Every manager eventually has an employee who is late too often, misses the mark on quality, ignores a procedure, or crosses a line with a coworker. What you do next shapes two things at once: whether that employee gets back on track, and whether your company can show later that it acted fairly and consistently.

Corrective action is the tool for both. This chapter explains what corrective actions are, how to decide whether to act and at what level, how to handle employees with medical conditions or protected time off, how to run the conversation, and how to document all of it.

Two notes before we start. First, nothing here replaces advice on a specific situation. For significant performance issues or misconduct, talk to Human Resources or your Brabo HR partner, and to legal counsel when needed, before you act. Second, the titles used here (documented coaching, verbal warning, and so on) are common ones. Your company may call them something else. A documented coaching might be an informal counseling; a written warning might be a formal warning or a reprimand. Use whatever titles your company has chosen, and use them consistently for every employee.

What corrective actions are

Corrective actions are the levels of guidance and disciplinary discussion a manager uses to address performance or conduct problems. They run from an informal coaching conversation up to termination, and each one should be matched to how serious the situation is. Some situations call for the most serious action right away: a final warning, a suspension, or termination. Many others start at the lowest level and move up one step at a time if the problem continues.

The purpose of every corrective action is the same: to correct the employee's performance or conduct, not to punish it, using the lowest level of action that will get the result you need. Even termination is not punishment. It is the step a company takes when an employee's performance or conduct is no longer compatible with continued employment.

That framing matters in practice. A manager who thinks of a warning as punishment tends to delay it, soften it, or deliver it with frustration. A manager who thinks of it as correction delivers it early, clearly, and calmly, and expects it to work.

Prevention: five habits that keep you out of the process

Managers play a large part in creating a productive workplace and high-performing employees. Most corrective actions are preventable, and managers who do the following consistently find they rarely need the formal steps.

1. Set clear expectations. Tell every employee what the performance and conduct standards are for their role and your workplace. People cannot meet a standard they have never heard.
2. Be available. Welcome questions and answer them. Build enough rapport that employees ask before they guess. Many errors come from misunderstanding or confusion, not carelessness.
3. Be consistent. Hold everyone equally accountable to the same expectations. Inconsistency is unfair to the people who follow the rules, and it is the first thing a lawyer looks for later.
4. Redirect as needed. When performance or conduct falls short, address it promptly to bring the employee back on track. Be specific about the concern and about the change you expect.
5. Document. Keep detailed, accurate records of performance and conduct concerns and how you addressed them, including informal conversations.

Deciding whether to act, and at what level

When a problem does come up, assess the specific situation before you choose a level. Work through these factors:

• The circumstances of the performance or conduct concern, and any mitigating information.
• The overall performance of the employee or employees involved.
• Any prior conduct concerns or corrective actions.
• Consistency: if something similar happened before in your workplace, what action was taken then?
• Whether any employee involved has a medical condition that may have affected their performance or conduct.
• Whether an absence was protected under state sick time law.
• How the incident affected the business and its customers.

There is no fixed rule that says a certain issue always gets a certain level. The level depends on the factors above and on a review of all the relevant facts. For more serious situations, consult Human Resources before you decide.

Performance and conduct are different problems

Expect different results depending on which kind of problem you are correcting.

• Performance issues (quality, speed, accuracy, results). Tell the employee specifically how they are not meeting expectations and what performance you expect after the corrective action. Then give them a timeline or goal date to get there. Improvement takes practice, so time is part of the plan.
• Conduct issues (attendance, policy violations, behavior toward others). The employee is expected to correct the behavior immediately, with no further occurrences. An employee with a tardiness problem does not get two weeks to stop being late. They are expected to be on time starting with their next shift.

Employees with medical conditions or on medical leave

When an employee has a medical condition, or is on or may need medical leave, you must consider whether the medical issue may have affected their performance or conduct. This does not mean employees with medical conditions cannot receive corrective action. They are held accountable like everyone else. But discuss the situation with Human Resources before you issue anything.

Here is how it typically plays out. An employee is unable to work their scheduled shift three days in a row and says there was a medical reason. You contact Human Resources, and you may need to talk with the employee about medical leave.

• If the employee does not apply for medical leave, the absences can then be considered for corrective action.
• If the employee applies for leave, wait to see whether the leave is approved for the days missed before considering corrective action.
• Either way, if the employee did not follow your company's call-out procedure, and that failure was not because of a medical reason, it can be addressed as a failure to follow procedures.

Human Resources will advise on the best course of action.

Pay attention whenever an employee mentions a medical condition, even one that sounds minor, alongside a performance or conduct concern. Do not discuss the specifics of the condition with the employee. After consulting Human Resources, you may talk with them about the availability of medical leave.

Know your state's protected sick time rules. In many states, employees may take unscheduled sick time for allowable purposes and are protected from discipline for taking it. In Massachusetts, for example, time used under the Earned Sick Time law is protected. Ask Human Resources or your legal partner for guidance on each state where your employees work.

The ladder: five levels of corrective action

Most companies use five levels, from lowest to highest. The names can vary. The sequence should not.

Your role in the conversation

How you run the conversation directly influences whether the employee understands the expectation, is willing to improve, and succeeds in making the change. Five moves:

1. Prepare and review the issue. Review the facts, prior discussions or disciplinary actions, applicable policies, and supporting information before the meeting. Confirm that you understand the issue and can support it with specific examples.
2. Discuss the concern with the employee. Explain the performance or conduct issue clearly, professionally, and factually. For early-stage counseling, keep it collaborative and focused on finding solutions.
3. Explain the impact. Help the employee understand how the issue affects their responsibilities, coworkers, workflow, customers, or the organization. Impact is what makes the correction matter.
4. Establish clear expectations. Say exactly what must change: specific actions, measurable expectations, deadlines, and follow-up dates.
5. Escalate repeated or serious issues. Do not keep counseling the same unresolved issue. If the concern continues, address it with a more severe action.

Documentation that holds up

Documentation is the backbone of the process. It shows what the employee's concerns were and every action taken to correct them. You will rely on it when writing performance reviews, when considering further action, and if a legal matter ever arises. Ask Human Resources or your legal partner for templates for each level. Every record should include:

• Basic meeting and employee information. The date of the discussion or action, who was present, the type of corrective action issued, and whether Human Resources or another manager participated.
• A specific description of the issue. The performance, attendance, conduct, or policy concern in objective facts and specific examples, with relevant dates, incidents, policy provisions, or supporting evidence.
• Prior discussions and disciplinary history. Relevant counseling sessions, verbal warnings, written warnings, or other actions. The record should show the company's earlier efforts to address the issue.
• Workplace impact. How the concern affected the employee's role, coworkers, customers, operations, productivity, safety, or the organization.
• Expectations and improvement requirements. Exactly what the employee is expected to do differently, with measurable goals, deadlines, follow-up periods, and any training, resources, or support being provided.

Documenting in Paylocity

If your company uses Paylocity, record corrective actions as journal entries in the Performance module. Every journal entry there is considered part of the employee's personnel file, so entries must be accurate and professional.

1. Open the Performance module and click Journals.
2. Select Create a Journal. Use the Note template, or a more specific template if one is available for the issue and the corrective action.
3. Enter the pertinent information. Include every element from the documentation checklist above. Attach relevant emails or documents. Add contributors if other managers have relevant information about the situation.
4. Save as a confidential memo. Turn on Make Journal Private if the entry is for internal records only, then click Save.
5. Share with the employee (optional). Turn on Add About Person(s) to add the employee, save the entry as a draft for employee review, share the documentation with the employee, then click Save.

If your company runs on a different platform, keep the same content in that system's employee notes or in a secure personnel file. Your Brabo HR partner can tell you where documentation should live.

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