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Employee Warnings: One Strike and You're Out

Written by: Donna Flagg

Article Overview: If an employee's performance needs improve, it shouldn't take a full quarter to find out whether he or she can pull it off or not. A better system can be structured so that you get the information you need about an employee's ability to turn it around sooner, rather than later.

Employee Warnings: One Strike and You're Out

In months past, we were writing the performance management section of an employee handbook for a client when our attorney pointed out how illogical it was to warn employees in the form of a threat to guide them toward better performance. The client had been using a fairly standard model commonly used to manage problem employees "out" that is often referred to as "30, 60, 90."

It went something like this:

Step 1: Communicate conditions of poor performance with the employee

* Counsel, document and advise the employee of the next 30 day follow-up

Step 2: Conduct first 30 day follow-up

* At 30 days, if performance has not improved, place employee on written warning and advise him/her that there will be another 30 day follow up

Step 3: Conduct 60 day follow up

* At 60 days, if performance has not improved place the employee on final warning and advise him/her that there will be another 30 day follow up

Step 4: Conduct 90 day follow up

* If performance has not improved, terminate employment, effective immediately

The point is that if performance is going to improve, it shouldn't take a full quarter to find out. A better system can be structured differently so that you get the information you need about an employee's ability to turn it around sooner, rather than later. Here is what we suggested our client do instead.

Step 1: Be explicitly clear about what your organizational expectations are.

Step 2: Be even clearer that your company has no intention of tolerating behaviors, conduct or breaches should they surface at any time down the road.

Step 3: Then, if an employee does violate company policy, inform him or her of the problem ONCE, and explain why it is a problem. This is the warning and his or her chance to fix it. Make sure the employee knows that if it happens again, his or her employment with your company is over.

Step 4: And you wait. Hopefully they "get it" and don't want to lose their jobs and you never have to revisit the issue again, or watch employees languish through a laborious and inefficient process. Otherwise, you eliminate the problem by nipping it in the bud and your company is clean of the people who do not contribute in a positive and productive way.

The idea here being that if you treat your employees like children, you increase the chances that running a business will feel more like to running a daycare center. Keep in mind though, if you feel you have a legitimate performance issue, and you want to give an employee a chance to learn and master skills, and you feel confident that he or she can do it, then it's better to coach, train and develop. This gives you and your employee an opportunity to decide together whether the objectives of the job can be met. If it turns out not to be the right place for him or her, you can mutually agree to make a change.

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Article Tags: breaches, employee handbook, final warning, intention, jobs, management section, performance management, poor performance, problem employees, standard model, step 1, step 2, step 3, time down



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