In today’s challenging times, highly productive and motivated staff are key to business survival. More and more managers are tasked with improving standards of staff performance and behaviour and implementing good work practices. Managers throughout the UK have to cope with many challenges, whether improving poor performance or managing underperformers in the workplace.

We receive many requests from managers who wish to know; ‘how to correct poor performance?‘; ‘how to fire difficult employees?’; ‘how to get rid of poor staff performance?’ or ‘what’s the best way to sack someone?’. These managers clearly have a discipline or performance problem and are seeking an easy way to get rid of poor staff performance but they may lack the skills necessary to ‘turn around the difficult or challenging employee’.

Our one-day ‘Correcting Poor Performance and Disciplinary Procedures Course’ addresses the problem that, in a recent survey showed that 75% of UK managers were unaware of the correct procedures for how to discipline employees effectively. It’s not just about getting rid of difficult staff, the modern manager must know the correct procedures for dealing with under-performing staff and how to conduct a disciplinary meeting effectively.

Many delegates have commented on the effectiveness of the course in giving them tips and techniques for improving staff performance; understanding what is a disciplinary procedure; carrying out a disciplinary meeting and interview effectively.

Ultimately, by using the recognised ACAS procedures for disciplining staff you will not just get rid of poor staff performance, but get the most out of your staff.

Estimates have suggested that between 3%-5% of the working population receive some form of disciplinary action each year in the UK. This would mean that in an organisation of 1,000 employees, about 50 employees would receive some form of disciplinary action.

Getting it right is vital in today’s litigious society and most employers lose employment tribunals, not because of the rights or wrongs of the situation but because they didn’t follow correct procedure. This begs the question of what should constitute the use of discipline. There are mainly three areas that a manager should examine before embarking on formal or informal discipline: problems in performance, behaviour or attitude.

Our course Disciplinary Procedures and Correcting Poor Performance allows managers to examine in detail what they should consider before, during and after disciplinary action. Here are some examples:

Performance problems

• Does the employee require constant supervision?
• Does the employee tend to “pass the buck” on unpleasant tasks when problems occur?
• Does the employee miss work deadlines?
• Does the employee turn in work that is not complete?

Behaviour problems

• Is the employee absent beyond reasonable norms?
• Does the employee let family or personal problems interfere excessively with work?
• Does the employee use the telephone excessively for personal use?
• Does the employee cause personality conflicts with other workers?

Attitude problems

• Does the employee frequently have a negative attitude?
• Is the employee severely unmotivated?
• Does the employee complain excessively?
• Does the employee express contempt for the work, customers, management, or the organisation?
• Correct preliminary procedures
• The key to effective discipline is to get the procedures right from the start.
• Speak to H/R to discuss to clarify the situation and your courses of action
• Keep an open and running record of your discussions with the employee as you point out the problem and the effect of the behaviour or attitude.
• Ensure you have factual evidence and specific dates of examples.
• If the principal problem is attitude, be sure to identify the resulting behaviour or performance issues (i.e. how the attitude manifests itself).
• Clarify the problem with the employee to be sure he/she understands your concerns.
• Be consistent and fair when dealing with all employees over similar events
• Ensure there is no confusion about the consequences and your expectations clearly.
• With serious or frequent incidents document the discussion in a memo to the employee and keep a copy.

 

Disciplinary Training Courses

Who will benefit from the course?

The types of delegate we have trained previously are:

• Directors and senior managers
• Managers, department heads, team leaders and supervisors

This course allows managers and supervisors to examine safe disciplinary practice and demonstrates tried and tested ways to ‘turn around’ poorly performing employees. The aim of this course is to provide a practical insight into the handling of disciplinary and dismissal issues. We will show:

• How to avoid disciplinary problems in the first place
• How to create disciplinary rules and disciplinary procedures
• How to deal with disciplinary issues that do occur.
• When dismissal is, and when it is not, the best option

Disciplinary Procedures Course Agenda

Morning – 9.30-1.00

• Defining problems and problem employees
• The causes of disciplinary and performance problems
• Your impact on discipline and performance
• Investigating, fact finding and documenting evidence

Afternoon – 2.00-5.30

• Effective action plans
• Planning the disciplinary meeting
• Interviewing skills
• Essential follow-up and keeping the employee on track

Our training is carried out in a risk free environment which encourages delegates to practice the skills needed for successful appraisals. We use a number of training methods including role-play, video, audio, workshops and group exercises to enhance the learning process.

Why choose Total Success for your training?

• our lead trainers have over 18 years experience in training
• a maximum of 8 delegates means more time spent on individual needs
• we guarantee to run the course and will never cancel at the last moment
• free subscription to our monthly training newsletter

All open courses are trained in Central London at the St Giles Hotel.

Each delegate receives a comprehensive training workbook that doubles as an open course manual. Courses run from 9.30-5.30 with lunch and refreshments provided.

In-Company Courses

Total Success have developed a series of in-house training modules. These are designed so that an organisation can pick the training which is more applicable to its own needs and budget. Please call us to discuss your specific requirements.