Rewards and Risks: Progressive vs. Flexible Discipline Policy

Why Should You Attend:

Many firms default to a structured progressive discipline policy in their handbook and for their firm. This may not be the best choice for the organization and therefore may be generating more not less risk for the firm.

This webinar will walk through the two versions, i.e. progressive and flexible discipline policies, and discuss their rewards and risks so firms can make informed decisions on what is best for them. The instructor will also highlight the differences between these policies and enumerate best practices for both.

The session will also discuss the risks associated with both kinds of policies and instruct attendees on choosing the ideal policy as per their firm’s requirements.

Learning Objectives:

• Difference between progressive and flexible discipline policies
• Progressive discipline policy overview
• Rewards of a progressive discipline policy
• Risks of a progressive discipline policy
• Flexible discipline policy overview
• Rewards of a flexible discipline policy
• Risks of a flexible discipline policy
• Considerations for choosing the best policy for your firm

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Introduction and agenda
• What are the differences between progressive and flexible discipline policies?
• Progressive discipline policy
• Focus is on a structure with clearly defined steps for the disciplinary process
• Both managers and employees are aware of and must follow the process
• Most common type of discipline policy because of the structure it provides and the communication and documentation built into the process steps
• Flexible discipline policy
• Focus is on expected behavior and employee accountability for behaving appropriately in the workplace
• Both managers and employees are aware of unacceptable behavior and that discipline will be applied based on the severity of the issues and circumstances surrounding it
• Less common type of discipline policy because it relies heavily on setting broad expectations for employees than administering discipline based on precedent and current circumstances - it does not outline required communication and documentation
• Key compliance issues with discipline policies
• Discrimination and wrongful termination
• Clear communication to employees of company expectations and time for the employee to make necessary adjustments
• Past precedent(s)
• Adverse impact issues
• Documentation
• Unemployment claims
• Progressive discipline policy overview
• Sample progressive discipline policy
• Key components
• What are the rewards of a progressive discipline policy?
• What are the risks of a progressive discipline policy?
• Flexible discipline policy overview
• Sample flexible discipline policy overview
• Key components
• What are the rewards of a flexible discipline policy?
• What are the risks of a flexible discipline policy?
• Considerations to take into account to determine which policy is best for your firm.
• Are the majority of your disciplinary issues tactical and performance/productivity based or soft skill and behavior based?
• What level of involvement does HR have in your current discipline process?
• Protects firm from wrongful termination and adverse impact
• How strong are the verbal and written communication skills of your managers?
• Better documentation and employee communication
• As a firm, which do you value more highly: consistency or flexibility?
• Do you regularly challenge unemployment claims and will that be your approach going forward?
• Questions

Who Will Benefit:

• HR professionals
• Business leaders
• Executives and managers
• First-line supervisors
• Consultants and executive coaches
• Business owners
• Office administrators

Instructor Profile:

Deborah Watson is a senior human resource executive and business strategist with over 20 years’ experience in management. Ms. Watson’s areas of expertise include organizational transition strategy and execution, talent assessment and management, leadership development and succession planning, risk management and employee relations, training, facilitation and employee engagement. Her firm, Watson Consulting, has focused on guiding and supporting organizations through transitions and reorganization as well.

Ms. Watson spent ten years at Commerce Insurance Services which then transitioned to Conner Strong & Buckelew, a privately-held insurance and risk management brokerage firm. While at Commerce, she built a full-service HR department from the ground up, and supported the organization through four acquisitions and unprecedented growth. Once restructuring was complete, she introduced a talent assessment, development and management process to drive the organization forward by aligning its human capital with the strategic growth plans of the business.

Ms. Watson’s talents also translate well overseas. She spent 16 months on a project for TravelClick to provide senior level HR support and management to the international division while supporting and executing the integration of an American business culture into a highly diverse, international division comprised of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Pacific Rim.

Union environments and the maintenance of non-union workforces within those environments are also part of Ms. Watson’s skill set. After graduating college, she spent ten years at United Parcel Service (UPS) in various management roles where her notable experience includes efficiently executing the closure of a non-union office which impacted over 200 employees, within the strict timeline and without any unionization attempts.

Topic Background:

Progressive discipline policies are common and viewed as the ‘safer choice’ because they are structured and clear for the manager and the employee about what will happen in case of a performance issue. But if your firm does not or will not follow this type of highly structured approach to discipline, you are opening your firm to significant risk due to a disparity between policy and actual practice.

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