Progressive Discipline: What Supervisors Need to Know

Attendance problems. Poor job performance. Safety violations. Abuse or theft of company property.

If you’ve got problems like these at your workplace, you’re far from alone. But more important than knowing that you have them is knowing what to do about them. Or rather, having your supervisors know, as they’re the ones who deal with them daily.

Ignored by supervisors, discipline problems can grow, as other workers look on and lose respect for management’s leadership. Handled too roughly, as in simply firing those you think cause trouble, you could be acting in an unjustified or even illegal manner, resulting in EEO problems and wrongful termination suits. Is there a better way?

Start training your supervisors in progressive discipline today. Learn more about the new program: Audio Click ’n Train: Progressive Discipline.

Yes, it’s progressive discipline … the multistep system of making “the punishment fit the crime,” starting with light warnings for first offenders and progressing to termination for repeated or serious violations, but giving opportunities for reform and redemption all along the way.

Supervisors aren’t born knowing how to do this. They need to be trained. Here are some key understandings they need to acquire, taken from BLR’s new training program, Audio Click ’ n Train: Progressive Discipline:

— Reasons for Progressive Discipline. Supervisors must understand that the process not only treats people in a manner appropriate to their behavior, and shows other employees you are both fair and consistent, but also actually creates opportunities. If a problem employee with potential can be turned around, everyone involved wins. That can’t happen if someone is simply discharged.

— Laws Controlling Discipline. Equal Employment Opportunity laws are specific in that discipline can never be based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender or, depending on state law, other factors. Further, it’s illegal to use discipline as retaliation for whistleblowing, union or other protected activities.

— How to Implement Progressive Discipline. The usual steps are first oral and then written warnings, followed, if need be, by suspension without pay and finally by termination. Supervisors need to learn to properly use these steps, including skillfully conducting meetings and building corrective action plans along the way. Most important, they need to learn to focus on the erroneous action and not on the individual, and to emphasize correction, not punishment. They also should know at what steps HR approval must be sought and when other management personnel should be involved.

— The Need for Documentation. Each step needs to be surrounded by paperwork that shows your company has 1) allowed workers involved to tell their stories; 2) investigated fully what happened; and 3) taken any action on a fair and consistent basis. Anything less exposes you to expensive, protracted legal challenge.

Learn more about and view and listen to the audio on samples of BLR’s new Audio Click ’n Train: Progressive Discipline.

If you feel your supervisors can benefit from formal training in progressive discipline, BLR’s Audio Click ’n Train: Progressive Discipline is strongly recommended. It’s a 23-slide, 20-minute PowerPoint® with the added punch of a professionally recorded audio sound track, freeing you from the need to narrate.

It can be used in a training meeting or even by a trainee working alone, as it’s completely self-directed. Further, Audio Click ’n Train: Progressive Discipline comes with a full complement of ancillary materials, including speaker’s notes, a handout, discussion exercises, and a quiz with answer key. The presentation is also customizable. You can add your company’s specific policies, handbook cover image, or other information to make the program your own. Click the link given below for more information or to order.

To learn more about, view and listen to samples of, or order Audio Click ’n Train: Progressive Discipline, click here.