The Mechanics of Effective Employee Discipline Inconsistent employee discipline in the hospitality workplace can expose an employer to a litany

of legal problems ranging from unemployment compensation to lawsuits for termination without cause. The most effective way to protect your business is through protective documentation. What is meant by Protective documentation you may ask? I define protective documentation as the process of establishing a consistent verbal and discipline path for each employee in your workplace. Your documentation must be based on established rules and norms as defined by your SOP (Standard Operational Procedures) or employee handbook. Protective documentation cannot be ambiguous. When enacting employee discipline procedures it must be professional in its objective and at no time in the process should you let your personal likes and dislikes be use as criteria in defining the scope of the infractions. You must maintain the era of unbiased professionalism at all times. So often I have worked with both fellow managers and superiors who have taken things personally and have let their emotions play a major factor in most if not all disciplinary procedures that they enact against an employee who has broken the rules. Their judgment is flawed and could lead to a disastrous legal path which would destroy their integrity, puts their business in financial jeopardy, and cause a decline in morale with their current staff. The one belief that I have always held onto when it comes to employee discipline is to praise in public and to correct in private. It is all about maintaining the dignity of all parties involved. Praising your staff in public maintains that atmosphere of care and nurturing. Correcting in private gives credence to the employee involved that you are indeed fair and impartial. Also some infractions may involve incidents that are sensitive in nature. To create an effective disciplinary process I recommend that these necessary steps be implemented within your hospitality establishment: Disciplinary counseling sessions should take place in a quiet corner in your business and away from the office. This puts all parties at ease, the only time that the disciplinary process should take place in the office, is in cases where the infraction demands immediate actions in situations of theft, vandalism, fighting, and sexual or racial harassment. It must be emphasized to all parties, that the disciplinary process involves matters of privacy which is protected by local, state, or federal laws. I have had to terminate both staff and managers who have leaked pertinent information of another co-worker that is considered personal to others in the business. Discipline must be a progressive step with the notion that its mean purpose is to correct and change the actions of those who have broken the rules. It should not be used as a hammer to destroy the reputation of the individual. In terms of progressive steps, this usually means verbal, first written warning, second written warning, and written termination. When it comes to a written termination then a HR professional should be consulted.

Employees should be allowed to either refuse to agree or disagree with the findings of the counseling documentation. At no time should they be coerced into signing documentation that they disagree with. All avenues should be explored including written statements and eyewitness accounts before doing disciplinary paperwork. In some states, coercion can be considered a criminal infraction. The disciplinary process should always involve two managers at all times. Having two managers is a necessary safeguard just in case the employee involved makes a false charge of racial or sexual harassment. By having two managers involved at all times, gives justification and necessary explanation that racial or sexual harassment did not come to play in the disciplinary counseling session. An accurate accounting should be taken of the different rules that are broken. Some employees become wise to the disciplinary process and will commit multiple violations such as consistently being late to work or unexcused absences. In situations like those, it would be advisable to write your counseling to encompass all those infractions as being based on overall performance of the employee. This means that breaking different company rules is a reflection of their performances which can have a negative bearing on the business. It is also highly recommended that you change your SOP or employee handbook to coincide with performance based counselings. By incorporating these easy and necessary steps into your operations will make your business less vulnerable to legal actions by disgruntled or opportunistic staff. Protective documentation is also an excellent retention tool because it can turn potential borderline staff into exceptional performers.