Discipline is of great importance in every walks of our life. And it is no different when it comes to maintaining the decorum at workplaces. Stating out of experience, a vital part of making a workplace affable is maintaining discipline in the work environment such that everyone is at peace and has equal opportunities to express themselves.Discipline doesn’t mean dominance or punishment but making the work environment safe and pleasant for everyone, both employees and management. For any company to work systematically, accomplish goals and at the same time maintain a good work culture, there has to be a foundation of trust. And discipline works best to bring about that equilibrium. But disciplining employees should be handled in a structured progressive way to ensure consistency in regulations and follow-up on the issues. Using the following best practices, you will be able to discipline employees effectively.
Establish clear rules and regulations
Being clear about your employment policies is vital. You can’t begin to discipline an employee for behaviour they didn’t know was unacceptable. There are a few common grounds that you should definitely cover.
– A standard practice companies often adopt is the termination procedure. You can keep it as simple as terminating an employee for any reason with or without notice (depending upon the situation). Employees on the other hand will also have the same right to end the working relationship just as easily.
– Attire and dress codes are common struggles for businesses, particularly when your team consists of young members. So be clear about what is acceptable, but make sure you aren’t violating any discrimination laws.
– Behaviour rules are tricky to define. They include how employees get along with other members, how they treat clients or customers, discriminatory actions, appropriate use of language, and so on.
– Productivity and work ethic should also be statedas to how much you expect an employee to do, and specific duties and benchmarks for specific jobs.
– Illegal behaviour, such as theft, illegal drug use, intoxication, or violence are grounds for immediate termination.
Put everything in notes
No matter the size of your company, it’s always best to lay rules and regulations out in writing. Because your employees can’t follow the rules based on assumption or verbal communication. Documented notes create better understanding as what is expected out of employees, team leader and even bosses. Also, when you suddenly find yourself in a worst-case scenario, documentation is going to help you out. If employee discipline leads to firing or legal action, having no documentation to refer as a reason for disciplinary action will leave you open to possible legal consequences.
Decide on the discipline method
There are number of discipline methods that companies use but all are based on the idea that there are company goals or benchmarks that needs to be met. And not meeting them puts the regulations in motion. You can approach the method that best suits your business and work culture. The most common approach is progressive discipline where you increase the level of severity of your discipline when an employee fails to correct an issue. It’s a common approach because it tends to protect employers from legal action. You can also decide to implement progressive discipline only under certain circumstances.
Make sure to use employee reviews
Reviews are an easy way to figure out what employees think about certain things in office or even about each other. It’s a process that is flexible and can be worked into any discipline process. In fact regular employee reviews, even for small businesses, are a proactive approach to employee discipline. It also helps to build the employee up and encourage better performance and good behaviour.
Bring out the right attitude
It’s important that management don’t see employee discipline as punishing an employee. Employees aren’t school goers so thinking that negative punishment will bring about a positive difference doesn’t apply. Insteadmonitor the actions of your employees to ensure that they are complying with the discipline policy. Give employees firm but polite reminders in case of minor infractions. And if there’s a major violation, then before taking a strict action, always be open for a discussion where the person can explain himself.
Rules are same for everyone
Don’t just create guidelines, make sure to follow them religiously. And when it comes to discipline policy, it should be unique across all levels, be it employees or managements. Sometimes it’s surprising how many employee rules and guidelines are created and then ignored by management. But if you have it in the handbook and employees have agreed to it, your managers must follow it.
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