Discipline & Performance Management

Most organizations have some form of a performance management program even though there is no specific requirement that they have one. General approaches to performance management programs include a focus on motivating employees to improve. Improving employee performance increases productivity and boosts morale. The primary challenge employers face in implementing discipline and performance management is consistency across all employees and situations, and delivering tough messages.

HOW WE HELP

Seyfarth provides practical solutions and advice on designing and implementing performance management and disciplinary processes and solutions. Our attorneys regularly help employers navigate difficult performance and disciplinary situations. We offer market-leading resources and tools that clients can easily leverage and implement as part of their policies and protocols.

We assist employers in all stages of performance management, including daily, informal feedback; goal-setting; annual formal performance appraisals, and when necessary, the discipline process.

When formal coaching and discipline is needed, we have extensive experience in designing and implementing start-to-finish solutions for clients from coaching and feedback, oral and written warnings, performance improvement plans and action plans to final warnings or terminations, and tailor these solutions based on the client’s size, business model, culture and current needs. We help clients move through the process effectively and determine what steps are needed depending on the specific circumstances they may face.

All employers could benefit from implementing best practices and consistent policies with regard to discipline and performance management. We serve businesses of all sizes from both the public and private sectors in a variety of industries with varying geographic footprints, non-traditional workforces, unionized and non-union workforces, and are deeply familiar with the nuanced considerations for discipline and performance management from entry level staff to the C-suite.

THE SEYFARTH EXPERIENCE

Employers across all industries turn to Seyfarth for guidance on discipline and performance management. Our attorneys take a proactive approach to help employers grappling with how best to motivate their employees to improve, and when necessary, how to deliver challenging but necessary feedback and messages while instituting programs that help protect the company’s legal interests. We help our clients to better refine their processes and policies to mitigate risk, and institute best practices. Utilizing our lauded SeyfarthLean model to improve the policies and practices of clients, we provide a consistent approach to managing these complex issues, employing streamlined and innovative techniques, such as process mapping and creating template documents customized for each client’s unique business and legal goals to develop a solution tailored to the client's business. In doing so, our unmatched bench of counselors combine our industry-specific knowledge, geographic coverage, and practice depth to benefit our clients.