Understanding Progressive Discipline

Understanding Progressive Discipline

Understanding Progressive Discipline 

Last week we talked some about termination and the proper process for letting an employee go. In that post, I mentioned the term 'progressive discipline', which is an important term for us in HR and one that deserves some consideration. We're going to take a '30,000 foot' view here -- we have an entire training session set up on this topic and having a robust policy and system take some time to implement, but hopefully the highlights below will be useful.

To get us started, here is a definition: 'progressive discipline' is a process that provides a clear and constructive path towards correcting problem performance or preparing to separate from an employee in a way that ultimately protects the company. Progressive discipline is a process in that it has steps, take place over time, and has clear markers for success or failure along the way. It can help employees who are struggling with their performance by informing them about their deficiencies (through coaching or counseling), giving them a 'swift kick in the pants' for poor performance (albeit in a nice, fair way), and ultimately pointing out which employees are having a severe negative impact on your organization's efficiency and culture. Also, it fosters a sense of fairness among employees and managers, as the employees know they will have fair, objective, and standardized treatment. Furthermore, progressive discipline is one of the most important ways to keep you and your business protected from litigation. 

In short, having a strong progressive discipline structure is very important. As noted above, progressive discipline is process oriented (hence, progressive), and each step is important. Although the offense may merit starting at a higher step, the usual steps are as follows:

(Coaching/Counseling): this step is preliminary, and is really about having an open, communicative culture (we put it here as a number of researchers do so). This step is crucial for tackling assumptions, getting on the same page, and establishing a good channel of communication. All employees bring value to your organization (otherwise you wouldn't have hired them), and that is the mindset to bring to the table. Think of this as ongoing communication between you and your employees on expectations, performance, and morale. This is a firewall, a way to potentially stop problems before they begin – “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.”

Verbal Warning: hopefully, the coaching session resolved the problem. If not, it will be necessary to move on to a verbal warning. This step involves talking to the employee specifically about the problem area, but is differentiated from coaching because of the severity, documented as a 'warning'. It would be useful to ask the employee what is going on and see if they will help you establish a context for what is happening. While being as sensitive as possible to what is happening, firmly establish that the status quo is not working, will not be tolerated, and that changes must be made to ensure higher performance/correction of the problem. Despite the previous discussion(s), the employee is still struggling with changing their actions/attitude. A verbal warning provides another instance for documenting a discussion about the problem area and another instance for the employee to correct their behavior. There is no specific format for documentation but this step should be documented, and your HR department should be involved at this point.

Written Warning: a written warning is the last step before time-loss discipline, so by this point the problem is serious and most likely causing a damaging impact. A written warning reminds the employee of the two previous steps and their agreement to change their behavior, and then follows by informing them that they have failed to do so and that they are in danger of losing their job. You (or you HR team) should have a follow-up discussion with the employee to reinforce the written warning and discuss a Personal Improvement Plan (PIP), which has a number of steps and goals for the employee to begin a recovery process. All of this should be recorded and filed by HR.

Suspension: it's important to remember, as I talked about earlier, progressive discipline not only serves to protect the employer but also inform an employee about a behavioral deficiency so it can be fixed. So hopefully most issues are resolved before reaching this step. If it is necessary to suspend an employee, it should normally be after the steps listed above, all of which should be documented. The suspension should be significant (we normally recommend 3-5 unpaid days).

Termination: if all else fails and the employee has failed to address the issue, it is time to end the relationship. The blog topic last week was about the proper way to terminate someone, so check that entry out if you want more details.

Finally, remember to keep your empathy high and connected during the coaching/counseling phase...but once you enter into progressive discipline, some of that emotional connection needs to end. Progressive discipline is not only about organizational performance, but has a heavy legal dimension as well, and you have a responsibility to all stakeholders to protect your company. 

As always, I appreciate your feedback! Check back in for another post soon.

--Tyler