Employee Relations:
Positive Discipline
The word discipline carries with it
many negative meanings. It is often used as a synonym for punishment. Yet
discipline is also used to refer to the spirit that exists in a successful
ball team where team members are willing to consider the needs of the team
as more important than their own.
Positive discipline in a business is an atmosphere of mutual trust and
common purpose in which all your employees understand the company rules as
well as the objectives, and do everything possible to support them.
Any disciplinary program has, as its base, that all of your employees
have a clear understanding of exactly what is expected of them. This is
why a concise set of rules and standards must exist that is fair, clear,
realistic and communicated. Once the standards and rules are known by all
employees, discipline can be enforced equitably and fairly.
A good set of rules need not be more than one page, but prove essential
to the success of a small business. A few guidelines for establishing a
climate of positive discipline are given below:
- There must be rules and standards, which are communicated clearly
and administered fairly.
- Rules and standards must be reasonable.
- Rules should be communicated so they are known and understood by all
employees. An employee manual can help with communicating rules.
- While a rule or a standard is in force, employees are expected to
adhere to it.
- Even though rules exist, people should know that if a personal
problem or a unique situation makes the rule exceptionally harsh, the
rule may be modified or an exception be granted.
- There should be no favorites and privileges should be granted only
when they can also be granted to other employees in similar
circumstances. This means that it must be possible to explain to other
employees, who request a similar privilege with less justification, why
the privilege cannot be extended to them in their particular situation.
- Employees must be aware that they can and should voice
dissatisfaction with any rules or standards they consider unreasonable
as well as with working conditions they feel hazardous, discomforting or
burdensome.
- Employees should understand the consequences of breaking a rule
without permission. Large companies have disciplinary procedures for
minor violations which could apply equally well in small companies. They
usually call for one or two friendly reminders. If the problem
continues, there is a formal, verbal warning, then a written warning,
and if the employee persists in violating rules, there would be a
suspension and/or dismissal. In violations of more serious rules, fewer
steps would be used. It is not easy to communicate this procedure since
it should not be so firm that it can be expressed in writing. If it is
made clear to employees who violate a rule at the first reminder, the
procedure soon becomes understood by all.
- There should be an appeals procedure when an employee feels you have
made an unfair decision. At the very least, the employee should be aware
that you are willing to reconsider your own decision at a later time.
- Employees should be consulted when rules are set.
- There should be recognition for good performance, reliability and
loyalty. Negative comments, when they are necessary, will be accepted as
helpful if employees also receive feedback when things go well.
No matter how good the atmosphere of positive discipline in your
business, rules are bound to be broken, by some people, from time to time.
In those situations, corrective action is sometimes necessary. In some
rare cases, the violation may be so severe that serious penalties are
necessary. If an employee is caught in the act of stealing or deliberately
destroys company property, summary dismissal may be necessary. In all
other severe cases, a corrective interview is needed to determine the
reasons for the problem and to establish what penalty, if any, is
appropriate. Such an interview should include all, or most, of the
following steps:
- Outlining the problem to the employee, including an explanation of
the rule or procedure that was broken.
- Allowing the employee to explain his or her side of the story. This
step will often bring out problems which need to be resolved to avoid
rule violations in the future.
- Exploring with the employee what should be done to prevent a
recurrence of the problem.
- Reaching agreement with the employee on the corrective action that
should be taken.
Food For Thought
Just about everything new
that you attempt is difficult at first. You've never done it before,
so you don't know what to expect. You don't know how much time things
will take. You don't know where to go for information. You're not sure
you can do it.
The best approach is to jump right in and try. If there's something
you want to, or need to do, then just get started. Take the first
step. That first step may be awkward and slow, but you learn from it.
Experience is the best teacher. Sure, you can prepare by reading and
watching and analyzing. Don't develop analysis paralysis, though.
Don't spend so much time preparing for something that you never get
around to doing it. At some point, you just need to get started. Once
you've done that, once you've made that commitment, you have momentum
on your side.
And your experience will teach you things that no book ever could.
Do you have trouble making decisions? Is it difficult to juggle your
priorities? Do you find it hard to say "no", even when you really want
to? Do you sometimes sit and wonder what you should do next?
Perhaps you need to clarify your sense of direction. We all have a
general idea of where we want to go, though very few people take the
time to really think in specifics. But if you don't know exactly where
you want to go, you tend to stray off track. Distractions come along
and pull you in a lot of different directions. Decisions become
difficult to make when you don't have a clear direction.
Knowing exactly where you're going can focus your efforts like nothing
else. Do you ever find at the end of the day that you haven't
accomplished very much? A clear sense of direction can change that.
When you know exactly where you're going, exactly what you want to do,
you can use that direction to evaluate everything you do. Ask
yourself, "Is what I am doing right now getting me any closer to where
I want to be?" If not, then why are you doing it? If not, you'd better
stop that and start doing something that will get you in the right
direction.
A ship sailing across the ocean is off course 90% of the time. But
because the navigator knows the final destination, he can make all the
necessary course corrections along the way, before the ship gets too
far off course. Those mid-course corrections are vital. And they are
impossible without a specific destination.
The same holds true for any endeavor. Everything requires adjustments
and corrections along the way. But in order to make the right
adjustments, the final destination must be precisely defined. Only
then can you keep yourself on track for success.
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