PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE: WHERE MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS GET IT WRONG

Andrews Cobbinah, ACIHRM, MLPI · HR Practitioner

In HR, there is something we call PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE. What is Progressive Discipline? It is basically a structured, fair, and progressive approach to addressing employee performance (Behavioural) issues at work. When an employee’s performance (Behaviour) repeatedly falls below expectations, the organization is not required to jump straight to termination. No. At the same time, it is also not expected to keep tolerating the situation without taking appropriate action.

Now, PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE is primarily an Employee Relations practice. However, it has a direct connection to two other critical HR functional areas: Performance Management and Labour Law/Legal Compliance. In effect, we are looking at three of the most impactful HR areas that directly influence business stability, organizational culture, and the organization’s exposure to legal risk.

Don’t worry if this sounds a bit technical to you. You will understand it fully when I am done. Just stay with me.

First of, let us understand what Employee Performance truly means. Technically, an Employee's Performance = Results + Behavior. Many non-HR people refer to it as “Performance and attitude” or “Performance and conduct” That’s perfectly fine. However, from an HR standpoint, performance is always a combination of “what you deliver” and “how you deliver it”.

You can have an employee who delivers great results (targets met, sales achieved) but behaves poorly (rude, insubordinate, toxic). That is still a performance problem because behavior is part of performance. You can also have an employee who is well-behaved, polite, and liked by everyone, yet consistently delivers little or no results. That is also a performance problem. So, when we talk about DISCIPLINE, we are talking about correcting either the Results side or the Behavior side of that equation.

Now, the results side, that is, performance gaps, is usually addressed through a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) before any termination decision is considered. The behaviour side (which is the general focus of this article), however, is generally categorized into two parts: minor offences and major offences.

Major offences (Gross Misconduct) such as theft, fraud, violence, serious harassment, severe safety breaches, gross insubordination, et al, can attract much quicker disciplinary action. In such situations, the employer may place the employee on interdiction or proceed directly to dismissal after a Disciplinary Committee (DC) hearing, because the behaviour fundamentally destroys the trust between the employer and the employee. You, see? Even in serious cases, due process still applies.

But, minor offences (Misconduct/Micro Issues) such as occasional lateness, minor attitude issues, dress code violations, minor policy breaches, first-time negligence, carelessness, et al, require a more gradual approach. They must follow a progressive disciplinary path. They require progressive handling. From Verbal warning → Written warning → Final warning → Suspension → possible termination. The goal here is correction, not punishment. That is why coaching and guidance are critical at this early stage of the process. But, at this point, I would like to narrow the focus on the first step: VERBAL WARNING. Because that is where managers, supervisors and even CEOs get it wrong most of the time.

Often, managers and supervisors prefer to handle petty issues or minor offences at their level. They want to resolve matters informally. Typically, they call the employee in, have a brief conversation, say “please stop doing this” or “please improve here,” and then move on. That is perfectly fine. In fact, it is good management practice. However, this is also where a common mistake occurs. Many managers fail to document these verbal warnings or conversations or meetings. No record. No email. No note. No witness record. Nothing. So the employee continues the behaviour, the manager keeps talking, and the cycle repeats itself for weeks or even months.

Then one day, the manager becomes frustrated, walks into HR, and says: “This is not the first time. I’ve warned him several times. I can’t work with him anymore. Please issue a final warning or just sack him immediately. This is not his first offence” But HR will always ask a few critical questions: When did you warn him? What exactly did you say? Was anyone else present? Where is the evidence? Is there any record at all? Why is this the first time HR is hearing about the issue if it has happened multiple times? The reason is simple: progressive discipline is not built on emotion. It is built on sequence, fairness, and evidence.

Modern progressive discipline requires that even verbal warnings be documented at the departmental level. This does not have to be dramatic or involve heavy paperwork. In fact, this process becomes much easier when you have an effective performance management system in place. If you know, you know.

In practice, it can be as simple as making a note in the performance log or departmental incident log, sending a brief follow-up email summarizing the discussion, or using a verbal warning template signed by the employee, the manager or supervisor, and one witness (Sidebar Me for a copy of the template). This way, the verbal stage is properly documented without making it appear like a heavy or overly formal disciplinary action. This way, HR can also step in from the appropriate stage of the process and help address the issue effectively.

I always educate and tell managers and supervisors that, if minor issues occur, record them. Because, once escalation becomes necessary, an undocumented history cannot justify termination.

Honestly, HR’s role here, is not to frustrate managers. Not at all. HR’s role is rather to protect the organization from procedural risk. The business needs legal protection. This is where Employee Relations intersects with Legal Compliance. If you terminate without documentation for minor repeated offenses. The employee may challenge the termination or dismissal. The organization may face wrongful termination claims. And the company’s internal credibility can suffer.

Let's understand that, progressive discipline is about managing performance (both result and behaviour) issues in a way that protects everybody.