How to Maintain Discipline in the Organization

Understanding the problems of discipline in the employment situation are essential management skills. Any Professional including accountants often occupy a managerial position. While the knowledge of motivation techniques is a vital element for management, it is equally important to recognize the other side of motivation, that of discipline.

Effective Discipline in The Workplace

Discipline is achieved in an organization when organizational members behave sensibly and conduct themselves following acceptable behavior standards to the organization’s rules, goals, and objectives. Implementing effective blended learning solutions can contribute to fostering discipline by equipping employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to align their actions with the organization’s expectations.

Positive Discipline

Discipline may be positive. The employee is encouraged to conform to good practices and acceptable behavior through, for example, training and by the presence and consistent application of rules and procedures.

Negative discipline Examples

Discipline, on the other hand, maybe negative. This is the situation where actions may be taken to ensure that the organization’s members behave appropriately. Such actions include punishment, deterrent, or reformative measures.

Employee Disciplinary Action Examples

Proper disciplinary procedures are essential for harmonious relationships between management and staff. They are also increasingly a legal requirement and are important in a litigious society.

A six-step approach to disciplinary actions is recommended.

Informal Talk.

If the disciplinary matter is of a minor nature and the individual has had a good record until this occasion, then an informal meeting can often resolve the issue.

A reprimand or Oral Warning.

Here the manager draws the employee’s attention to unsatisfactory behavior, a repeat of which could lead to formal disciplinary proceedings.

Official or Written Warning.

A written warning is a serious matter. It draws the offending employee’s attention to a serious breach of conduct and remains a recorded document on the employee’s employment history. Such written documents can be used as evidence if further action is taken, especially dismissal.

Suspension or Lay-off.

If an offense is serious, if the employee has repeated an earlier offense or has been repeated problems, then an employee may be suspended from work for a period of time without pay.

Demotion.

This is a situation where an employee is demoted to a lower salary or position level within an organization. This is a very serious step to take and can be regarded as a form of internal dismissal. This course of action can have negative repercussions because the employee concerned will feel dissatisfied and such feelings can affect their own work and that of others.

Dismissal.

This is the ultimate disciplinary measure and should be used only in the most extreme cases. As with demotion, the dismissal of a staff member can lead to wider dissatisfaction amongst the employees.

Although a procedure is a legal requirement in some circumstances, the above recommendation will vary in detail between organizations and countries.

How to Maintain Discipline in the Organization?

 

For an organization to succeed, a business needs to have a disciplined workforce or team. This is critically important because the business relies significantly on the staff and without this, you have no business. As critical as it is, the leadership and management need to come out clear on the issues of discipline.

Anyone who is brought on board as an employee of the organization should be able to follow laid down guidelines and rules. Managers and supervisors will not be able to have good workforce discipline by just shouting at your employees and taking stringent measures. The manager or supervisor will quickly lose the respect of their juniors, and it would defeat the purpose entirely.

Here are eight ways to maintain workplace discipline in your organization while maintaining the respect of your employees:

Show Leadership

As a leader in your organization, you are responsible for like one and not leave your employees to lead and organize themselves. This is not about using your authority to scream at people with orders. It’s about aiding your staff to reach their full potential with patience. You should be the one your employees come to when they need guidance.

Eliminate all the distractions

Discipline is not just about employees not focusing on their work, but also about them focusing more on their environment. Endeavor to remove everything from the workplace that might act as an unnecessary distraction to your employees.

The Office should be a happy place

Ensure that your workplace is a desirable place for your staff to work. The workplace should not be a place that employees hate coming to every day. Employees  should  always enjoy any day at the office

Consider the generation gap

If you have millennials or younger employees in your organization, then dealing with them is totally different compared to older staff. It would be best if you were considered that age gap and take action to respond best to it.

Have set office guidelines

Ensure your staff knows what is expected of them and understand their job obligation, and should play by the rules. If these guidelines are not clear to them, you can’t expect them to obey them. Have a few clear-cut rules that are at the fingertips of every employee.

Always Take corrective actions

If rules are laid, the consequences of non-compliance should also be clear. Again, your staff should be given a fair number of warnings before being punished for violating the written rules. This would also provide fairgrounds for dismissing an employee who is indisciplined.

Ensure employees are given room to perform

Your staff should be well aware that you are the leader, and you should not just sit on their heads all day. When staff is on constant observation or under pressure, they tend to be less productive and will affect their performance; therefore, you must provide your team with the space to work efficiently.

Regularly communicate with your staff

Communication is the soul of any organization and having an open-door policy is always good with a clear communication channel. Employees should feel comfortable sharing their grievances with you whenever they arise.  Prioritize communication above anything else. Ensure everyone knows that you are more than willing to listen to anything they have to say. Communication is a Two-Way Traffic, and your employees need to know that you are an open-minded person.