Use Written Warnings and Letters of Reprimand Effectively

Anyone with employees hope that the people they’ve hired will do high-quality, honest work and represent them well. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Whether an employee is willfully negligent or insubordinate, or if the person is simply not performing well, the issue must be addressed. When speaking with the employee is not sufficient, written warnings such as a warning letter or letter of reprimand may need to be utilized. While receiving a letter of reprimand or warning letter can be embarrassing to an employee, such written warnings can also be extremely uncomfortable for the supervisor. Especially if the employee has been trust- worthy and done quality work in the past, a supervisor may feel uneasy about issuing Written Warnings. The important idea to keep in mind is that a warning letter ‘s purpose is to help both the employee and the company. Issuing a warning letter allows an employee to correct their errors. Hopefully, receiving written warnings such as a letter of reprimand will be beneficial to an employee. Written warnings, if they are done well, tell the employee exactly what needs to be corrected for improved performance. If clearly stated and firmly communicated, written warnings can be very effective tools for performance enhancement. If a Letter Of Reprimand or warning letter is delivered in an off-handed manner, an employee may not take the warning letter seriously. In this case, performance will not improve and the employee will have the beginning of a negative record. This situation does not benefit the employer and does a disservice to the employee. On the other end of the spectrum, written warnings can be delivered in a way that demeans the employee and appear to attack character instead of constructively criticize behavior. If this case, the letter of reprimand may leave the employee feeling devalued and be de- motivating. When an employee needs to correct behavior, a letter of reprimand should address that behavior. Both a Warning Letter and a letter of reprimand can build up an employee’s performance and help strengthen a company. In order for this to happen, however, the documents must be well-written and delivered appropriately. Supervisors who are not comfortable with this process should be encouraged to use outside resources to assist them in this process. Services exist which can provide basic form outlines for and suggest strategies for delivery. Because written employee corrections are so sensitive, these services are often enormously beneficial to a company.