The Power of Honest Discipline – How to Discipline Employees and Achieve Immediate Results

Written by Stephanie Burford, PHR, HR Manager at Advisor HR

When administering disciplinary action, the purpose is to correct behavior, not punish. Punishment is about focusing on the past where discipline is about focusing on the future. Our intention should be to help someone understand what went wrong and how they can improve, not belittle the employee and create a sense of fear.

It’s a common misconception that disciplinary action is associated with being mean, rude, or harsh in effort to get the message across. However, that type of strategy is short lived and can quickly disengage and frustrate an employee. The goal of administering disciplinary is to be constructive and honest. What if we reframed our approach to disciplinary action? Instead of having an uncomfortable conversation, let’s learn how we can use the power of honesty to administer discipline and provide an opportunity for the employee to learn and grow. By reframing our conversation, we can increase engagement, employee morale, and administer effective, honest discipline without the employee walking away in fear.

Pre-Meeting Prep: Take away emotion and focus on the facts

It’s easy to get caught up in emotions, especially if the behavior or performance has been ongoing or may feel personal. If there are a lot of emotions, take a day or two in effort to let the emotions die down so you can really focus on the facts. Do an investigation if needed, but make sure you truly understand the situation, behavior, and impact. Once you have the facts, find a safe, confidential place to administer the discipline. For example: don’t do it in front of others or in a place where either you or the employee may feel uncomfortable. Once you are ready, go in with a neutral approach and the intent to be honest and respectful. Have the paperwork ready then schedule your meeting with the employee at a time that is convenient for both parties.

Meeting: Be clear & transparent

Honesty is the key to effective discipline. Your intention sets the tone for the meeting. If you truly want to help, they will find that passion in your voice while still being clear and transparent. Malcolm Knowles is a famous adult educator who developed 6 concepts related to the motivation of adult learning. One of the motivations he found was called “Need to Know.” This plays an important role in administering disciplinary. Adults need to know the reason for learning something. Allowing them to understand the “why” helps drive engagement. By clearly communicating the purpose of the disciplinary action, focusing on the facts of the situation, behavior, and impact increases their retention and long-term engagement. Honesty is the foundation to any long-term relationship whether it’s at home or in the workplace. By being clear and transparent you are showing the employee you believe they are capable of improving.

After the situation, behavior, and impact has been clearly explained, it’s important to reinforce positive behavior and offer support and solutions to areas for improvement. Another one of the six concepts related to motivation developed by Malcom Knowles is “Self-Concept.” Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education. By involving the employee in establishing a plan to correct behavior moving forward creates ownership and responsibility as well as motivation to improve moving forward. It makes them feel apart of the process versus being told what to do.

Post Meeting: Document

Once the meeting has been completed, make sure both you and the employee sign the disciplinary action. If the employee refuses to sign, that’s okay. Make sure your signature and date are on there and send it to HR to file the document. That way it’s readily available if needed.

Overall, disciplinary actions don’t need to be mean in order to be effective. We can achieve a more positive outcome by showing up in a neutral environment, focusing on facts, and being honest in our approach.  Honest discipline leads to long term, immediate results while fostering a culture of trust, respect, and continuous improvement. Let’s reframe our approach to disciplinary action and create an environment with the intent to help employees grow, focusing on the future, not the past.   

Advisor HR is here to help. Interested in learning more about how we can help? Book a demo today!