"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."
–Anonymous

The Problem

What do you do when your employees start to become lethargic or difficult? How can a leader deal effectively with these workers, who are worth keeping but have somehow begun to wander from the performance mark?

The Solution: Positive Disciplinary Options

When it comes to managing team members in a disciplinary action scenario, consider the following techniques:

1. Decision Day: With this option, the supervisor gives the employee a paid "day off" to allow him or her time to reflect on the actions or behaviors in question and to "gain some elevation" on the situation.

2. Decisional Leave: Here, the supervisor gives the employee an unpaid "day off" as an action of discipline. During this period, the employee is required to create a plan on paper in response to the following questions:

What does the job mean to me?

What happens if I do not keep this job?

What am I willing to do to keep the job?

A note on the above strategies:

Avoid parent/child style punishment (”I am in charge, you will be punished!”)

Instead, try: “You are accountable for your actions, we want you as an employee, but you haven’t lived up to your agreement. What will you do to improve the situation?”

Disciplinary Action Plan

1. Verbal Discussion - See this article on the CASE Method [0] to learn a simple and effective model for communicating with your employees in a conflict situation.

2. Second Documented Discussion - Use the same method as in #1, only now the whole situation needs to be documented and placed in the employee's personnel file.

3. Decisional Leave - Provide an unpaid "day off " that requires the employee to reflect in writing on his or her actions and overall relation to the organization (as described above).

At this point, if the undesired behavior or actions continue to occur, the manager or supervisor needs to assess the value of the employee and whether or not he or she needs to be terminated. This is usually a difficult decision and we recommend talking with an immediate supervisor for advice and protocol during the termination process [0].

If supervisors are given sufficient resources (such as those considered in this article), and the process of working through the disciplinary action with the employee is documented, the organization should be well protected from a legal standpoint and the employee should understand exactly where he or she stands when his or her performance is substandard.

For tips to effectively train your people and streamline your organization, and for other solutions to your staffing challenges, visit www.traininginabox.com [1]. Sign up for our free newsletter at www.quicktrainingsolutions.com [1] to make your HR training and development life easier. Corey Nielsen designs and delivers innovative and effective training solutions for businesses through NTG, his business development and training company.

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