Let's be honest there's no fun in the disciplinary process for anyone.  There are times when it is necessary but having seen many disciplinary processes play out over many years there are also very clear ways in which you can reduce your chances of having to deal with one. 

Here are my top 5 tips:

1) Be clear with your team members about processes and rules they need to follow and explain why.  Outline any  statutory rules that affects their work and be clear about the potential detriment to the business if things go wrong.

2) Train people well - in fact don't just train them, check their understanding,  give people a buddy or mentor if they need one if it will take a while for them to be completely up to speed on what is needed.

3) Have difficult conversations - tell people if you are concerned about their performance or if you have witnessed behaviour that is not in line with your expectations.  Do this early before it's disciplinary worthy - when people turn a blind eye to poor behaviour there is a good chance the person wont even know it's not what you are expecting until they do something worse or something goes wrong.

4) Schedule time for individuals make sure the individual feels safe to tell you if they need more support and to share their concerns.  Check in on their wellbeing and ask for feedback on what is working well for them and what  is causing them stress.

5) Last but certainly not least make sure you are role modelling the behaviour you expect to see from your team.  Strong role models create strong and capable team members.

It is really important to reflect on any disciplinary cases you have seen in your organisation or team and to consider the root cause of the problem.  In my experience there are very few cases that are open and shut, black and white.  My experience is that there are almost always mitigating circumstances of some type and the cases tend to be shades of grey.

I would be delighted to speak to you about my manager training "Disciplinary action and how to avoid it" or to help you with any of the following:

* Facilitation

* Executive Coaching

* An audit of your disciplinary cases over the last year and analysis of root causes and the creation of an action plan.

Contact me via the contact button or via email: donna@turnedonitshead.co.uk