There is currently a story in the process about a police office in the US who was captured on video at the scene of a verbal assault doing NOTHING – he didn’t say anything, didn’t attempt to intervene, he just stood at a distance, even though the person being assaulted asked the officer for help. The latest news this morning says that he has resigned.

Now obviously a police officer not serving and protecting is an issue, but any employee or contractor who isn’t delivering as expected is an issue too!

When it comes to staff issues often no action is taken because … well because it’s not the priority.

“If you truly prioritise something, you will make time for it.”

Clients often come to us with issues that started weeks or months before and were not addressed as there were other more pressing priorities. However the problem with not addressing staff issues is that they very rarely disappear. They escalate instead and take more time and resources to resolve.

HR Policies contain timelines for a reason, it is to ensure that issues are dealt with in a timely manner. If too long has past since an incident occurred, you can’t take action or use it as evidence.

Jane came to me regarding an employee who was turning up to work late on a regular basis. She wanted to terminate their employment as this had been going on for months. I asked to see the notes from meetings and any disciplinary outcomes that had been given and was told that there was nothing officially documented and any conversations had been informal. I couldn’t help Jane to fire the employee. Instead we had to start the disciplinary process to inform and address the lateness issue. In the end after being given a written warning, the employee turned around their performance and is now working well.

To ensure that you don’t end up in the same position as Jane remember to:

- Address issues as they occur

- Gather all the evidence while it is fresh

- Document everything

- Follow the process as detailed in your policies

If you need any support with your HR issues, click here to contact us.