Unlike giving a negative performance review, the need for disciplinary action usually becomes more public than either you or the individual would like it to be. Most coworkers of the problem employee will be aware of the rule violation. Everyone can see, for example, when an employee arrives late or leaves early, when an employee who reports to you is insubordinate, or when a worker gets into a fight and threatens a coworker. In such instances, your employees are all interested to see how you respond, and there is bound to be a lot of talk. Consequently, you need to make certain that you respond in a fair and consistent manner. The discipline should be “consistent” in that the punishment should be appropriate for the offense, and it should be “fair” in that it should be similar to that given violators of the same rule, all other issues being the same. For instance, it would be inconsistent to give Fred a warning for arriving late three times in one week and dock Sarah’s pay for leaving early twice.
Further, you need to act as soon after the infraction as possible to prevent any misconceptions that you are soft on rule violators. Of course, before issuing disciplinary measures, you should check to be sure that the individual knew and understood the work rule that was violated.
I shouldn’t have to remind you that company policies, rules, and procedures should be communicated to all employees. Such communication is the best tool you have to avoid rule infractions and subsequent discipline. Employees cannot be expected to adhere to rules and guidelines unless they understand them.