connecticut association of independent schools c-1 straight talk with our colleagues: what to say,...

Connecticut Association of Independent Schools

C-1 Straight Talk with our Colleagues: What to Say, When and HowHeads & Senior Management

Bessie Speers, Head of School, The Ethel Walker School, CT

Christopher Brigham, Attorney, Updike Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.,

Trustee at the Ethel Walker School, CT

The Purpose of Employee Discipline / Performance Improvement

• The goal of effective employee discipline / performance improvement, in most instances, is to correct an employee’s unsatisfactory work performance and/or violations of School policies. Discipline is not always synonymous with punishment. It should be approached constructively, when possible to do so.

• Before considering disciplinary action / performance improvement, a manager should make sure employees are aware of what the School’s policies and performance expectations are and what is expected of them. This will minimize the likelihood of litigation in the event the disciplinary action leads to a separation from employment.

• Employee Handbook and Acknowledgment• Orientation• Job Descriptions

Discipline, when warranted, is important because employees expect fair and consistent treatment for all; failure to discipline appropriately destroys the morale of those who obey policies and procedures, perform to expectations and leads to claims of favoritism.

Discipline also provides employees with a clear idea of the School’s expectations for an orderly work environment.

Creates a culture of Accountability

The Purpose of Employee Discipline …

Lack of Training on How to Effectively Discipline.

Fear:

• of retaliation by the disciplined employee; and

• of loss of friendship / collegial environment.

Lack of Confidence in Ability to Discipline Effectivelywithout Reversal

Natural Inclination to Avoid Confrontation / Difficult Conversations

• Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow

• More on this later

Why Managers Are Reluctant To Discipline

Basic Principles of Discipline

• In the event of misconduct or poor performance, disciplinary action (performance improvement) should be timely, consistent and impartial.

• Disciplinary action should always be based upon thorough investigation and documentation.

• The disciplinary process should provide advance notice, where possible, of the consequences of misconduct / poor performance.

Recommending Disciplinary Action

or

Performance Improvement

Supervisor’s Checklist for

A supervisor should consider the following checklist before he/she initiates disciplinary action / performance improvement.

• Has a complete factual investigation been conducted?

• Is this employee receiving the same treatment others received for the same or similar offense?

• Is the policy or procedure which has been violated published? Is it easy to understand? Does it specify the penalty for violation?

• School “practice” vs. “policy”

• Did the employee know the policy or should he/she (reasonably) have known it?

• Should the employee have known that his/her behavior was wrong—even if the violated policy was not explained to the employee?

• In this instance, has the policy been applied reasonably and consistently?

• Are performance expectations clear?

Items to Consider

• Have preliminary procedures been followed?

• Except in cases of serious misconduct, has the employee been warned that repeated violations/infractions will result in discipline?

• Is this employee personally involved or only by association

with another?

• Has the School done anything to support a reasonable belief that the action in question was condoned/acceptable?

• Does the discipline fit the “infraction”?

Items to Consider ...

• What is the employee’s disciplinary / performance record?

• Has it happened before?

• When was the last time it happened? Or [How recently?]

• What is his/her length of service with the School?

• Does the employee have a “reasonable” excuse for the incident or violation? Has he/she offered mitigating circumstances?

• Can the employee’s misconduct be proven by direct, objective evidence or only by circumstantial evidence or conjecture?

• Did the School have a reasonable opportunity to deter this employee from committing an offense and fail to do so?

• How soon after the act in question is the discipline being administered?

Items to Consider ...

Progressive discipline involves a range of disciplinary consequences that increase in severity, and often includes:

• Verbal warning;

• Written warning;

• Suspension;

• Termination

When drafting such a policy, it is imperative that the school maintain absolute discretion to deviate from the policy and take any disciplinary action that is deemed to be appropriate at the time, even if such action is immediate termination.

Employment is, by default, at-will unless school has academic term contract. The disciplinary policy must be carefully drafted to ensure that the at-will status is not altered.

•Policy must be consistent with contractual terms

Progressive Discipline Procedure / Performance Improvement Process

Preparation

Prepare for the meeting by reviewing the notes of any verbal warning conversation and any other relevant material.

Ask yourself:•What is the purpose?

• Return to it when things get difficult•What do you hope to accomplish?

• Have an end game•What is the ideal outcome?•Anticipate Defenses

Ask the employee to come into an office, conference room or other private area.•Now, and only now, is a good time for email.

Ask a third party to attend the meeting to act as a witness.

Do Not Delay

Having the Difficult Conversation

The Conversation

Soft Entry

•Don’t lead with criticism / negative feedback

State the specific problem in terms of actual performance and desired performance.

•Straightforward and simple

•Don’t beat around the bush

“I am talking with you because this is an issue that you need to address in order to be successful”

“I have something I’d like to discuss with you that I think will help us work together more effectively. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

•Impact change will have from a positive perspective

•Impact of doing nothing-Most difficult cases to defend are those where lack of performance was mismanaged over a long period of time


The Conversation (continued)

Observations

•Be specific / avoid generalities – no wiggle room

Refer to previous casual conversations and any verbal warnings.

•“As we discussed . . . “


Stay Focused / In Control•Make it about them not you•Return to Purpose

Avoid Assumptions

Be Flexible

Give the employee a chance to respond and explain.•Form of Due Process•Empower the Employee•Show them you are willing to listen

Acknowledgement

•Acknowledge employee’s position

Reach Agreement / Disagreement

•“I can understand you feel that way, but ….”

Set Expectations

•Have the employee confirm they know exactly what is expected

Having the Difficult Conversation ...

Establish a Time Frame to review progress / due date

Plan of Action Going Forward

•Expected Improvements

•Exit Procedure

Tell the employee a written warning will be placed in his/her personnel file summarizing the conversation.

Allow the employee to review and respond to the warning if requested.

•Now required under CT law

Dignity & Respect

•Professional conversations

•Place and location is important

•Don’t let it get personal


Top Ten Tips

1.Choose the right time and place.

2.Anticipate that you may not be on the same page.

3.Use a respectful tone.

4.Genuinely desire a win-win outcome.

5.Be empathetic.

6.Maintain eye contact.

7.Stay in control.

8.Write it out.

9.Don’t interrupt.

10.Don’t team up.


Common Mistakes

• Sudden deterioration of performance after many years of acceptance.

• “Squirreling” complaints, rather than addressing each in a timely, appropriate fashion.

• Good evaluations for poor performance. Avoid the “halo effect.”

• Avoiding direct and honest statements of the reasons for disciplinary action – the Mr./Ms. Nice-Guy Syndrome.

• E-mail

• NY Times Rule:

• Assume that any email you send will appear tomorrow on the front page of the Times. If you would be embarrassed to see it published in the Times

don’t press “send”.

• “Exhibit A”


Follow Up

Write a short memo summarizing the conversation and complete a written warning notice if appropriate. Timing is critical – it is important to write the memo immediately after the conversation while memories are still fresh.

Distribute the copies and advise the appropriate people of the conversation and file the notice in personnel file.

Monitor the employee’s performance to make sure the problem has been corrected.


The memo should contain the following information:

Date of the conversation.

Reference to previous conversations about this or other problems.

Statement of the specific change in the employee’s performance or behavior expected.

Any comments or statements the employee made during the conversation.

Statement indicating confidence in the employee’s ability to perform properly in the future.

Recommended Disciplinary Meeting Procedures ...

A disciplinary notice should cover the following areas:

Problem

What happened? Be specific and be objective:

If the problem involves a violation of a written policy, rule or procedure, cite it.

If the problem results from a history of similar incidents, refer to the history.

If the problem involves specific improper language(obscene, sexual, insubordinate, etc.), then state the exact words in quotes.

Preparing a Disciplinary Notice

If the problem involves absenteeism / tardiness, describe number of absences and the extent of each lateness.

If the problem involves carelessness or poor work performance, describe the act or specific deficiency.

Implications

Describe why the problem is important to you, your department and the School.

What effect does it have on other employees?

Preparing a Disciplinary Notice ...

Prior Record

What is the employee’s prior record on this or similar problems?

What were there prior conversations between the employee and supervisors has there been on this topic or issue?

Correction Desired

In what ways do you expect the employee to correct his/her problem? Be specific.

Employee’s Response

Provide the employee with an opportunity to include his or her own comments pertaining to the problem.


Disciplinary Action

State clearly what action currently is being taken and what future action may be taken if no improvement is made or if the incident is repeated.

Follow-up

Try to establish a reasonable follow-up date.

Indicate the time frame during which the employee is expected to improve.


Case Scenario #1

Jeff was hired to be an associate in the development office and head coach of the cross country team at a boarding school in the Midwest. Jeff and his family moved into campus housing and began to settle in. It became clear that being head coach of the cross country team was more than Jeff could handle effectively with his other responsibilities in development. His coaching style and the season was less than successful. The athletic director communicated his dissatisfaction directly to Jeff and the Head of School.

Meanwhile, Jeff’s primary responsibility of serving as a development associate was proving to be complicated from the beginning of his tenure. He and the Director had a challenging relationship. Jeff thought he was being treated unfairly and mentioned to the Head of School that he had been documenting these instances.

Case Scenarios

Case Scenarios

Jeff continued to absorb much of the Head's and Assistant Head's time in communicating his concern about his boss. The Head of School, wanting this recent hire to be successful, continued to try to mentor and coach Jeff at opportune moments.

The Head, needing to support the Director, ultimately convinced Jeff that a move out of the Development office to another area of the School would be best. While he found some level of success in his next administrative position, his role as teacher and coach continued to be troublesome.

Case Scenarios

As contract talks approached mid year, the Head of School had some honest talks with Jeff, documenting some performance issues but had not yet decided exactly what to communicate to Jeff at the upcoming contract meeting. Jeff, his wife and two young children had relocated to take the position and were settling in to the boarding school community with hopes of making this their home for quite some time.

Discuss:

1.Investigation Steps2.Preparation for Conversation with Employee3.Have the Conversation4.Follow-Up

Case Scenario #2

There had been an extensive search for the Dean position at a boarding school and a wonderful person was hired. Dan, the new Dean, was kind, firm and approachable. He had a strong start to the year and a successful first year in his new position. The next year, Dan became affected by health issues. He sought medical treatment and tried different remedies, which were relatively unsuccessful. As a consequence, Dan often missed days at school. The Head of School and Dan’s supervisor both tried to be understanding and gave Dan much latitude in making his health a priority. The year continued on this way and it became clear to the Head and Dan’s supervisor that Dan was not able to do his job successfully and people at school, including the students, were being negatively affected by the absence of leadership in the Dean’s role.

Case Scenarios

Case Scenarios

After further discussions, Dan agreed to take some time off, on a medical leave of sorts. After Dan returned a few months later, the Head became aware that Dan’s charge account in the school store had become in excess of $6,000. Dan’s supervisor became concerned about Dan’s support system at home with his young children and the financial situation of the family. Personal purchases began to appear on the school credit card used by Dan. Dan seemed distracted and his performance did not return to the level of his first year at the School.

Case Scenarios

The Head met with Dan to discuss whether this continued to be the best match for Dan and the School. Contract talks were a month away and the Head needed to decide how best to move forward with Dan’s situation, given the health, financial, and performance issues.

Discuss:


Case Scenarios

Case Scenario #3

Prior to a regularly scheduled faculty meeting, the Head of School is informed by one of his long-term faculty members that he has received an invitation to participate in a real time “chat room” during the scheduled faculty meeting. The administration suspects they know who sent the invitation, a first year, fresh out of college, generation Facebook, Vine and Twitter addicted member of the faculty. The faculty meeting is scheduled for later that day. How would you handle this situation?

Discuss:


Elizabeth C. SpeersHead of School

The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill RoadSimsbury, CT 06070

860-658-4467Bessie_speers@ethelwalker. org

Christopher L. Brigham, Esq.Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C.

265 Church StreetNew Haven, CT 06510

[email protected]

The EndThe EndThank YouThank You

mailto:[email protected]

connecticut association of independent schools c-1 straight talk with our colleagues: what to say,...

Documents