5 Action Steps
Both policies and standards should outline the corrective action process if the “rules” are broken. The most common process is:
- Verbal Warning
- Written Warning
- Final Written Warning
- Suspension
- Separation
Considerations
Options you want to consider during the process:
- Is this temporary? If so, are you suspending with or without pay?
- Will the employee be demoted to a lower class position?
- If corrective action has been taken and the steps have failed, you may find dismissal to be your only option.
Some employers worry that action taken after a work injury will look like retaliation. To get past this belief, employers must apply corrective action consistently for all broken rules. If one employee breaks the rules and doesn’t hurt himself or damage property, he should be written up the same way as someone who wasn’t so lucky. It also is essential to document progressive action. Take each of the five steps above unless a serious infraction has occurred. Don’t skip action steps out of anger or frustration.
Situations that Require Corrective Action
- A decline in employee’s job performance.
- An employee is angry or withdrawn.
- The employee is consistently complaining.
- They ignore constructive criticism.
- Their behavior is negatively affecting others.
- Attendance issues.
Creating a Plan of Action includes documented conversations that clearly define the:
laid out expectations of the employee, taking action to immediately cease the activities during the investigative state, finding the cause and the people accountable for the problem, determining the action steps needed to resolve the issue, and monitoring the action’s results.
