PERFORMANCE CORRECTION NOTICE

DISCIPLINARY LEVEL

Verbal Correction—(To memorialize the conversation.)

Written Warning—(State nature of offense, method of correction, and action to be taken if offense is repeated.)

Investigatory Leave—(Include length of time and nature of review.)

Final Written Warning

Without decision-making leave

With decision-making leave (Attach memo of instructions.)

With unpaid suspension

SUBJECT:Notification of substandard job performance and inappropriate workplace behavior

Policy/Procedure Violation

Performance Transgression

Behavior/Conduct Infraction

Absenteeism/Tardiness

PRIOR NOTIFICATIONS

Incident Description and Supporting Details: Include the following information: Time, Place, Date of Occurrence, and Persons Present as well as Organizational Impact.

Kurt,

As you and I discussed with Human Resources yesterday, this document will serve as a written warning for overall substandard job performance and inappropriate workplace conduct regarding your position as Vice President, Operations.

I. Substandard Job Performance

Of the eight national divisions, the Midwest division has performed poorly relative to its peers over the past year in the following key performance measurement areas:

When asked about the ongoing performance problems of your division, you stated that your regional leaders weren’t fully engaged in their work. However, as the divisional general manager, you are responsible for all aspects of leadership and strategy in your group, including productivity, quality, and overall morale and engagement. As such, you are solely responsible for this substandard divisional performance, which has been an ongoing concern for the past year but which has come to a head in this past quarter, as indicated by the statistics above.

II. Inappropriate Workplace Conduct

Members of your team describe your behavior as aggressive, inconsistent, argumentative, abrasive, manipulative, disrespectful, and insensitive. At other times, your conduct has been described as dismissive, apathetic, and disengaged. People state that they don’t know how to read you and aren’t sure what mood you’ll be in at any given time.

In the past, we have intervened when problems occurred between you and your quality management counterparts. Your teams appear to demonstrate a lack of collaboration and teamwork. Senior leaders from your division scramble for a unified response when I ask simple operational questions. I see low morale and an overreactive grapevine among your direct reports, and your team appears to be working in a vacuum without an appropriate amount of communication, structure, or direction stemming from your leadership. The result is that your division continues to perform consistently in the lowest quartile as evidenced above.

In the past, you have admitted to “allowing your tongue to slip” in terms of saying something you realize you shouldn’t have said. You likewise admitted to pushing for information that you knew was not your business, like when you insisted on finding out who filed an anonymous EEOC complaint in one of your warehouses. While you stated that you understood that conducting your own investigation was a breach of the company’s code of conduct, you admitted at the time that you felt trapped by the incident and compelled to find out who was behind the complaint.

In addition, Kurt, you have admitted that you’re not receptive to constructive feedback, and I’ve told you that you appear to take even marginal feedback as offensive and as a personal attack. As such, it is now appropriate to escalate my concerns and the company’s concerns in writing in the form of progressive discipline.

III.Historical Interventions and Attempts to Turn Around Performance

In January 2016, you received a performance improvement plan (PIP) for displaying a “pattern of behaviors unbecoming of an executive.” The PIP addressed, among other things, concerns regarding your communication style and decision-making abilities, your need to control and micromanage the people and projects in your area, your failure to delegate appropriately, and your failure to keep promises that you’ve made. The PIP also addressed your apprehension regarding corporate’s involvement in your division and perception of corporate’s limiting your control.

Dr. Williams is an organizational psychologist who we assigned to you as part of the PIP development plan to serve as a career coach to help you turn around the performance and interpersonal challenges you were facing as the leader of the Midwest division. After approximately six months of coaching in the first half of 2016, Dr. Williams’s assignment ended, and he provided you with tips and tools to excel in your role. However, little has changed since then in terms of your performance or conduct. In fact, at that time, you stated that you were “insulted” by the PIP and by having to work with an executive coach.

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN

1. Measurable/Tangible Improvement Goals: Kurt, I expect you to consistently meet all planned performance goals for your division in our key measurement areas of volume, quality, turnover, and Employee Net Promoter Score. Likewise, I expect you to let me know in advance if you suspect that the Midwest division won’t meet its performance benchmarks for any given month or any individual project. In our discussion, we can address additional resources that you may need assigned to your division to meet the performance goals outlined for the Midwest.

I expect you to maintain harmonious relations with your peers, direct reports, boundary partners, and extended team members at all times and on a consistent basis. To do this, you need to deliver constructive, respectful communications to your team members without blame or censure. Furthermore, you must acknowledge your involvement in questionable situations and assume responsibility for things gone wrong within your group, thereby becoming an active agent in resolving complaints.

I expect you to avoid inappropriate information sharing with uninvolved parties, conducting your own unilateral investigations, or engaging in behavior that could be described as bullying, aggressive, or overly controlling.

2. Training or Special Direction Provided: If there are any additional training and development opportunities that we can provide to help you become a more effective leader or drive more consistent performance in your division, please let us know what you recommend. We will endeavor to provide you with additional training opportunities based on your recommendations, especially anything relating to managing interpersonal conflict in the workplace, effective interpersonal communications, leadership development, and performance management.

3. Interim Performance Evaluation Necessary? No

4. Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, Prime Behavioral Health Group, can be confidentially reached to assist you at (800) 555-5555. This is strictly voluntary. A booklet regarding the EAP’s services is available from Human Resources.

5. In addition, I recognize that you may have certain ideas to improve your performance. Therefore, I encourage you to provide your own Personal Improvement Plan Input and Suggestions:

(Attach additional sheets if needed.)

OUTCOMES AND CONSEQUENCES

Positive: I will remain available to help you and discuss areas where you require additional support. If you meet your performance goals, no further disciplinary action will be taken regarding this issue. In addition, you will be able to rebuild relationships, trust, and goodwill with a number of leaders and staffers who, like you, have been with our organization for many years.

Negative: Overall, however, you are now being placed on formal notice, that your position is in immediate jeopardy of being lost. Failure to demonstrate immediate and sustained improvement may result in further disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal of employment. A copy of this document will be placed in your personnel file.

Scheduled Review Date: None

EMPLOYEE COMMENTS AND/OR REBUTTAL

EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT GOES HERE