Hiring and Firing Government Employees

“Stewart Liff is the
best-selling author of the book “The Complete Guide to Hiring and Firing a Government Employee,” AMACOM Books, December 2009, http://www.stewartliff.com/books.html and here is my tip for the day:

Don’t misunderstand the concept of progressive discipline. It means taking the least severe action that you believe is necessary to correct an employee’s misconduct. Most managers interpret this to mean you to need to counsel the employee several times, then take an admonishment, reprimand, short suspension, long suspension, etc. before proposing the employee’s removal. However, if the employee is truly a problem, taking such a slow approach will only allow the employee to grind you up with grievances, eeo complaints, on-the-job injuries, etc. Take a stronger action and bring the problem to a head more quickly. After all, if you are dealing with someone who is truly a bad employee, why would you expect a weak action to change the employee’s behavior?