Confront the problem not the person when disciplining an employee

I have to discipline one of my best employees for violating a company policy and I’m not looking forward to it.  Everyone knows the policy and that all violations will be addressed so I’m fine with taking the necessary action.  My concern is that if I don’t handle this well, I may end up with a not so terrific employee, or no employee, when all is said and done.  I don’t want to lose a valuable member of my team whom I really like, and I also need to enforce the rules to maintain our reputation for the highest quality products available.  Any suggestions for how to make this go smoothly?

Discipline may be a necessary fact of life but handing it out is rarely easy – for the giver or the receiver.  You can minimize the negative fallout and maximize the opportunity for corrective action with the following:

Start with respect.  Be respectful to your employee in your attitude, your demeanor, and your language.  Consider the employee’s needs when deciding where and when to address the issue, and make sure to respect rights to privacy both in scheduling and in the actual meeting.

Confront the problem not the person.  Separate the infraction from the rest of your dealings with this employee.  Start by recognizing that this is not a place that either of you prefer to be but that circumstances require that the situation be addressed.  Make it clear that you still value and like this employee.  Then affirm your purpose in enforcing the company policy in this case.  Stick to the facts and avoid language that may be heard as shaming or blaming.

Anticipate an emotional response.  Accept that emotions are a normal human response and be prepared to deal with the emotions that arise – both from yourself and your employee.  Keep your emotions in check while understanding, rather than judging, those of your employee.

Be ready to listen.  Listen for the purpose of understanding your employee’s perspective and acknowledge that you’ve heard what’s been said.  While acknowledgement does not mean that you agree with what was said, it does give the message that you care about and value your employee.

Problem-solve together.  The purpose of disciplinary action is to prevent future infractions.  You’ll often get better results if you work with your employee on prevention as the solutions we help to create are the solutions we help to achieve.