February 2010
Coaching, Counseling or Letter of Reprimand
Coaching and counseling are part of the process of continuous feedback within a Performance Management System. Coaching should be used to enhance performance, encourage appropriate behaviors, provide support during a temporary situation, or to motivate and guide. Counseling should be used to redirect performance, correct a problem, deal with conflict situations and to provide management procedures that work with a progressive disciplinary system. I will address Letters of Reprimand (LORs) later in the article.
Coaching should be used when a performance problem surfaces and you as the supervisor or manager have not had a chance to discuss the problem with the employee (with the exception of egregious acts). You should start out identifying the problem and asking if there are any reasons why the problem has become an issue. You should review performance standards and goals, in other words, let the employee know what your expectations are of him/her. You need to obtain agreement that there is a problem. If you don't then the coaching session may become a counseling session based on their reluctance to admit there is a problem. Ask the employee how the problem can be solved. Co-create and agree on an action plan. Schedule time to provide feedback on how the action plan is or is not working. If it is not working then the action plan may need to be revised. Supervisors and managers should document the meeting(s) because if the issue is not resolved this documentation will justify your need to take disciplinary action.
Now some of you rank and file employees may be wondering why I am giving this advice to supervisors and managers. There are several reasons. First, I want to encourage supervisors and managers to try these techniques first instead of going straight to a (LOR) which is considered discipline. Memos of counseling, letters of instruction or letters of warning are not discipline. They are corrective in nature. Second, LORs, at least in the Probation Department, are consistently being given out when it could easily have been a coaching or counseling scenario. Second, I believe employees should be put on notice that their performance is not meeting expectations and given a chance to improve their performance instead of finding out at the time the Work Performance Evaluation (WPE) is given to the employee. A negative WPE should never be a surprise to the employee. Third, this association also represents supervisors, so giving them assistance in this area I believe is just part of our duties to best represent them. The Probation Department is having a problem with retention. When an employee gets a LOR they feel as though their hard work is not being recognized. For example, the Probation Corrections Officers (PCOs) have been working mandated overtime shifts for approximately two years. Most of them feel it's their duty to assist with the staff shortage based on their loyalty to the Department. When they get a LOR, they then begin to feel like it's a one way street. The Probation Department wants the PCO's loyalty, but it appears to them that it is not reciprocated by the Department. Last but not least, it is my opinion that many LORs issued could have been a letter of counseling, corrective memo or letter of warning. Just something for the Probation Department to ponder.
Letters of Reprimand are formal discipline. There is an appeal process, but for the most part I believe the hearing officer (Division Director II) usually just upholds the LOR. There are some Division Director IIs that have modified or rescinded an LOR. However, this is the exception and not the norm.
The Sheriff's Department also has an appeal process for LORs. I have not had any experience with this process and have been told that they are seldom rescinded. However, the few LOR's I have reviewed issued by the Sheriff's Department appeared to be reasonable based on the circumstances.
Currently, nationwide there is a shortage of suitable candidates for peace officer positions. Therefore, I believe its imperative that we work on retaining those we do have. I believe one way of retaining our officers is to provide them with a good work environment that nurtures them and treats them fairly.
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