Patience and Good Record Keeping Are a Virtue

Managing employee conduct and performance can be draining if you are dealing with someone who fails to change their behaviour. It’s easy for a business owner or line manager to lose patience and act with haste. But a recent Fair Work case proved there are significant benefits for an employer if they follow due process and record what happens along the way.

“He just doesn’t follow instructions!”

A cleaning company employee had received multiple warnings from his immediate supervisor about his slow work and failure to clean properly. Each time, he refused to follow instructions or acknowledge the authority of his supervisor.

When the employee’s behaviour was reported to the operations manager, the employee accused his immediate supervisor of bullying. The operations manager explained monitoring his work quality wasn’t bullying and warned him that if his insubordination continued, he would be sacked.

After this meeting, the employee continued to ignore the supervisor’s instructions so the manager terminated his employment.

PIP documentation saved the day

The employee lodged a claim for wrongful dismissal with the Fair Work Commission. However, the employer was able to show that for the previous 15 months, the employee had received 19 performance warnings that were documented in a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).

A good PIP should record:

  • When warnings were given
  • The warning itself and the employee’s responses
  • The support provided to help the employee meet reported performance hurdles

A PIP doesn’t need to document every small detail or mistake unless it is a minor issue that repeatedly occurs and continues to happen despite numerous attempts to provide feedback and assistance.

Process driven

Managing your team is like any other aspect of your business – it needs a consistent process to ensure success.

If you have a worker with performance issues that you are struggling to manage, call the team at End2End Business Solutions. They can relieve you of the stress and help you resolve the issues. So contact your outsourced HR department today by calling 02 8977 4002.