Discipline & Termination

A positive approach to discipline

January 27, 2021
Discipline is an unpleasant fact of life for managers (and employees). It’s worse if you treat it as punishment. Instead of reprimands and warnings, try this approach.

Craft an effective warning letter

January 27, 2021
Except in extremely rare circumstances, managers shouldn’t fire employees without going through a disciplinary process that documents the problem and affords the employee a chance to improve. A warning letter to the employee is usually a key element of that process.

Disciplining remotely: What are the best practices?

January 11, 2021
Q: “What is the recommendation for writing someone up when they work in the field and rarely visit the office? Is it a call then an email with the write-up?” – Quintila, California

Go positive in exit interviews

September 23, 2020
Though exit interviews can yield key insights into what’s wrong with your organization, don’t overlook the positive side.

Plan layoff meeting carefully

September 23, 2020
Laying off an employee is never easy, but not thinking about it won’t help. It’s better to plan your meeting with the employee in detail, including the steps you should take before the meeting. These tips should help.

Prep bosses to deal with layoffs

August 13, 2020
Impending layoffs are tough on everyone—including those who must deliver the bad news. Here’s how to prep your supervisors for the unpleasant job.

Beware 4 discipline traps

June 24, 2020
Most managers don’t spend a lot of time on discipline, so it’s no wonder that many of them aren’t very good at it. Correcting mistakes and misbehavior is part of the job, though. Learn to avoid these pitfalls.

Can I fire a snoozing worker?

March 13, 2020
Q. I caught one my workers with his eyes shut in front of his computer. I knocked on his desk and gave him a warning that sleeping on the job will not be tolerated. That’s grounds for termination. Right?

Cut off gossip as soon as it starts

February 26, 2020
It’s easy to get caught in gossip, even for managers. You know you should it, but how should you do it? Lori Palatnik and Bob Burg, authors of Gossip, offer three useful options.

Should we question a worker we suspect is gaming our reward system?

February 13, 2020
Q. We encourage our retail staff to go above and beyond their duties to please and impress our customers. To that end, we reward them gift cards to various restaurants each time a customer comes to our service desk to compliment one of our employees. One of our workers has landed several of these rewards, but I have a suspicion that the “customers” are his friends, and he’s gaming our motivational system. Should I come right out and ask him?