Progressive Discipline in the Workplace
What is progressive discipline?
Progressive discipline is an approach that
uses a graduated system of discipline to address behavioral and performance
issues. The purpose of progressive discipline is to provide employees with a
reasonable opportunity to correct and improve issues, while also providing fair
notice of the consequences of not correcting those issues. The exact
disciplinary measures depend on the severity and frequency of the underlying
issues and the company's specific rules and procedures. While the
procedure is typically a sequence of steps, each manager can reserve the
right to take appropriate action on a case-by-case basis.
Progressive discipline
is important for several reasons, including
Allowing managers to recognize and address
problematic employee behavior before it escalates
Helps employees to be
more productive and perform at higher levels
Fosters better
communication between employees and managers
Increases employee
retention rates and decreases employee replacement expenses
Ensures employees
understand why they're receiving discipline and what their expectations are
Provides employees with
several opportunities to improve before resorting to more severe disciplinary
actions.
The Benefits
of Progressive Discipline
Using progressive discipline can help
you get employees back on track. Done right, progressive discipline can:
- allow
managers to intervene and correct employee behavior at the first sign of
trouble
- enhance
communication between managers and employees
- help
managers achieve higher performance and productivity from their employees
- improve
employee morale and retention by demonstrating that there are rewards for
good performance and consequences for poor performance
- avoid
expensive replacement costs
- ensure consistency and fairness
in dealing with employee problems, and lay the groundwork for fair,
legally defensible employment termination for employees who cannot or will
not improve.
Progressive
discipline also helps you avoid the consequences of allowing workplace problems
to continue unchecked. If you don't intervene, the employee may not know that
his or her behavior or actions are unacceptable. Not only will you have lost an
opportunity to help the employee improve, but your company will continue to
suffer the consequences of the employee's problem, which could result in
reduced productivity and profits, quality control problems, lost opportunities
or customers, low employee morale, and high turnover.
What are the typical
steps of the progressive disciplinary process?
To understand how a
progressive disciplinary process works in a real-world company setting, let's
examine a typical step-by-step progressive approach. Some of the most common
disciplinary policies use a four-step framework that involves increasingly serious
consequences for the employee.
1.
Verbal warning
This is almost always the first disciplinary action in
any progressive discipline system. As soon as an issue comes to management's
attention, someone is tasked with warning the employee about the problem. This
warning can be delivered in either an informal or formal meeting, during which
the employee is told about the behavioral or performance problem. In many
cases, management also provides the employee with recommended
steps that they can take to correct the issue so that further action can be
avoided.
2.
Written warning
When verbal warnings don't lead to the necessary positive change,
management then typically follows up with the next progressive disciplinary
step – the written warning. This is a more formal action designed to signal to
the employee that the issue has become a more serious concern. Some companies
include the possibility for multiple written warnings within this stage of the
progressive discipline process.
3.
Final warning, including possible suspension period
Once the written warning step has been exhausted (again, some companies
may provide as many as three written warnings before escalating the process),
the next stage of the progressive discipline process is considered the final
warning. This is another document-based corrective action that puts the
employee on notice that any continued failure to correct the problem will
result in termination. Sometimes, this final warning can also be accompanied by
a period of suspension without compensation.
Communicating with an
Employee During Disciplinary Action
Are you
interested to know how you can communicate effectively during disciplinary action you are taking to correct an
employee's behavior or performance? In this example, the employee's coworkers
have often experienced the brunt of the impact of the employee's absenteeism or failure to contribute.
They want to
know that you're taking the matter seriously and working to correct the
behavior. Nothing hurts the morale of your contributing employees more than seeing no
action taken to correct the actions of poorly performing employees. The impact
of their poor performance is always noted and never appreciated. They want
their employer to take action to improve the situation.
Examples of
what is progressive discipline
Example -
Here's an
instance when a supervisor's progressive discipline plan outlines ways for the
employee to boost their performance:
Maxwell is a
blackjack dealer for a casino aboard a cruise ship. Customers have said that
Maxwell refuses to teach them the fundamentals of the game and orders them to
leave the table if they don't have experience playing. The gaming manager
administers a verbal and written warning to Maxwell, telling him to accommodate
guests better, but the complaints continue.
In the next
step in progressive discipline, the manager creates a Performance Improvement
Plan demonstrating the casino's protocol for interacting with guests. It
mandates that Maxwell invite customers to play blackjack, regardless of their
experience level, and describe the game's rules before dealing out the cards.
It also states that Maxwell has two weeks to change his behavior or he will
face suspension without pay. To keep his job, Maxwell aims to develop his
patience and strengthen his interpersonal skills. He drastically changes his
work style, causing the customers to praise him in the casino's online reviews
and in-person management.
Conclusion
The desired outcome of the progressive
discipline process is to allow employees to self-correct poor performance and retain
productive workers. However, sometimes the best outcome is termination. A clear
and consistent progressive discipline policy is a useful tool for retaining
good employees and for fairly terminating those who fail to meet employment
standards.
Disciplining employees
can turn out to be a tricky process if your disciplinary system is not employee-centric
At times, it can be too
focused on punishment which leads to short-term gains but long-term losses in
morale and organizational culture. On the other hand, a lenient approach might
need a stronger impact to deter unacceptable behavior or gross
misconduct in the workplace. That’s why it’s important to adopt a
combination of various disciplinary measures when creating a process for your
company. Once you find the right balance, you can create procedures
that help employees easily recognize their faults and take the necessary steps
to grow.
References
Berry, M., 2023. How to create a progressive
discipline policy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.insperity.com/blog/progressive-discipline-policy/
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
Chase, K.,
2023. Progressive Discipline: Steps for Creating Discipline in the
Workplace. [Online]
Available at: https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/progressive-discipline-steps-for-creating-discipline-in-the-workplace
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
Guerin, L.,
2023. What Is Progressive Discipline for Employees?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/employee-progressive-discipline-basics-30242.html
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
Heathfield,
S., 2021. Progressive Discipline in the Workplace. [Online]
Available at: https://www.liveabout.com/what-progressive-discipline-1918092
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
Nguyen, A.,
2023. How to maintain workplace discipline. [Online]
Available at: https://www.timedoctor.com/blog/workplace-discipline/
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
team, i.e.,
2023. What Is Progressive Discipline?. [Online]
Available at: https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-progressive-descipline
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
Williams, C.,
2023. Progressive Discipline: Steps for Creating Workplace Policy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/progressive-discipline
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
Wright, M.,
2017. A 4-Step Approach to Progressive Discipline. [Online]
Available at: https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/october/a-4-step-approach-to-progressive-discipline
[Accessed 24 Nov 2023].
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