Progressive discipline: It’s not always about firing people
With so many managers being told to document everything in preparation for possible termination, it’s easy to see why so many managers think of progressive discipline as a way of easing people out the door. But it can be much more than that. Read on to find out how.
Managers are told to document, document, document, so if they have to fire somebody, they’ll have an airtight case. Progressive discipline provides an orderly, fair way to manage that documentation. After all, once employee Jack has had an oral warning, a written warning and a suspension for absenteeism, what judge will agree that he was really fired because he’s over 40?
It’s easy to see why so many managers think of progressive discipline as a way of easing people out the door. But it can be much more than that.
Done right, progressive discipline gives managers the tools to save an endangered employee’s job – assuming the employee is merely having temporary problems and is otherwise worth keeping.
This kind of progressive discipline is called the “career advocate” model – because the manager is working with the employee to save her career with the organization. With this approach, progressive discipline is no longer a hammer used against the employee.
The career advocate approach provides many benefits to managers and employers. Among them:
A chance to pull valuable people back from the brink
A diplomatic, consultative way of persuading those who can’t be salvaged that they actually will be better off somewhere else
Protection from lawsuits, if the person does eventually have to be terminated. Traditional progressive discipline makes people mad, and angry people are usually the ones who sue.
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