John Doe appears to be a hardworking individual who has been distracted by the joy that comes with becoming a new father. This is because his records of success have been consistent until he became a father. He has been commended severally for his exceptional skills in marketing. However, he has recently underperformed in the workplace and this has captured the attention of his boss and the company’s CEO.
The CEO seems to be furious and has decided to meet John for a discussion before he can decide what disciplinary action to take. As the Human Resource Manager of the company, I intend to come up with a suitable solution to the problem. This is because the human resource manager is responsible for the facilitation of performance reviews and ensuring that the employees’ performance meets a certain standard in the job description.
It is evident that the CEO has displayed a lot of emotion towards the issue. Therefore, a third party is required to intervene. I believe that an individual in the human resource department would handle the situation better. This is because John’s situation requires disciplinary counselling rather than discipline (punishment) itself.
The specific aspects of John’s performance and conduct that have been identified should be addressed in such a way as to establish a win-win situation (Dannells & Consolvo, 2000). These include increasing John’s performance and avoiding the costs that come with firing and hiring.
As the Human Resource Manager, I recommend that disciplinary counselling should be performed in order to solve the issue. This would include conducting a private meeting with John with the intentions of having a constructive discussion (Cunningham, 1980). John should be given feedback that should help him solve the issues.
However, the parties involved should observe protocol so that the rights are preserved. This includes ensuring confidentiality of the information discussed in private. There should also be respect for every individual. It is also important to focus on the issue at hand rather than on the individual.
The counselling session should go through several stages. The first involves the careful preparation of the exercise. The actual interview should then take place and this is where the issues will be discussed in openness and honesty. The course of action should then be agreed upon and the formal report produced. After this, a follow up on the issue should be done in order to ensure that the employee is adhering to the agreed course of action.
The main issue seems to be the fact that John is spending too much time with the baby and is having little time to rest or work. This is mainly a lack of proper management skills when it comes to time and stress. Therefore, counselling on these issues is also necessary. As the human resource manager, I would also recommend that John’s roles and responsibilities be restructured until he feels that he is able to take up the whole responsibility.
John should not be condemned for his few failures since he has been an excellent manager, which has been reflected in his performance. It is better to counsel John and maintain his position than to consider firing him. This is because staff turnover may be costly and stressful. However, follow up is required in order to ensure that John’s performance is improving. This would ensure that the company does not compromise and lose even more. If John’s performance does not improve, appropriate disciplinary action should be taken.
References
Cunningham, P. J. (1980). Disciplinary counselling: The first step towards due process. Journal of the College and University Personnel Association, 31(2), 1-6.
Dannells, M., & Consolvo, C. (2000). Disciplinary counselling: Implications for and practice. NASPA Journal, 38(1), 44-57.