Employee Corrective Action: Fill & Download for Free

Getting fired. About a decade ago I had an employee who was working himself down the “getting fired path” so I took him aside for a quick conversation. He was a good person but his performance was suffering. He was a helpful person working in an environment that prided itself in squeezing blood out of stones and sucking our souls dry. I explained to him that at that point was giving him his official “verbal warning” and that I would be working with him closely and coaching him for the next 90 days to see if he would stay an employee. We both knew that he would not be an employee in 91 days so I explained to him the two options.The first option is that he could provide me with a resignation date that was 89 days away. During that time I would help him with his resume, job leads, give him time off for interviews, and provide any potential employer with an honest review of his performance and tell them how much I respected him for recognizing the situation he was in and making the mature decision to seek success elsewhere. The other option was that both he and I could feel the pain of the “Corrective Action Process” for the next 90 days. This would include semi-weekly to daily check in on performance and goal setting. Requests for detailed explanations from the employee on any missed performance goals. If a potential employer called me I would provide the honest assessment that the employee was currently going through the corrective action process and if they were fired that they were no longer eligible for rehire. Then I reminded him that once we started down the corrective action process every manager and assistant manager in the building would be watching his performance closely and looking for opportunities to take advantage of his situation. This corrective action would be like the smell of blood in the waters to every close by shark. Then on top of that there would be the psychological effects of the stress of being under a microscope, the stress of being fired from a job, and the sense of being a victim or a failure.After the conversation the employee said he wanted to think about it over the weekend. When he came back to work I met with him and he told me he liked the idea of being proactive and having someone to help him out. He gave me his resignation and over the following 80+ days I found him over 6 solid job leads, helped him improve his resume, and gave him the time off he needed for interviews. Not every manager will do this but I’ve always shared with my employees it is better to be proactive than reactive.

Not in the United States. This question has been fleshed out in the courts thanks to Walmart. Years ago, department managers (hourly employees) would voluntarily wander in on their free time and clean up their departments (like on Sundays when they did shopping as they all used to have weekends off). Later on a department manager was passed over for a promotion because her department wasn't as clean as her peers. She sued and won.In the court hearing, she claimed that she was the only department manager who refused to ever do work off the clock. When she said that to her store manager, he replied that “Everybody else did what it took to get the job done.” She claimed that it was an unfair advantage. The store leadership team claimed that they never put such pressure on employees and in fact weren't responsible for what people did on their time off.Under cross examination the store manager and district manager were asked if it were acceptable for an employee to work off the clock. They said no. Then they were asked if they'd ever told employees never to work off the clock. They said yes. Then they were asked if they'd ever terminated an employee for working off the clock. They said no.Clincher! Game over and they knew it. Why? It comes down to American corporate norms and the long held legal view that: “a rule that is not backed up with both the threat of corrective action AND a consistent track record of corrective action is not a bona fide rule.”Walmart lost the court case and had to pay millions in fines and class action money. The reason? “An environment where employees are allowed to work for free creates an environment where other employees feel pressured to work for free to be considered good performers. This deprives them of their rights and an even playing field when it comes to annual appraisals and opportunities for promotion.”No employer is permitted —even if you offer it voluntarily— to ever allow an employee to work for free. I was there when Walmart lost the lawsuit on this matter. I saw managers written up for not forcing employees to take their breaks. I saw managers fired for allowing unpaid labor to happen in their store.

Elon Musk never said that. Check out his Twitter.