Issuing a written warning letter to any employee can be a very difficult thing to do; however, it can be very necessary in certain situations to insure the workforce remains productive and positive. Whether you agree or not, every employee is watching to see what you will do when there is a bad apple in the group. If you do nothing it will destroy the morale of your staff.
Employees from the beginning of time will push the rules if allowed to. This means that if they see that you will do nothing when an employee shows up late, or worse is insubordinate, it sends a strong message that anything goes. Sooner, versus later, productivity will drop and chaos will set in, if you stand by and do nothing.
Before ever producing a written warning letter for anyone on your staff it is very crucial that you take the time to produce and inform everyone of what your rules are so that there is no questions about them. One of the most effective ways to do this is to produce an employee handbook that details all your policies and the penalties if they are violated. Suggested policies could be misconduct, attendance, disrespectful behavior, tardiness, stealing, etc.
After producing your employee handbook it is just as important to insure everyone gets their personal copy of it and then signs for it. You will also be encouraged to learn that you can obtain some very good employee handbook programs online for under $50. However, if you are so inclined you can spend a lot more money if you are looking for something more complicated with all the frills.
Another very important aspect of any employee discipline program is to make sure that you are treating everyone the same. More law suits are filed over companies that treat one employee differently than another when violating the exact same policy. You may try to justify your actions by stating that one employee is a better performer than another one, but the bottom line is if they violate your policy then treat them the same. Selective enforcement will get you in big trouble.
The actual written warning letter should contain the facts and only the facts. Do you're very best to leave any emotional words out, such as, "I feel!" The written warning should contain what the violation is (like tardiness), the date(s) that the violation occurred, the specifics of what occurred, if there is any prior discipline, what the employee must do to improve, and what the consequences will be if the employee doesn't improve.
Beginning with the least amount of disciplinary action and progressing to penalties that are more severe, finally ending with termination is a suggested way handling your disciplinary program. There are some instances that will demand immediately terminating someone if they violate a policy, such as fighting or stealing. As you develop your employee handbook it is a good time to make sure you consider all your options. Then, provided you follow your own policies and insure that you are treating all employees consistently and fairly you should be just fine.
Employees from the beginning of time will push the rules if allowed to. This means that if they see that you will do nothing when an employee shows up late, or worse is insubordinate, it sends a strong message that anything goes. Sooner, versus later, productivity will drop and chaos will set in, if you stand by and do nothing.
Before ever producing a written warning letter for anyone on your staff it is very crucial that you take the time to produce and inform everyone of what your rules are so that there is no questions about them. One of the most effective ways to do this is to produce an employee handbook that details all your policies and the penalties if they are violated. Suggested policies could be misconduct, attendance, disrespectful behavior, tardiness, stealing, etc.
After producing your employee handbook it is just as important to insure everyone gets their personal copy of it and then signs for it. You will also be encouraged to learn that you can obtain some very good employee handbook programs online for under $50. However, if you are so inclined you can spend a lot more money if you are looking for something more complicated with all the frills.
Another very important aspect of any employee discipline program is to make sure that you are treating everyone the same. More law suits are filed over companies that treat one employee differently than another when violating the exact same policy. You may try to justify your actions by stating that one employee is a better performer than another one, but the bottom line is if they violate your policy then treat them the same. Selective enforcement will get you in big trouble.
The actual written warning letter should contain the facts and only the facts. Do you're very best to leave any emotional words out, such as, "I feel!" The written warning should contain what the violation is (like tardiness), the date(s) that the violation occurred, the specifics of what occurred, if there is any prior discipline, what the employee must do to improve, and what the consequences will be if the employee doesn't improve.
Beginning with the least amount of disciplinary action and progressing to penalties that are more severe, finally ending with termination is a suggested way handling your disciplinary program. There are some instances that will demand immediately terminating someone if they violate a policy, such as fighting or stealing. As you develop your employee handbook it is a good time to make sure you consider all your options. Then, provided you follow your own policies and insure that you are treating all employees consistently and fairly you should be just fine.
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