Before employees can meet your expectations, they must know what your expectations are. This important step must be done with each and every employee.
In order for this to be effective, make sure you have the following documentation in place accompanied by signature sheets noting that employees have read and understood these documents:
- A professionally drafted job description that clearly outlines all essential tasks and expectations for each role.
- A compliant, well-written employee handbook in place that plainly details expected workplace behaviors. Make sure you’ve worked with an HR expert to ensure those documents comply with federal, state and local laws.
Whenever you give a corrective action, review your expectations with the employee and how they might better meet them moving forward. Even better, ask the employee for input on what they can do to meet your expectations.
Use the FIRR method to outline each verbal and written warning. We will discuss the FIRR method, which has been described as a true gift by several managers who say it has greatly improved interactions with their employees, in depth later.
Normalizing feedback can help you minimize employment-related legal risks and create a better working environment at your practice. Consider saying something like this for every new employee:
Once you start, we will give feedback regularly, both positive and negative. I will check in, and I want to know where you are struggling and to also hear where you feel like you are thriving. Although it can be hard to hear sometimes, I figure you would rather know about something that needs to be improved upon as opposed to me holding it back. So, expect feedback!
Many business owners and managers wait to give feedback until things are simply too far out of hand to ignore. If you wait too long, any conversation about the issue is likely to cross over into discipline as opposed to coaching.
Confrontation can be uncomfortable, so it’s easy to understand why many employers prefer to let minor infractions slide in hopes that the problem will eventually correct itself. Remember, setting expectations and providing feedback, both positive and negative, doesn’t have to be a negative experience overall. By making these processes part of your routine, you can remove the negative association tied to feedback and setting expectations.
Your employees will learn to expect almost immediate feedback from you when their performance falls short. The first step in this actual “coaching” process is often verbal as far as the employee is concerned, but you still need to document the conversation for your own records.
What if an employee does not seem to be getting the message when you coach?
When an employee fails to meet a stated expectation, it could be time to outline the consequences should the situation not improve. Communicating the consequences of inaction can be a critical legal part of both verbal coaching and documentation.
After the conversation, document what was covered, and date the details of the exchange in the employee’s file. If you are still in the verbal stage, the employee doesn’t have to sign anything at this point. You can use CEDR’s free HR VaultⓇ software which automatically timestamps confidential notes you add to your employees’ files. Whatever method you use, make sure that all verbal coaching gets dated and documented.
One of the many reasons it is so important to document verbal coaching is that, in all 50 states, unemployment benefits can be denied if you can show some version of ‘willful misconduct’ on the part of the employee. Typically, this involves showing that an employee was aware of the consequences of continuing to violate a clear policy.
Avoid generalizations!
Instead of: You keep messing up and have a lack of attention to detail.
Try: You keep entering the patient’s insurance in the social security box, which we don’t even use anymore. I need you to pay attention to the little details so we can bill things properly.
If the issue persists or a new, more serious issue pops up, it’s time to have another corrective conversation with the employee. This second conversation should include a written communication, often called a “Corrective Action Form,” that also serves as a warning.
Each corrective action form should outline:
- The underperformance or unacceptable job-related behavior
- The impact that behavior has on your practice, clients or team
- Expected corrections the employee must make
Include the date and the manager’s initials with all written records.
Step 4 not only clarifies the consequences for the employee but can also be used as a legal record to establish the legitimacy of your actions in the future. Employees should then be asked to sign the form — an action that indicates receipt and acknowledgment, not necessarily agreement. Written warnings can also be confidentially shared with the employee and signed inside CEDR’s HR Vault. You can download a free Corrective Action Form here.
Usually, PCC can get the employee back on track, but, should the employee fail to correct their behavior and specific complicating factors exist, it may become necessary to issue a final written warning. These types of warnings require high-level expertise and HR knowledge in order to be applied correctly.
Termination is the final step of PCC. Before terminating employment, always assess the risks to your business, including:
- Is the employee in a protected class?
- Did the employee just participate in a protected activity?
- Do I have strong documentation?
If you’ve been following this process, your risks should be minimal.
Assuming you have assessed your risks with a qualified HR expert and decide to proceed with termination, provide a written letter stating the reasons for your decision. Keep in mind, however, that this letter requires careful thought and HR expertise to write. A properly crafted termination letter can deter frivolous lawsuits provided it is well-written and supported by documentation.
Don’t Let At-will Put You At-Risk
Documentation is absolutely necessary for every single termination in every single practice in the U.S. including those located in “at-will” or “right-to-work” states. Click to learn more about why at-will and right-to-work states still require a lawful reason and strong documentation for each termination.
