CASE STUDY 1- An employee named John made threatening remarks to his supervisor at work . John had a history of being aggressive and threatening to both management and other employees and on this occasion had been challenged for incorrect timekeeping. His Employer on the other hand had not followed the proper process in investigating and determining the appropriate discipline for the employee in any of the previous instances of poor behaviour. The company also did not have the HR documentation such as policies and procedure to support the discipline process. The supervisor made a police complaint and was reluctant to supervise John John’s employer is stuck in between and doesn’t know what to do . If he should dismiss John, it could result in a significant award in favour of John. If John remains in the workplace, the environment would become dysfunctional, difficult to control and manage. *QUESTION* What advise would you give to Johns Employer?

There is usually a condition of service and a code of conduct before employment. So it's already a red flag if they don't give you and a fault if you didn't request for it before employment and understand the terms and conditions of employment before accepting the offer of employment. 

This issue is very dicey in the sense that there was no well structured established culture and ethics as well as a documentation system

I've heard of a case where an employee is unjustly treated and made a scapegoat at his workplace which led to his immediate voluntary resignation...

It's easy to quickly point fingers at him but do you think it's justifiable to nail him for improper timing and bad work ethics?

It's glaring that There was no proper procedure and grievance handling mechanism yet he has been nailed and accused of having a bad history and poor work ethic in a company where communication and culture had been undermined or underrated and not considered as a yardstick for maintaining good work ethic and the conducive environment from the onset.

We may be quick to hire and fire but have we taken time out to understand his situation and feelings if he needs help,  orientation or counselling. Has immediate Firing helped to reduce churn rate?

Rather than conducting exist interview has there been a need to consider a stay interview?

We should be careful not to hire and fire in haste as nothing is guaranteed.

Conflict is inevitable and recruitment bias, sentiment is still a thing that might cloud our creative thinking and decisions.

Depending on the leadership style, we could leverage it and set up strategies in alignment with the company goals based on  HR objectives in tandem with globally acceptable standards to ameliorate things 

It's s still not feasible if there is no mechanism to ensure it's been implemented 

The appropriate mechanism to identify these flaws ahead and to communicate the work ethics and culture to ensure compliance is sacrosanct!

Comprehensive performance mechanism and a system of proper documentation to assess performance in areas needing improvement or adjustment, with the right committees and  people empowered to handle any grievances amicably or sanction rightly