You just have those niggling doubts; nothing you can put your finger on, but enough to make you worried.

It could be about lack of work; honesty; ethics; attitude – whatever it is, you feel it, but you just are not certain.

Here’s the thing…

When you are managing employees you must always be bound by the concepts of harsh; unjust and unreasonable.

It is these three concepts that form the basis of an unfair dismissal claim.

To talk in detail about these three concepts is for another blog but we do need to focus on the term ‘unjust’.

This simply means that the employee has been accused of, and treated in a way, or for an action, that you have no proof they have done.

You have no proof that they leaked those details, so it is unjust to discipline them in regard to that.

You must have your proof.

You can also not set traps for people – ever seen the film ‘Entrapment’ no.no.no.

 But you do have time on your side and an ability to monitor and review.

Part of being a good performance manager, is the ability to constantly monitor and review your workers – this does not mean that you micro-manage or do not give your employees autonomy; but rather that you keep an eye on their work from a distance.

Running ‘spot checks’ is a great idea for all managers to do!

This means that you run some little checks on everyone, at odd times throughout the month, or quarterly.

If you do this for all staff, they pretty quickly realise that you are keeping your eye on everything.

You can convey this to team members saying ‘I was just doing a check on XYZ and noticed that you had not completed ABC? Are you not doing that part of the process anymore? Why is that?’

Additionally doing the spot check on everyone occasionally, helps to show that you are not only checking up on your suspect worker.

This can put them more at ease and they may relax; making it easier for you to spot things.

So take your time, and watch your employee.

See if they do exhibit the behaviours you are looking for.

However, be aware that every day should be a fresh day for you and your employee.

This means do not carry grudges and reset your attitude toward your employee each day.

You can have suspicions but, keep your attitude to your employees fresh every day and always give them the benefit of the doubt.

If your suspicions are confirmed, then you need to follow a procedurally fair process of performance management.

Have your facts at the ready.

Ask the employee for their response to the allegations.

• Make sure you are clear in your communication to them;
• Give them time to respond;
• Give them time to improve;
• Escalate to a formal warning if required;
• Repeat your process 2-3 times and move towards performance managing out if warranted after a fair process.

Talk to the experts who advise managers daily on correct performance management strategies and do performance manage those bad eggs out of your organisation.

For more HR or staffing help contact CIRCLE Recruitment & HR or call 1300 923 000

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