When you want to discipline an employee, you’re not alone in your feelings of disappointment, anger, and frustration. Nobody enjoys reprimanding their employees; it’s not pleasant or fun for anyone involved. However, the need to discipline them does arise from time to time, and when it does, there are some alternatives to the traditional methods of discipline that you may find are just as effective but which leave everyone feeling better about the situation in the end. Here are a few examples of alternate ways to discipline employees.

The Ladder of Awareness

A ladder of awareness was introduced by Marshall Goldsmith, a leadership consultant, as an approach for leaders to promote self-awareness in their employees. He suggests that leaders should remind employees of their awareness level at intervals to let them know how well they are doing and if there is still room for improvement. This visual symbol helps inspire employees to work harder and be more aware of themselves as individuals.

Goals and Objectives

Discipline employees can be difficult, especially when they don’t know what they’re doing. In this guide, we’ll cover goals and objectives as a way of discipline. First, set measurable and achievable goals and objectives for your team members. Tell them what needs to be accomplished by a specific date, and then monitor them as they work toward these goals in order to help stay on track with the company’s timeline.

Getting In Touch With Your Inner Child

As a small business coach, I have seen first-hand how complicated running a business can be. Often times we are so caught up in taking care of our customers, our employees and ourselves that we forget about how to take care of our own mental health and well-being. One of the easiest ways to find some peace is by touching base with your inner child.

Resolving Conflicts

Resolving conflicts is one of the most important management skills a small business coach can teach. The disagreement can be solved by coming up with an agreement that satisfies both parties or gets you on the same page again. It’s also possible that after you have gotten all your feelings out, you find that both of you were simply having a communication issue and do not need a resolution.

Being a Parent vs. Being a Leader

It’s tempting for parents to discipline their kids in ways that they would never do at work, but there is a key difference between managing employees and managing children. And while being a loving parent is important, being a disciplinarian who cares about improving performance and getting them ready for the future can be just as important. The next time you are faced with discipline, start by thinking about how you want your child to behave down the road, and whether or not what you are doing will help or hinder that goal.

Understanding Intentions, Not Actions

Sometimes it’s not enough to simply reprimand an employee for something they did wrong. For example, let’s say an employee works in customer service and made a mistake during a transaction with a customer. In this case, it would be best to ask that person why they did what they did instead of telling them what they did wrong. If the reason was because of lack of sleep or hunger, then it makes sense that actions should be less harsh than if there were malicious intent.

Improving Motivation and Retention

When morale and motivation are low, employee retention can be an issue. Improving these things with small business coaching is one of the most effective ways to maintain high performance levels in your company. Coaching offers strategies for improving productivity and work efficiency, in addition to motivational techniques like goal setting and feedback training. A good way to measure how well these changes are working is by tracking performance metrics such as speed or turnaround time.