How to Discipline an Employee with Progressive Discipline
At some point, cleaning business owners, managers and supervisors will have to deal with employee performance and behavior problems. When this happens, it is important to approach all discipline and termination issues in a systematic way.
Discipline usually starts with verbal counseling, then progresses to written documentation, potential suspension, and finally termination if it has to go that far.
When it comes to disciplining an employee, every company's goal should be to correct the behavior and improve performance rather than to punish.
Progressive discipline is a system that is intended to correct employee performance or behavioral infractions through a series of escalating responses, rather than going directly to termination. It is imperative that every cleaning company have a company policy and employee handbook that clearly defines employee performance and disciplinary procedures. This will be the road map for managers to follow when it comes to enforcing compliance with company policies.
Importance of Documenting Employee Behavior
It is crucial that all disciplinary action be supported by written documentation to protect both the rights of the employee as well as protecting your cleaning company. In order to evaluate performance or behavioral issue without bias and execute the process with legal compliance, it is imperative to document everything during the process.
First, document what the infraction was, your company's responses to the employee, and the outcome of the disciplinary action. This will provide evidence of your legal compliance in the event that an employee does decide to pursue either unemployment or litigation for wrongful termination.
Documentation should note employee actions and behaviors. For example, “Susan left her ID in the client's copy machine, which the client found the next morning. This indicates she was using their copy machine for personal use”. Do not include things like a description of the employee's bad attitude, which after all is a matter of opinion, or comment on his or her personal characteristics, which may show bias on your part.
When it comes to employee performance or behavior problems, document situations that are job-related, detailed, and include times and dates. Include the facts of the employee infraction, other employees that may have witnessed the infraction, and how the transgression may have affected the company and/or co-workers. Also document the steps taken to resolve the infraction and all attempts to provide the employee with time to correct his or her performance or behavior so it aligns with company policy. The documentation will serve as a record for your company, the employee, and possibly a judge, should the legality of the termination be challenged.
Progressive Discipline Steps
Instead of avoiding talking to an employee about a problem, take a positive approach when dealing with employee infractions. Using a systematized process should include verbal counseling, written incident reports (up to two), followed by probation, suspension, and finally termination as the last resort.
Of course, if an employee's behavior threatens the safety of others, or is fraudulent and dishonest, it may be necessary to skip the steps and simply terminate their employment. Remember, there is a difference between poor performance and intentional misconduct.
Progressive discipline can be a fair and easy-to-understand model, but if you execute the policy inconsistently or harshly, it can result in claims of bias and discrimination and may even result in lawsuits. Therefore, it is very important that all disciplinary steps be carried out uniformly throughout the company without regard to gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected category, because if you do not, it is discrimination, and that is illegal.
Below is an example of progressive discipline as should be outlined in your company policy manual and employee handbook.
Verbal Counseling: As the first step in correcting unacceptable performance or behavior, the manager should review pertinent job requirements with the employee to ensure his/her understanding of them. The manager should consider the severity of the problem, the employee's previous performance appraisals and all of the circumstances surrounding the particular case.
If the problem continues, the second step is to define the problem in more specific terms and work with the employee to identify the requirements for performance improvement or change of conduct. The seriousness of the performance or misconduct should be indicated by stating that a written warning, probation or possible termination could result if the problem is not resolved.
The employee should be asked to review what has been discussed to ensure his/her understanding of the seriousness of the problem and corrective action necessary. Immediately after the second step in verbal counseling, the manager should document the verbal counseling for future reference.
Written Documentation: If the unacceptable performance or behavior continues, the next step should be a written warning. In addition, circumstances such as a violation of a widely known policy or safety requirement may justify a written warning without first using verbal counseling.
The written warning defines the problem and how it may be corrected. The seriousness of the problem is again emphasized, and the written warning shall indicate that probation or termination or both may result if the improvement is not observed. Written counseling becomes part of the employee's personnel file.
Limit the number of written incident reports to two. It is not a good idea to allow too many chances to correct the behavior. Two chances is plenty, especially if you've also done the Verbal Counseling step.
There may be times when an employee refuses to sign the documentation. In this case, make a note on the documentation that the employee refused to sign. Then have another supervisor, manager or owner sign the form as a witness. For this reason, it is a best practice to do these when another person is readily available should the employee refuse to sign.
Probation: If the problem has not been resolved through verbal and written documentation, and/or the circumstances warrant it, the individual should be placed on probation. Probation is a serious action in which the employee is advised that termination will occur if improvement in performance or conduct is not achieved within the probationary period. The employee's manager, after a review of the employee's corrective counseling documentation, will determine the length of probation.
Typically, the probation period should be at least two weeks and no longer than 60 days, depending on the circumstances. The manager prepares a written probationary notice to the employee. The notice should include a statement of the following:
- The specific unsatisfactory situation.
- A review of verbal and written warnings.
- The length of probation.
- The specific behavior modification or acceptable level of performance.
- Suggestions for improvement.
- A scheduled counseling session or sessions during the probationary period.
- A statement that further action, including termination may result if defined improvement or behavior modification does not result during probation. “Further action” may include, but is not limited to termination, reassignment, reduction in pay, pay grade or demotion.
The manager should personally meet with the employee to discuss the probationary letter and answer any questions. The employee should acknowledge receipt by signing the notice. If the employee should refuse to sign, the manager may sign attesting that it was delivered to the employee and identify the date of delivery. The probationary letter becomes part of the employee's personnel file.
On the defined probation, counseling date, or dates, the employee and manager will meet to review the employee's progress in correcting the problem that led to the probation. Brief written summaries of these meetings should be prepared. Should probation be completed successfully, the employee should be commended, though cautioned that any future recurrence may result in further disciplinary action and/or termination.
Suspension: A two or three-day suspension may be justified when circumstances reasonably require an investigation of a serious incident in which the employee was allegedly involved. A suspension may also be warranted when employee safety, welfare, or morale may be adversely affected if a suspension is not imposed. In addition, and with prior approval, suspension without pay for up to three consecutive working days may be imposed for such proven misconduct as an intentional violation of safety rules, fighting, or drinking on the job.
These examples do not limit management's use of suspension in other appropriate circumstances, such as the need to investigate a serious incident. In implementing a suspension, a written counseling report should set forth the circumstances justifying the suspension. Such a report will become part of the employee's personnel file.
Involuntary Termination: The manager prepares the involuntary termination notice. The employee is notified of the termination by the manager and termination documentation must be completed. Involuntary termination is reserved for those cases that cannot be resolved by corrective counseling or in those cases where a major violation has occurred, which cannot be tolerated.
If you have concluded that termination of employment is necessary, consult with the owner or Human Resources and follow your company's termination policies and protocols. Never terminate an employee in front of coworkers, which besides being disrespectful, could make you susceptible to a libel lawsuit. Make sure that you handle things in a legally compliant and impartial manner. Federal anti-discrimination laws apply to all areas of employment, including termination.
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