Counseling Employees

The difficulties that come with a problem employee may seem easily corrected by termination. However, if you believe the employee's performance can be altered, counseling employees is an intermediate step before firing.

Counseling employees takes a strong attitude and a plan of action. Your plan of action must effectively alter your employee's behavior so their work performance improves.

Too often, however, employers mistake disciplinary action as disciplinary counseling. Simply citing your employee with a letter of reprimand may improve your employee's work performance, but often it won't have a lasting effect. This hinders your business as it places a need for further disciplinary action later. By fixing the problem the first time, your problem employee's behavior may improve.

Dignity and Discipline When Counseling Employees

Perhaps one of the most important issues when disciplining your employees is saving their dignity, so when they are a rehabilitated employee, they will still have a sense of pride about working for your business.

Discipline should be discreet. You should avoid any discipline that embarrasses your employee, especially in front of other workers.

Here's your purpose as a manager.

You should motivate your problem employees so their work performance improves.

Counseling Employees: An Effective Plan Of Action

First, you must ensure that your employee knows what the problem is. This is where a letter of reprimand may come in handy, however, it shouldn't end here. Your letter should detail exactly what happened and why this was against the rules, and it should set up a time for the employee to meet with you.

Before the meeting, you should gather as many facts and information as possible. This will aid you during the discussion with your problem employee. Once the meeting starts you should outline the current problem, and then allow the employee to respond. The information you collect for the employee during this meeting will help you set the tone for the next actions in which you will take.

After the meeting, you should get back to your employee as soon as possible. Gather all the information you have collected, and decide what steps are next. If you feel the employee is sincere, and their behavior is correctable, then you should decide on steps to improve and motivate them.

As is often the case, if you feel that they employee is not sincere, then it's time to start the termination procedure.

If you feel that rehabilitation is still possible, the next step you take may be a project or a series of projects that improves your employees job performance. The projects may include revisiting new employee training procedures, extra training procedures, or following a colleague to gain further knowledge. No matter what steps you take, the procedure should begin as soon as possible.

Finally, after you have carried out all steps of employee counseling, you should review the problem employee's performance again. If the behavior is good, you don't have to take extra action. If the behavior remains poor, then it's time for formal progressive discipline that will likely lead to the problem employee's termination.

While this may seem harsh, the employee's termination is usually best for you and your company. It's also best for the problem employee since it will be better for them to find a job suited to their skills and motivations.