How do your disciplinary memos stand up?
They should be clear about the charge being made against the employee.
Certainly you should describe your evidence as objectively as possible.
Within the memo, you should also include a restatement of the organizational
policy the employee has violated.
Is that all you need concern yourself about?
Not quite. Format, vocabulary, and tone may send totally different
messages from your intention.
Format
Too often, managers try to offer the reprimand
by beginning with a few words of feint praise. Thus, they send the
employee a contradictory message. The employee may ask himself or
herself, If I’m so good, then why am I being punished?
Rather, you want to begin a disciplinary memo
by stating what action is being taken and what caused the need for
discipline. For instance: “Beginning on February 4, 2001, you are
placed on three days’ suspension without pay for excessive tardiness
at the beginning of the work day and immediately following lunch
period.” Subsequently, you will need to describe excessive in terms
of corporate policy.
This strong introduction should be followed by
a supporting paragraph documenting the incident causing the action.
This is where you would describe what happened to necessitate a
disciplinary memo.
Be succinct. Too often managers lapse into a
rambling, shot-gun approach that blasts away at the employee’s entire
work history, previous behavior, and sanctions that should already
be within his or her personnel file. Should there be a grievance
hearing where more background is needed, the employee’s personnel
file usually will be admitted as evidence.
The disciplinary memo should end with a clear
statement of consequences if the behavior is repeated: “Additional
tardiness will result in termination. You can avoid further sanctions
by arriving on time after any absence from your workstation. Your
progress will be reviewed again on.” Thus the memo suggests you
expect improvement in performance while clearly pointing out that
no further violations will be tolerated.
Vocabulary
You want to be sure that the employee understands
the message of the disciplinary memo. Consequently, don’t fall into
the trap of many managers by writing in legalese. These managers
see the memos as documentation in the event of a lawsuit should
the employee have to be terminated for a repetition of the behavior,
so they encumber the memo with phrases that may only confuse the
employee.
The best disciplinary memos are those that tell
the employee, in simple language, what he or she is doing wrong
and what will happen if they continue to do so.
Tone
The tone or emotional nature of the memo should
be factual, neither harsh nor judgmental. Likewise, don’t let your
disappointment with the employee cause you to exaggerate. For example,
an employee might be fired for gross insubordination rather than
insubordination; malfeasance instead of negligence; or sexual harassment
rather than inappropriate behavior. Such exaggerations may stem
from anger or a desire for revenge, depending on the nature of the
offense, and later may cost a company the sympathy of judges, juries,
or arbitrators. Any exaggeration should be carefully avoided since
it can cause the company to lose the case.
Along the same lines, managers shouldn’t speculate
in the document about the motives of the employee’s actions: poor
attitude, lack of cooperation, disloyalty, and resistance to authority.
Focus on the incident, its consequences, and the consequences of
a repetition. Disciplinary writing must be limited to discussion
of the facts and the possible consequences if the counterproductive
behavior continues.
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