Discuss the steps in the progressive discipline process and give an example.
Post a substantive response to the question (minimum 250 words).
Reply in a scholarly and substantive manner to the following two classmates
(Janaina)
The Progressive Discipline Process occurs when employees are not meeting expectations regarding the job. It’s an opportunity for employers to guide employees towards the best attitude to meet goals and expectations within the company and ensure employee performance improvement. In each of the following steps is extremely important that supervisor/manager documents every detail of conversations had with employee. Eric Meyer, a partner in Philadelphia based Dilworth Paxson LLP’s labor and employment group, states “one of the biggest mistakes employers make is failing to properly document the reason for a disciplinary termination.” (Wilkie).
Coaching and Counseling is designed to “ensure that employees know what is expected of them” (Muller, p. 258). This step occurs when the violations are minimal, and it’s assumed that the employee will “learn the lesson” and won’t make the same mistake again. Retraining, If Necessary has the purpose of identifying if the poor performance is related to employee knowledge and understanding of the activities needed. As it says in the title, if necessary, training can be applied. Verbal Warning supervisor will let the employee know why he/she is being reprimanded, will give advice to correct the poor performance and will warn the employee that disciplinary action will occur if behavior is not changed. Written Warning is a summary of all former steps and everything said between employer and employee including a notice regarding employee’s future in the company if inappropriate behavior continues. Once again, documentation is essential in showing employee’s history of warnings prior to this step. Suspension is basically the last step before firing an employee. Some companies propose the Last Chance Agreement (LCA) which gives the employee another chance for improvement behavior however the agreement can state that the company has the authority to terminate the employee with or without a cause if change doesn’t occur. Termination is the final step in the Progressive Discipline Process and is described by Muller as “the employee should have “fired himself” (or herself) by not complying with all of the formerly made statements, guidances, and so forth.” (Muller, p. 261). Although the documentation will prove that all the steps were taken before terminating an employee is advised to consult legal professionals to ensure proper handling of the situation.
My conclusion is, employees have many opportunities and support for behavior improvement in the workplace. Whether it is related to lack of training, information, encouragement, laziness, hostile behavior, substance abuse, personal issues, and many other reasons a person could fail at performing his/her job. If it gets to the termination step the company is only doing the business part of letting go of someone that is not interested in adding any value to the company. However, the issue is extremely sensitive, and it needs to be dealt with maximum precaution to avoid future lawsuits allegations.