Developing and following a good policy for disciplining employees is important.

Most managers and supervisors really don't like to discipline employees. It can be unpleasant to give criticism, even when it's desperately needed. But an effective disciplinary policy is an invaluable workplace tool.

Advantages of a Good Disciplinary Policy

A clear and effective disciplinary policy offers many benefits, including:

• Clear guidelines for employee behavior. A straightforward, easy-to-understand disciplinary policy will tell your employees what you expect of them and what conduct you will not tolerate. Enforcing the policy in a uniform manner will show your employees that you take these rules seriously.
• Good morale for other employees. It's true that the employee you discipline is not likely to enjoy a morale boost, but the rest of your workforce will. Other employees do not like to see a coworker getting away with poor, unproductive behavior while they work thanklessly at their jobs. And, if a problem employee is allowed to misbehave without suffering any consequences, others in the workforce will soon realize that they can get away with slacking off, too.
• Protection against employee lawsuits. If you clearly inform your employees of the consequences of poor behavior and enforce your policy fairly, you will buy yourself some insurance in future disputes. It will be more difficult for an employee to argue that his or her termination was unjustified if you can show that you told your employees what conduct would result in discipline, and that this particular employee had been subject to prior disciplinary action.

Writing a Disciplinary Policy

The trick to writing an effective disciplinary policy is to give your employees clear notice of the consequences of poor behavior without locking yourself into following the same course of action in every situation. For example, even though you may generally follow a policy of progressive discipline (in which a first offense is met with a coaching session, a second offense with a verbal warning, and so on), you should always reserve the right to immediately fire an employee who really acts badly. You will also want to avoid any hint of a promise that employees will not be fired unless they engage in specified misconduct -- you may find that your employees dream up bad acts you never considered, or that you have to fire employees for reasons entirely separate from performance (an economic downturn or plant closing, for example).

For help creating progressive discipline and other employee policies, see Create Your Own Employee Handbook: A Legal & Practical Guide, by attorneys Lisa Guerin and Amy DelPo.

How to Give the Bad News

Once you know that an employee has violated a company rule, you will have to dispense some of that discipline promised in your policy. Here are some guidelines to follow:

• Don't procrastinate. Once you have determined that discipline is in order, set up a meeting with the employee right away. The sooner you place the employee on notice, the sooner he or she will know that it's time to try harder -- and the sooner you will know whether the employee will actually improve or whether you'll have to start considering other options.
  
• Keep it private. Schedule a meeting with your employee to discuss the problem one on one. Make sure you can meet in a private place, away from eavesdropping coworkers and office gossip.
  
• Be honest. Your natural tendency may be to accentuate the positive, but now is not the time to indulge it. The purpose of this meeting is to notice and improve poor behavior. You must tell the employee precisely what the problem is, what steps he or she must take to correct it, and the consequences of failing to do so.
  
• Be respectful. Even bad news is best delivered with respect. Let your employee know that you want him or her to improve, and that you will help if you can. Set aside enough time for the meeting so that the employee will have an opportunity to respond. Make sure to listen to your employee's concerns; it may be that a performance problem is the result of a misunderstanding or could be easily corrected if you work together.
  
• Write it down. Document every disciplinary meeting, action, or discussion with each of your employees, and place that record in the employee's personnel file. In the case of a written warning, give the employee a copy of the warning and ask him or her to sign it to acknowledge receipt. These records will help you later, if that employee decides to file a lawsuit.
  
• Follow up. If you tell your employee that you must see improvement by a certain date, make sure to follow up. Check with your employee periodically to make sure everything is proceeding smoothly.