Hopefully you’ve put the same question to your human resources manager as well. If you haven’t done that, then that is what you need to do. It is not my place to circumvent a process that most likely is already in place within your company. Of course I’m speaking about the employee disciplinary process.

All supervisors need to be clear on what they can and cannot do with regards to disciplinary procedures. This is especially important to know before taking any action. But the responsibility doesn’t stop there. Employees should not be left in the dark either on the consequences for inappropriate or disruptive behavior. And I’m talking about more than simply passing out employee handbooks to all employees. More needs to be done.

I’m a firm believer that no employee should ever be surprised by any kind of disciplinary action or performance review for that matter. Should that ever be the case, I can usually predict that there are some communication issues, or lack there of, between the supervisor and his or her employees that are contributing to whatever the problematic situation is. In those cases, the supervisor/manager needs to shoulder some of the blame. But I haven’t answered your question yet, have I?

I think that you were okay to send your employees home, but probably overstepped your boundaries by limiting the consequences to being fired should their behavior persist. Had you said that there would be further disciplinary action taken, up to and including termination, you would have been better off. In these types of disciplinary situations, try not to define a specific outcome, but instead a range of outcomes. When you are too specific, you essentially lock yourself into an action that may or may not be appropriate. Plus, since your comment may not have been sanctioned by your organization, the last thing you want to do is narrow down what the consequences will be.

So here is my long-awaited answer to your question. I suggest you get together with your human resources manager and your immediate supervisor and discuss the situation, what you’ve done thus far and what you think needs to happen. Then come up with an agreed-upon plan that you know they will both support. This is a critical first step.

Then, meet with the two employees, either separately or together, and share the plan from your previous meeting. Help them understand the reasons behind the performance expectations and how you will support them in achieving those expectations. Once the expectations are completely understood, ask for a commitment from each of them to move forward. Help them understand that they have control over the consequences of their behavior and that you’d much prefer to shower them with praise than to pull them through this process again.

Hope this helped.