Corrective action employee handbook

In most cases, it is appropriate to see if coaching, counseling, and retraining can bring performance up to a satisfactory level. Feedback is typically given by talking directly with the employee.

You should follow up with a simple written action plan or an email summarizing the discussion and action items. If necessary, help the employee find training or education to develop the required competencies needed in their job. Final counseling is the last corrective action step prior to dismissal. Final counseling may be appropriate if:.

Contact your HR consultant when you determine that dismissal may be appropriate. Work closely with your HR consultant through every step of the dismissal process.

Employees needing support regarding corrective action can contact their HR consultant or the Office of Ombud. HR Operations. Formal Adverse Action Phase - description of the adverse actions process, including the legal causes for adverse action, the range of penalties, the contents of a formal Notice of Adverse Action, Skelly hearings, and formal appeal hearings. This guide book is intended as a guide only.

There is no "right" way to manage employees. Each department has a separate culture and approach that may be different. As we state repeatedly throughout this guide, when in doubt, consult with your Human Resources HR office. You will find references to California Government Code in several sections of this guide. Corrective feedback and adverse actions can be based on either poor performance or actual misconduct. Misconduct, however, does not always require progressive discipline.

All of these types of problems are performance issues. Threatening violence against a coworker, stealing and dishonesty are examples of misconduct.

An employer can take adverse action against an employee who engages in these behaviors immediately without engaging in the corrective phase or progressive discipline. In other words, there is no training course to teach someone how to not steal, employees are reasonably expected to know that this is unacceptable conduct. Make sure you know the length of each new employee's probationary periods. The time limits on probationary periods and the statute of limitations on adverse actions, among other requirements, require you to stay on top of problems and address them directly, simply, and quickly.

As a supervisor, you are expected and encouraged to ask for advice and get buy-in on any performance improvement strategy you consider. Addressing performance problems always requires a department-wide perspective.

Never skip asking for and checking references. Ask for examples of specific assignments the employee has completed on his or her current job. Ask how the employee handled each one. Ask if the person would rehire the employee if given the opportunity. This question always seems to elicit the most honest response.

And if not, ask the employee for additional references. If the employee gave you samples of his or her work, verify with the employee's reference that the employee prepared those products on his or her own.

When you ask for references, you should also ask the employee for consent to review his or her personnel files. The time and effort you put into the "onboarding" process can pay off in increased employee morale and productivity.

Your HR office will probably have a checklist for you to review with new employees. Here are some points generally covered with a new hire:. Explain department policies employees are expected to follow, and where to find those policies on-line or in print?

For example, can the employee use personal electronic devices at work? What are the information and physical plan security requirements in the department? How do your employees get your attention? Phone call? Leave you a note? How do you make yourself available? What about advice on other administrative details like using leave or arriving late the next day?

Review the duty statement for the job. Some departments require the employee to sign. If revisions are needed, work with your HR office to get that revision made so the duty statement matches the job. Review your expectations for employees in your unit and this job in particular. For example, offer answers to the following questions for your new employee so she or he understands your basic expectations:.

When do you expect him or her to be at work? At a specific time every day? Is an alternative work schedule possible now or in the future? How does the employee get approval to use leave time? What about using sick leave? Who to call? Do you expect employees to offer to help others when their assignments are done? What are your priorities in the unit? What quantity of work do you expect?

How many units per week or month? Check the MOU for the job—it may have information on workload expectations. Give examples of what successful employees in the job have produced.

What quality of work do you expect? If you have a simple memo that reflects the quality you expect, share it with your new employee. Explain when probation reports are due and set the dates on your calendars. Review any Unit-Wide Expectations Memoranda. These memos outline basic work rules regarding work schedules, calling in and requesting leave time, reporting whereabouts and other department-wide or unit-wide rules.

If you have provided this type of memorandum to the employees in your unit, make sure your new employee receives a copy as well. How can I help you get started? Is there training you think you will need? Walk the employee around the work site; introduce them to coworkers; if a coworker can help with something especially well, tell the employee about that person. No matter how busy you are, make yourself available to talk and answer questions in the employee's first few days.

And remember, on boarding is an interactive process that requires you to communicate with and support your new employees. Do not hand a new employee the department manual and a link to the department website and expect them to simply orient themselves. Your HR office can tell you what the probationary period will be for the job and when reports are due. Tell the employee about probation reports, show the employee the form you will use, and calendar meeting dates to discuss the probation reports for about one week before the reports are due.

If the employee has problems during the probationary period, this is a red flag. Provide plenty of feedback, training and document the feedback. Departments vary on when the required yearly performance review is completed. Other departments do all of the evaluations at the same time department wide. The form used for evaluations, the factors considered, and other rules may vary as well.

Your HR office is the best source of information about the process. In the Corrective Phase, you explain to the employee exactly how she or he is not meeting job expectations and what the employee needs to do to bring his or her performance up to an acceptable level. An excellent tool for conveying this explanation is the " Work Improvement Plan. You identify precise actions the employee can take and training or additional guidance the employee may need.

You must provide a meaningful opportunity for the employee to learn and improve. Generally it will work, and you will never have to reach the Formal Adverse Action Phase. That in itself is a victory. A critical element of the Corrective Phase is giving feedback and documenting employee performance.

This gives the employee fair and clear notice about how to improve and creates a record that the employee received notice, training and ample opportunity to improve.

The next sections discuss the right way to give feedback and document your efforts to help your employees improve. Most people are comfortable giving positive feedback but less so with giving critical feedback, even when the goal is improving performance on the job.

Giving constructive feedback is a skill that good supervisors must first learn and then practice. Use the resources available on the CalHR training page to help you think through both what you want to say and how you want to say it. Set a good example. Treat your subordinates and coworkers with respect. Be fair, adaptable, considerate and solution-oriented. Recognize the good your employees do. Tell them you appreciate it and how it helps the organization. Celebrate accomplishments of your group; for example, bring in cookies when a big project is completed.

Sometimes, you can just celebrate for no particular reason other than to build camaraderie. Praise in public, and correct in private — be sensitive to the environment and other employees who may be watching and listening. Use numbers and examples. Share examples of good work. Stay away from generalizations and exaggerations.

If the employee is a big help, say so. Ask the employee if she or he understands and can comply or whether further clarification is needed. Deal with problems as soon as possible, as they arise. If you wait until the next evaluation, it is less effective and may seem unfair. Worse, delay may cause you to miss important deadlines, such as, the end of a probationary period. No matter how uncomfortable you feel, these issues matter and you need to handle the conversation seriously.

You set the tone; keep it professional and stick to the facts. Avoid jokes, sarcasm, interrupting, being overly dramatic or exaggerating the problem. Nobody likes to be criticized so do not be surprised if the employee to be defensive. If the atmosphere is too charged, set a time to get back together. As a final step, ask the employee if they understand your point and agree with the changes you are asking them to make.

Engaging the employee in the solution is a great way to gain their buy-in. Document their suggestions and try to find common ground. If the employee is not willing to acknowledge the problem or agree to solutions, note that as well. Do not ask the employee or guess at what is motivating the poor performance. If the employee does bring up a personal problem, you may need to refer the employee to other resources within your department. Nobody enjoys talking about performance problems but supervisors have to do it because:.

It works: Most performance problems are resolved by reviewing what is expected of the employee, talking over what went wrong in those instances where the expectation is not met, and deciding on a new course of action for the future. Other employees will notice and respect the fact that when a performance problem comes up, you give the employee a chance to improve.

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Step 3 Disciplinary Action Suspension without pay - A suspension without pay prevents an employee from working and is without pay for one or more days. The letter should: State that the action is a suspension without pay.