HR Inside and Out

Discipline in a Digital Age

Recently, during the course of dealing with an employee issue, the changing nature of business and communication became clearer than ever before. In short, we were attempting to implement employee discipline with someone who refused to respond via any means other than a text message. This posed a significant challenge… To text the employee or not? Are electronic communications a sufficient and smart way to implement corrective action? What is considered written documentation as it relates to employee discipline? These are the questions we encounter on a daily basis in the world of HR…

When it comes to employee discipline or corrective action, a pre-planned, face to face meeting is still the best way to review the issues at hand. In situations involving a remote office, a scheduled phone call (like a meeting!) is the most advisable. By setting a formal time and purpose for the meeting, the employer sets the tone that the issue is serious and important. Likewise, a formal corrective action form should be used when the issue is significant enough that a repeat of the behavior or issue will result in termination or further corrective action. As with any formal employee document, a signed and dated acknowledgment is always the employer’s best friend!

Where does email come into play? Given the volume of email we send, can’t we simply just email the employee? In short, the answer is no. But the truth is that email has become a very valuable tool for implementing corrective action. In the case of an informal performance or behavior discussion, a simple email summarizing the discussion can go along way in enforcing the plan. Email should only be used after first discussing the issue “real-time”, however, and should be kept in the employee’s electronic file for future reference. Going back to the formal employee documents, employers should always request a reply from the employee acknowledging that he/she has read the communication (email in this case) and understands it.

So, that leads us to the least formal method of communication used in the business world – text messaging. When is it acceptable to use text messaging as a way to communicate disciplinary issues, compensation or benefit related challenges, or anything else of significant nature? Never. And there’s no more explanation needed for this, we think! In the case of the employee who only wanted to communicate via text, we sent an old fashioned letter, using real paper and postage!