Employee misconduct: the one thing every boss dreads having to deal with. Yet, taking care of your employees isn’t just about skill recognition and workplace benefits. It also has another incredibly crucial part: being responsive and responsible when employee issues arise.

In the case of employee misconduct, a formal process is often required to investigate and deal with the matter thoroughly. And if this is your first time having to deal with a potential misconduct case, the idea of formal proceedings can be intimidating.

That’s what this guide is here to help with. Always refer to employment law first, but here’s a general idea of how to effectively deal with the serious issues that disrupt your team.

Start as Friendly as Possible

If you have an employee misconduct allegation – or a pattern of poor working performance you need to talk about – approach the conversation casually and friendly. Make the concern clear, and outline how you need to approach the resolution.

And remember, not every misconduct issue arises from a malicious place. Some people do their best to work at the highest standard, but with everything going on in their life, it’s difficult to stay on track.

And often enough, they’re going to be harder on themselves about this than anyone else. They’re not going out of their way to let you down; keeping this in mind can help you to keep misconduct chats cordial and professional.

Start the Investigation Process

If the misconduct allegations cannot be simply explained or dealt with by more straightforward mediation means, it’s time to get the investigative process underway.

To start with, make your decision to investigate clear to the involved parties. If need be, the person alleged to be at fault may even need to take absence – but this can be decided on a case by case basis.

Then you’ll need to start gathering evidence. You’ll likely need to pull from multiple sources here, so invest in an Internal Investigation Platform.

A tool like this makes evidence collection a lot simpler. You can pull up as many different kinds of employee communications and interactions as required, including emails and even CCTV recordings.

Once you’re sure you’ve exhausted the need for evidence, you can think about presenting the case in a hearing.

Hear From Every Side

If a hearing is required, every party involved in the case will have a chance to put their point of view across.

The person who has a complaint against them will have the chance to respond to all the evidence you present, where they can explain their actions and provide additional context to them.

This can include background personal issues they may be dealing with. This will help you to understand their intentions, thought process, and what disciplinary action will be most appropriate.

When dealing with employee misconduct for the first time, take the process step by step. Present the complaint, gather evidence, and arrange a hearing meeting if a more complex resolution is required.