What can employers do when a disciplinary suspension is seen as a gift? Today's expert offers practical discipline techniques.
Most companies have progressive disciplinary policies for the right reasons: to provide managers and HR with the tools they need to make fair, consistent, and legally defensible employment decisions, says attorney Allison West SPHR.
But sometimes the systems don't seem to work, she says. One of the flaws in most disciplinary policies is that the focus is on punishment rather than rehabilitation. West offers questions to consider when evaluating your discipline program. (West is principal of Employment Practices Specialists LLC, an employment law training and consulting firm in Pacifica, California.)
What are the Most Common Reasons Employees Are Disciplined?
Start with some research. Do you take most disciplinary actions for infractions such as tardiness? Or are more egregious matters such as harassment, insubordination, safety, or theft the problem?
Determine whether themes or patterns exist in your company. If they do, training might be in order. For example, people often break rules because they don't know about them or because the rules have not been clearly written or explained.
Is there a Mitigating Reason for the Misconduct?
Too often discipline is doled out without finding out more about why the conduct occurred. Ask the employee why he or she is not taking the job, the discipline, or continued employment seriously.
Say you have an employee who is consistently late and receives a verbal and then written warning. The conduct doesn't change and you are about to suspend the employee. However, you have never asked the person what was going on.
Perhaps the employee has an ongoing or intermittent family or medical issue that is causing him or her to be late. Punishing an employee in that situation is typically not going to improve the conduct.
In fact, the time off may be more valuable to the employee than the compensation. In addition, the employee may have legitimate legal rights to take the time off or to use intermittent leave.
Why do Some Employees See a Suspension As a Gift?
Are you clearly communicating the severity of the situation to the employee? This is not the time to be vague or assume the employee already understands the consequences of his or her conduct.
Be direct. If termination is an option, say, "You will be terminated if you violate the policy or continue with the inappropriate conduct."
If you are direct and clear about the consequences and the employee still takes a casual attitude, it may be best to terminate.
Is Suspension Without Pay the Best Approach?
West says she strongly opposes sending employees home without pay and firmly believes that kind of disciplinary strategy is more often than not ineffective. Why? The employer is typically adding more stress to an already stressful situation. Sending someone home so they have a harder time paying bills or supporting their family does not provide the guidance or support for someone to turn around poor behavior.
Even if there are no mitigating reasons for the inappropriate conduct, docking pay seldom turns around poor attitude or morale.
Do Managers and HR Dole Out Discipline Consistently?
Some managers may use strict discipline immediately while others are lax and let things simmer until the poor or inappropriate conduct reaches a boiling point. Inconsistent discipline does not send a clear message.
Do You Consistently Fire Employees Who Repeat the Prohibited Conduct After the Suspension?
If there is no real consequence, behavior does not change. If you don't terminate right after a violation, your discipline policy has no teeth.
Ask yourself, from a business and corporate culture standpoint: Do you want to retain an employee who is not affected by the disciplinary process?
Thanks to BLR
