FREE 12+ Effective Employee Management Strategy Samples & Templates in PDF

The employees of a company are the very engines that propel a company to move forward in the direction that its owner is envisioning for it to go. If one of the engine pieces starts to malfunction, the whole machinery—the business that is—falls apart. To put it in milder words, if one employee starts becoming unproductive or misbehaving, then the company would start to lose profits or, worse, suffer other deleterious consequences such as losing clients and losing the trust of suppliers and vendors. It is for this reason that whenever an employee would start underperforming or do other acts that are violative of company policy or standards, then it is the responsibility of the human resource manager to make the employee aware of his/her actions.

Based on the rate of effectivity that can be witnessed from successful businesses and corporations, the issuance of a proper employee warning notice to the problematic employee has proven to be a subtly forceful method in effecting behavioral change among the employees who are recipients of such notices.That is why, if you are a rookie business owner or a human resource manager, then you must notify your employees of their infractions. You may use our employee warning notice templates as your guide in creating your own. What are you waiting for? The future of your company hangs in the balance, download our templates now! Other than our helpful collection of warning notice templates, we are also providing you some insightful information on the importance of issuing employee warning notices and how to prepare one.

Employee Disciplinary Action Form

Corrective Action Discipline Form

First Written Employee Warning

Advantages of Using Employee Warning Notices

Are you a human resource manager who is struggling to keep your employees in line? Perhaps you are an employer who wants to bring out the best from all of your employees? Indeed, whatever the gravity of your concern when it comes to handling your employees, you have to take the right steps in order to cure the source of your employee’s misbehavior. The first step that you need to take is to make your employee aware of the infraction he/she has made. You can do this by issuing an employee warning notice.

Are you still doubtful of the effectivity of using employee warning notices? Below are the numerous benefits that you can reap from issuing a timely and well-written employee warning notice:

An employee warning notice allows you to effectively inform your employee of their misbehavior in a clear and direct manner.

During the infant stages of the corporate industry, employers and managers handle their underperforming and misbehaving employees through the use of the “sandwich technique.” Basically, this technique means that a manager would call an employee for a talk. In an effort to lighten the blow, the manager would start the conversation by narrating the positive attributes of the employee, then stating in the middle of the conversation the negative feedback on the employee’s performance. After the manager has reprimanded the employee of his/her behavior, he/she then proceeds by stating positive words to the employee. This strategy may seem pleasant as it seeks to save the employee from being hurt. However, this rarely leads to a change in behavior that can benefit the company. Hence, the sandwich technique proves inutile and must be effaced from all the modules on proper employee management.

What has been found to be more effective is the act of stating in direct and impersonal language the certain behavior that the management wants the employee to change. If you are an employer or manager who is thinking about going the direct route, then you are on the right track! You may notify your employees regarding their behavior through a formal employee warning notice.

An employee warning notice is considered as a legally acceptable form of managing one’s employees.

Employees are perfectly aware that they have the right to be treated fairly in the workplace. Labor laws protect them from arbitrary forms of disciplinary actions. That is why, if you are a manager, you must be constructive if you want your employee to change certain aspects of their workplace behaviors. You have to remain professional when you are reprimanding an employee such as issuing a proper warning notice to your employee when necessary. This is essential so that your company would not be held legally liable for unfair labor practices.

In line with this, as a human resource manager, you must keep a copy of each employee warning notice that you have issued. There may be unforeseen circumstances in the future that would require you to produce such copies. One example would be when an employee whose employment has been terminated due to his/her failure to heed your warnings would sue your company for unfounded employment termination. In this case, it is easy for you to counter such legal accusations since legal courts are inherently driven to place great value on tangible evidence combined with logical arguments. You may use your copies of the issued employee warning notice as evidence that the termination was born out of objectivity and proper consideration.

Can you imagine how useful an employee warning notice is? It can definitely help your company manage your employee properly with the added benefit of resisting unfounded legal accusations regarding your company’s labor practices.

An employee warning notice is an effective method of inspiring your employees to change their problematic behavior.

In an employee warning notice, you can bring the employee’s focus on the behavior that you do not approve of. Since an employee warning notice is a formal document, you are able to avoid being overtly critical of the employee to the point of making personal attacks. Hence, when your employee understands that you are not disapproving of them in totality but only for certain actions, then he/she would be more willing to change such actions.

Employee Warning Notice Form

Final Employee Warning Notice

Notice of Counseling Form

Employee Notice of Discipline

The Process of Managing Underperforming and Misbehaving Employees

In your experience as a human resource manager (or as an employer), you might have noticed that each employee who is dragging down your company’s productivity has displayed an idiosyncratic set of behaviors that is different from other problematic employees that you have encountered. It is for this reason that you must make sure that in your attempt to reprimand, you do not end up losing your employees and their drive to accomplish their job functions to the utmost of their abilities by using a generic template strategy for employee management.

You must handle the matter of reforming a problematic employee with the seriousness that it deserves. Thus, you must tailor-fit your employee warning notice to suit the situation you are trying to address. Keep in mind that your company’s employees are not disposable resources. Consider carefully how much of your company’s budget is allocated to the act of recruiting and hiring employees. That is why you must optimize the most effective methods in keeping your present employees motivated to work and follow the standards and policies of your company.

Do you need any help in figuring out how to handle an underperforming or misbehaving employee? Below is an outline of steps that you can follow. Read the discussions below and feel free to add and remove steps as you deem suitable to the employee-situation you are facing.

1. Identify the root of your employee’s behavioral problem by gathering information.

Ask the right questions to the employee’s coworkers and teammates in order to have an idea of how the employee has conducted himself/herself during work hours. Make a list of possible reasons why your employee is acting in a way that is not aligned with your company’s rules, standards, and regulations. For instance, if your employee’s low productivity has caused his/her team’s failure to reach their team goals, then you can start by asking the team leader what is going on. It is wise for you to approach such discussions with objectivity so that you can examine each information that you receive from the employee’s colleagues, teammates, and team leaders in an efficient manner.

2. Brainstorm.

If you deem it necessary, you may set up a meeting with the problematic employee’s team leader and brainstorm on the possible areas that the employee needs to improve on. Based on the perceived needs you have listed, you may then proceed to the next step.

3. Formulate a coaching plan.

A coaching plan is basically a formal document that contains specific steps that you need to perform so that your employee may be guided as well as motivated to change the problem behavior. This plan contains a time schedule for each step to ensure that the employee would be participative of its implementation—after all, such coaching plan is made for him/her. In cases when the problem behavior is not that deleterious to business operations, you may opt to forego this stage and proceed right away to the next one.

4. Notify employee through an initial employee warning notice.

This is perhaps the most important step. You have to issue a formal document that succinctly informs your employee of their need to change their behavior, otherwise, they would suffer certain consequences. If you want to know more about the proper notice writing format, you may refer to our warning notice templates on this page. If you want to make your reprimand in a less austere manner, you may opt to write a letter instead. If you don’t know how to write one, then you need not worry. You may check out our website’s article that can show you how to write a warning letter for employee conduct. Simply click on the link provided.

5. Commence coaching phase.

After you have issued the notice, engage your employee to actively participate in the coaching plan you have formulated. You may assign someone who can supervise and monitor your employee in every step of the coaching process.

6. Update employee on their progress through a progressive disciplinary action notice.

After a specific duration of time has passed after the commencement of the coaching stage, you can then continually assess whether or not such employee has made progress. In case your employee has failed to hit the sub-goals indicated in the coaching plan that must be accomplished in the prescribed duration of time, you can then give further employee warning notices to your employee so that he/she may understand that you are monitoring their performance and behavior.

7. Make a final decision whether to keep the reprimanded employee in your company or not.

When the coaching phase has ended, you can then issue your final notice. In case your employee has failed to make the necessary improvements and yet you can see that he/she has at least made an effort in doing so, you can then give him/her a final warning employee notice. This notice must contain the specific duration of time or number of instances that you allow for your employee to fix the problem behavior. A final warning notice must expressly state the actions to be taken when your employee fails to achieve what has been agreed upon.

Employee College Warning Notice

Employee Warning Notice – HR Form

Notice of Disciplinary Action

Printable Employee Warning Notice

Employee Disciplinary Action Notice

Corrective Disciplinary Action Form

Types of Employee Warning Notices

As you may know, an employee warning notice is not a uni-functional document. It can be handed to employees for different reasons and for varying gravities of work-related infractions. If you are a new employer or human resource manager, then the discussion below can illuminate your thoughts on the different types of employee warning notices. You would then find it easier to decide which type of employee warning notice you must issue for each situation:

• First Written Employee Warning Notice

You can hand this to your employee if it is the first time that you have witnessed them violate any of your company rules or standards. A first written employee warning notice can be served as a mere reminder that the employee should follow a certain rule or it can serve as the formal notification to your employee that he/she must go through proper coaching. Coaching is especially useful if what you are trying to address is your employee’s lack of productivity or the low quality of his/her performance outputs.

• Progressive Disciplinary Action Warning Notice

A progressive disciplinary action notice is the document that you would give to your employee while he/she is still going through the coaching stage. This is where you can commend the employee for improvements and for hitting goals. In reverse, this is also used for you to prompt your employee to exert more effort in improving his/her behavior and productivity in the workplace.

• Corrective Disciplinary Action Notice

This notice contains an enumeration of the certain actions that you require your employee to take so that he/she can avoid violating a certain rule or policy of your company. Usually, a corrective disciplinary action notice is given when an employee has broken a regulation, unlike a progressive disciplinary action notice that is given when your employee concern circles around the issue of work productivity or quality of work output.

• Final Employee Warning Notice

This is perfect when the last straw has broken and you are close to terminating an employee’s contract. However, for the purpose of professionality and legality, you want to give an employee a final chance to fix his/her problem behavior. The purpose of final employee warning notice is for you to have a legally admissible evidence of your efforts in giving the employee a chance to change before terminating his/her employment contract with your company.

Now that you know the different types of employee warning notice forms, go ahead and prepare one for your company now! Even if you may not be encountering difficulties in managing your employees now, sometime in the future such situations are unavoidable, especially if you are managing a large number of employees. It is always wise to have a form on hand for future needs. Indeed, your life as a human resource manager or as an employer is hectic enough, you don’t want the hassle of having to grapple the basics of writing notices when you can simply go over this article that discusses the basics of employee warning notice forms and its usefulness. Furthermore, you can also download our employee warning notice templates on this page as your guide in writing one! We hope that you found this article of great help to your employee management endeavors!