06/29/2026
❌ Is an employee ever surprised when they get fired?
❌ Do you ever just lose track of where an employee is in the disciplinary process?
❌ Do you feel some guilt or responsibility in the employee's termination?
If so, here are a few recommendations for you:
✅ Have a documented disciplinary process with a step by step progression. Example: first offense - verbal warning (green warning zone), second offense - written warning (green zone), third offense - written warning (now in a yellow warning zone), fourth offense - written warning and/or 1 day suspension (red warning zone), fifth infraction - termination.
✅ With every warning, make sure the employee knows what the next consequence is if another infraction occurs within a certain time period. This next consequence should be documented on the written warning and the employee should be signing to ensure they understand the seriousness of the situation. (You could also post a disciplinary flowsheet on your wall and show them exactly where they are in the process. Sometimes a visual helps).
✅ Look at each disciplinary warning meeting as an opportunity to coach and ask if they need anything from administration to be successful.
✅ If the employee has been fully informed and understands each documented occurrence, and they understand the next consequence if the issue happens again within the outlined timeframe, then administration holds no responsibility for the actions the employee chose to take.
The ultimate solution is to sign up for a full plan (includes surveys and reports, plus the HR Module) or the HR Module only plan to track your policy infractions and make the disciplinary status crystal clear for each employee and also the admin staff. qualitydrivensoftware.com
Want a demo? Sign up for a demo with Martha: https://calendly.com/martha-qualitydriven
