Eight Steps to Positive Discriptive of Problem Employees
· • Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can lead with your feet up on the desk. You lead by your feet being on the ground and constantly visible to your staff—in other words, managing (leading) by wandering around (MBWA).
You can achieve control when the employee responds to one or more of the above approaches. You simply want the person to get back on the right track. A results-oriented attitude should remind us of what we’re really trying to achieve here—getting the work done with the people at hand. That is the whole aim of management, and it is precisely the goal that should guide us in dealing with people when they make wrong choices about their behavior.
If all else fails, you still have your prerogative to use discipline. Figure 9-1 depicts an eight-step process for addressing problem employees. It starts with counseling and proceeds into discipline, which follows.
DISCIPLINE
· Don’t keep an employee you wouldn’t rehire.
—Michael Josephson
One of the complaints heard from both police managers and line officers is that disciplinary guidelines are not clear or the guidelines are not applied consistently to all employees. Many disciplinary policies are so voluminous that they are difficult to administer, with a course of action for every possible mischief a police officer might get into. Although some downfalls may be found in the same categorical group, the circumstances and consequences are usually different and deserve additional consideration. Some policies give almost no concrete direction. Perhaps the best (or worst) was “suggested” by one chief who said, “What I’d really like to have is a one-page general order with just three words—and have it work—’Don’t screw up!’” I understand what he was getting at when he handed me his department’s voluminous general orders.
Internal investigations are impeded at times by how and when officer complaints can be handled. Many states have enacted into law a peace officers’ bill of rights. Management is restricted in terms of the kinds of information that can be accumulated (investigation and personnel files) and what information can be made public to inform citizens of corrective action taken by the department.
· The ultimate responsibility for the promotion of good versus the acceptance of bad behavior on the part of organization members rests with the police chief or sheriff, even though it is delegated via the chain of command and restricted by laws, court, and contracts.