The level of disciplinary action that a manager needs to take relating to an employee, will depend on the level of the employee’s offence or misdemeanour. The response or action should be appropriate.

This requires some discretion on the part of the manager. The most long term effective, people-focused managers will see disciplinary procedures as an opportunity to work on the soft skills development of the wayward staff member. The goal should be a win-win for both the employee and the organisation.

It’s generally accepted today that disciplinary procedures should be carried out on a progressive scale, a scale on which the manager can escalate steps depending on the severity of misconduct or the level of poor performance.

Let’s look at the first step of the disciplinary scale, beginning with the least severe:

Informal verbal

This is an opportunity for you to express your initial concerns in an informal way. You could look at it as a feedback meeting. This is fine for very minor issues and is a chance for the line manager, supervisor or manager to express their concerns, and gain a better understanding of the employee’s situation. Often, for low level issues, this is the only step you’ll need to take.

Related posts:

1. Disciplinary Action – Verbal and Written warnings
2. Disciplinary Action – Final Steps
3. Disciplining for misconduct

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