigate, and, at a minimum, to be sure of what really happened and who was responsible. Progressive Discipline Advantages While a progressive discipline system may seem like a high-maintenance way to control employee behavior, it does have advantages. For instance: The existence of a progressive step-by-step discipline system conveys to employees that you're not out to nail them to the wall at the first sign of trouble. The existence of an adequately communicated progressive disciplinary system keeps employees informed of where they stand. Having a definite and consistently applied disciplinary system shows employees who have never been disciplined that those who do need to be disciplined will be. A progressive discipline policy provides the business with a system that is fair and easily defensible against a challenge. These advantages are compelling ones, especially for businesses trying to build and sustain high employee morale.

Progressive Discipline Disadvantages Progressive discipline can be an involved process. For very small businesses, it may be too involved to invest time in, especially if there are few discipline problems. Here are some of the other downsides of progressive discipline: A progressive discipline system requires that everyone with disciplinary authority be trained, fully knowledgeable of the policy, and willing to assume responsibility for administering the discipline steps. There may be a lot of documentation and follow-up work necessary to administer the plan. You need to have a formal, written policy. This policy need not be distributed to the employees, but you'll have to have it so that you can be sure it's followed consistently. In creating your progressive discipline policy, follow these guidelines: •

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Specify which behaviors or infringements of work rules are not subject to progressive discipline (usually these will be serious behaviors that warrant immediate termination). Decide whether to advise all employees of the policy, what your progressive discipline steps are, how the policy is to be applied, and what the policy does not address. Decide how you will maintain documentation (i.e., memos about oral warnings, written warnings, etc.). Decide if documentation will remain in a file forever and, if not, under what circumstances and timing the documentation can be removed and destroyed. Establish a procedure for maintaining the documentation and protecting the confidentiality of the information

Exclusions from progressive discipline. Behaviors that are commonly excluded from a progressive discipline approach and that subject the employee to immediate discharge might include the following: • • • • • • • • •

possessing or consuming non-prescribed narcotics on company property reporting to work intoxicated/impaired instigating a fight on company property carrying a weapon without a business purpose on company property theft destruction of property gross insubordination misrepresentation of important facts in seeking employment violation of confidentiality or sharing of trade secrets outside the business

If you exempt these behaviors from your progressive discipline policy, be sure that you act on each occurrence of the behavior consistently

. Progressive Discipline Checklist Follow these steps in exercising progressive discipline with an employee: Before the Meeting Arrange to meet with the employee privately. Do not discipline an employee in public or in front of other workers. Prepare for the meeting by reviewing your notes and files about both the specific incident or problem in question and any past discipline taken, either verbal or written. During the Meeting Explain to the employee why you’ve called the meeting if the employee doesn’t know already. State the specific problem in terms of actual performance and desired performance. Review your progressive discipline policy/program with the employee, and explain what steps have been taken already and what the next step is. Give the employee a chance to respond, explain and defend his or her actions. Acknowledge the employee’s story and be sure to include it in your notes of the discipline session. Tell the employee that you expect his or her behavior to change. Give specific examples and suggestions. Indicate your confidence in the employee’s ability and willingness to change the behavior. Have the employee repeat back to you or otherwise confirm that he or she understands the problem and is clear on what changes are expected. Explain to the employee that you will write a memo summarizing the session as documentation. Reassure the employee that you value his or her work and that you want to work with the employee to make sure that he or she can continue to work at your business. After the Meeting Using your notes from the session, write a memo or other documentation that summarizes the conversation. If a written warning has been issued, be sure to give the employee the opportunity to sign any documentation for the file. Give the employee a copy of the document no later than the end of the day following the conversation. If the employee has other supervisors, distribute copies to them, but emphasize that the information is confidential and not to be shared with anyone else. Monitor the employee’s behavior and performance to make sure that the problem has been corrected.

Verbal Warning Be sure that all verbal warnings are documented in writing. They are a building block to more formal warnings in the future. All documentation should include: The employee’s name. The date of the verbal warning. The specific offense or rule violation. A specific statement of the expected performance. Any explanation given by the employee or other information that is significant. Written Warning A written warning is more serious than a verbal warning and represents a progression in the progressive discipline process. In documenting a written warning, include: The employee’s name The date of the conversation The specific offense or rule violation references to previous conversations and verbal warnings about the problem A specific statement of the expected performance Any explanation given by the employee or other information that is significant A statement indicating your confidence in the employee’s ability to perform properly in the future The employee’s signature—if the employee refuses, include a note on the signature line indicating your attempt to get the employee to sign and his/her refusal to do so