Having great employees makes the biggest difference in whether your business succeeds or fails. Of course, you want to find and keep good employees, but what do you do when they make mistakes? How do you prevent errors from becoming full-blown mistakes? And what’s the best way to discipline them when they’ve made one? Luckily, you can use these techniques to discipline and keep good employees by making sure they know their place in your business and reminding them of your expectations.

Don’t let it become an issue

Its one thing to address performance with an employee, but it’s another when the behavior becomes a chronic issue. If you have a small business coach in place, they can help you streamline this process for yourself so that you don’t have to invest hours of your time managing the work being done by employees. You may also want to consider implementing an employee handbook – just a few hours of formulating guidelines for employees will result in clearer expectations for everyone involved.

Know your employee

Be clear about their day-to-day tasks, what's expected of them, and how you'll be evaluating their performance. Make sure that employees know that there are consequences for not following the rules—discipline comes in many forms, such as reprimands, demotions, suspensions or even firing. Create an employee handbook that contains all company policies including a disciplinary procedure if needed.

Respect their time

A small business coach in New York City reveals six different ways to respect an employee's time, which might be something that you didn't think about. For example, starting meetings at the same time every day is a good way to minimize interruptions in the work day.

Don’t micro-manage

Don’t micromanage your employees. Make a set of basic policies that all employees are expected to follow. Give them clear instructions on what your expectations are, then leave them be. You have a small business coach that will advise you if they need any help with anything, so let them do their job! When they make a mistake, talk with them about it like an adult and ask what could have been done differently.

Keep good records

Keeping good records of your employees' performance can be the key to ensuring they are properly disciplined when necessary. With a written employee handbook, employees will know the type of behavior you expect from them, as well as what behaviors will warrant disciplinary action on your part.

Additionally, when an employee needs to be let go from the company due to poor performance or any other reasons, having these records will make it easier for you because you'll have documentation supporting your decision.

Be consistent with how you approach problems

If an employee is not performing as they should, there are different ways you can approach the situation. Harsh punishment may make an employee feel unappreciated or incompetent, while rewarding good performance will keep them happy but they may slack if the reward system isn't always in place. It's important to find what works best for both your company and your employees when it comes to methods of discipline.