How to address employee misconduct

Effectively handling misconduct in the workplace is critical. As a leader, it is your job to provide a safe space for your employees, and that means addressing misconduct as quickly as possible. Your staff is expecting you to set the standard for what is ok and what is not ok. When we let certain behavior go unchecked, we are subconsciously telling our staff it’s ok with us. This leads to mistrust and resentment. In order to maintain trust and workplace morale, you must address misconduct as quickly and effectively as possible, despite how uncomfortable it may be. Here are three things to remember when addressing misconduct.

Be upfront.

Don’t invite them to a vague meeting out of nowhere with no description. They’ll be caught off guard and therefore already on the defense. Instead, let them know you’d like to meet with them about XY or Z. Let them know upfront the severity or the lack of severity of the conversation so they can feel more prepared.

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Be clear.

When broaching the hard topic be clear on what the issue is. Don’t beat around the bush or be overly vague in an effort to be comfortable. They’ll leave unsure of what the takeaway is. It’s going to be uncomfortable for a moment and that’s ok. Saying “When you said XYZ that went against our team’s equity standard and should not happen again. I’d like to talk about some next steps to address it.” This brings me to point number three.

Have clear next steps.

Don’t leave the meeting and then never address it again. The team member won’t know if the issue has been dealt with because they weren’t given clear steps with a designated finish line. Saying “First we’re going to talk, then you’re going to do a training with our DEI Director. After that, we can move forward” gives them a clear start and end point and lays out the consequences of their actions in a memorable way. This also positions you as a leader. If you can effectively protect your team from inequity or other forms of mistreatment by seeing consequences through, you gain trust with your team.