Progressive Discipline, in a Nutshell

You've made the hire. You've set the expectation, trained the employee, ensured they have the tools to do the job. You've provided the feedback on how they're doing. And yet...they won't do it.

You're pretty sure this isn't an ability thing. They trained well, completed the task while you were closely supervising them. But now that you've left the grill in the capable hands while you work with someone else...the quality has dropped off significantly. Or maybe it's a prep issue...they can't seem to read the list no matter how many times you emphasize it.

What do you do? It seems a lil unreasonable to fire them, no? But at the same time...the work needs to be done, and done correctly. And if you have to stand there watching this employee work...then what are you paying THEM for?

This is where progressive discipline comes in. I hate the term, personally; it seems very serious and scary, tantamount to firing someone. But the logic behind gradually ramping up the consequences is sound, and when used properly can be a key weapon of choice in battling all manner of trouble.

Generally Accepted Recipe for Progressive Discipline

1: Verbal Warning

2: Written Warning

3: Consequences

The idea is that AFTER you've coached someone on the issue, you initiate progressive discipline. You don't use the process on a new employee...that's silly. You don't even use it on someone who's slipped up (to this day, I miscount things, use the wrong tool, not pay close enough attention to something...and I don't think that warrants a formal warning). You have to mark a pattern of sub par behavior that hasn't been affected by your normal coaching.

Once you've done that, you issue a formal verbal warning. Sit down in the office, step into the walk-in, take a walk outside. Take the situation out of the normal ebb and flow of the store, away from distractions. Lay down what's going on, why it's a problem, and what the employee has to do to correct the situation. Afterward, track the date and discussion somehow, in case you have to ramp up the process...you'll want to be able to cite when the verbal warning happened, and how the discussion went, in any written warning (I like the idea of having write-up forms where you can check a “Verbal Warning Only” box).

Then you wait. Hopefully, this is enough to correct the behavior. In a best-case scenario, the employee realizes you're serious about the issue and it goes away. But sometimes...that's just not going to happen, for a wide variety of reasons.

That's when a written warning comes in. You write out the situation, the fact it's been previously discussed, and what the employee needs to do to correct the situation. Have a space for their rebuttal, or any comments they want to make regarding the issue. If there's something they need you as the manager to do (change their scheduled start time to allow for the bus route, be more specific with instructions, etc) this goes in the employee comments. Clear consequences for the continued behavior as well as a timeline of events (“corrected immediately” is a popular one) should be included. Both of you sign and date the form, preferably with a witness.

If this doesn't correct the issue, you can either repeat the written warning step (appropriate if it's a relatively minor issue, or if there's been a fair amount of time before the relapse) or escalate further. This is where suspension or termination comes in. (Notice how far down the post we start talking about firing someone). If you feel there's potential with the employee and they're just blowing off the write up, take them off the schedule for a week. Especially with younger employees that sort of hit to the wallet can really make them reevaluate their behavior without sending them looking for another job. However, if this seems like something that simply isn't going to be corrected...you can terminate for cause that's been well documented.

There's probably a hundred different ways to do progressive discipline. Almost every company has their own take on the topic, and each system has it's strengths and weaknesses. But not one of them is any good unless the management team uses the system, consistently and justly. A rusty saw isn't gonna cut anything, and a machete used at random in a cornfield is just expensive.