Advice on sanctioning under-performing movers

When you own a business, it is extremely important to provide the best possible service to your customers. This means your employees have to work hard as well. If want to have your company listed among the best moving and storage companies, you have to gather a team of hard-working movers. However, what happens if someone from your team makes a mistake? Moving mistakes can be very expensive, especially when you as an employer have to cover all the expenses. For this reason, you should sanction your movers. Since sanctioning under-performing movers can be quite tricky, so here is the best way to handle this situation. 

The reasons for sanctioning under-performing movers 

As you might already know since you own a moving company, moving is expensive. Most people have to save money for their moving budget for several months. They also want to hire the best possible movers they can find. Your company is responsible for transporting their beloved items. You cannot afford to make mistakes, especially if you advertise yourself as international movers. Therefore, the reasons for sanctioning under-performing movers are the following. 

• Your employees damage your customers’ items or property 
• They are late for pickup or delivery 
• Your employees did not show up at all 
• They are rude or mean to your customers 

Why you should sanction under-performing movers 

There are many moving companies on the market. In order to attract customers, you have to offer the best moving services. If your employees keep making mistakes or you do not sanction them, your company might suffer because of it. Nowadays, most people will search for moving companies on the Internet. Before they even contact your company, they will read moving reviews. As an employer, you know how important moving reviews are.  If you let your employees keep on making mistakes, people will leave unfavorable reviews. Because of them, you may lose future customers. For this reason, it is important to sanction any under-performing movers so they can be more careful next time.  

Talk to your employees first 

It would not be nice to jump to conclusions without talking to your employees first. The hearing should take place as soon as possible. The best time is the next working day after the incident. During the hearing, you should be clear about your intentions. Say the reason for the hearing and why they are summoned. In addition to this, mention which sanctions they may receive.  After you hear their side of the story, you can end the hearing. Sanctioning under-performing movers should not happen immediately at the hearing. But rather, you should take a couple of days to think about it. You should also have consultations with management if you have one in your company. Together you can make a final decision or you can further investigate the incident. 

Witnesses and evidence are important 

You cannot sanction anyone without valid pieces of evidence. Just like customers have to bring the same if they want to claim moving insurance, you have solid ones in order to sanction your employees. For this reason, first, have a nice chat with clients, see what the problem is, how to resolve it. Then, talk to your employees and see what they have to say about it. In addition to this, when you have the hearing that was mentioned above, have at least 2 extra employees present. They can act as your witnesses if something goes wrong. Those two employees can say that you as an employer, clearly explained to your under-performing movers about the problem and what the possible sanctions could be. Sometimes, it is necessary to write a declaration about the hearing and have all parties sign the same. 

Check your employment documents 

Before you officially hire someone, they have to sign official documents. In those documents, you should write down all the company’s policies. If they sign it, it means they agree with everything that was mentioned there, just like your customers do when they sign their moving contract. For this reason, when something like this happens, review disciplinary agreements your company has. You can see what disciplinary measures you can use for sanctioning underperforming movers. Do not go beyond what is written in the contract since your employee can sue you then. In addition to this, when you are choosing the disciplinary measure, pay attention to similar cases, employee’s disciplinary record, and mitigating factors. 

Misconduct warnings 

In small misconducts, you can give a written or oral warning for the first offense. If your employee makes another misconduct while the first one is still valid, then this is time, they have to receive a written warning. You can use the disciplinary outcome letter for misconduct for the first and final warning. In addition to this, you can use the disciplinary outcome letter for poor performance for situations where they showed poor performance. In this warning, you should say the reasons behind it, how long it will last, and what your employee should do. These warnings usually last from six months to one year. Apart from this, in gross misconduct cases, you need to send a summary dismissal letter for gross misconduct. 

Performance warnings 

For small cases, you should inform your employee about the issue and arrange a meeting to discuss it. After the meeting, write an official letter explaining what you expect from your employee, how long they have to improve, and what possible more severe punishments are. Usually, your employees should have at least six months to improve their performance. In addition to this, they also have the right to appeal. Give them a copy of the notes from the meeting and the letter that was mentioned before. For the more severe punishments, you should consult your management team.  

All the important pieces of advice for sanctioning underperforming movers 

As you can see, first you should make sure you have the right to sanction your employees. Then, you can proceed with the whole procedure according to your company’s regulations.