How to Avoid the Washington Navy Yard Type of Tragedy at Your Organization

This week’s events coupled with earlier similar events struck a chord with me. As I read the news I could see severe management mistakes that had been made that resulted in tragedy.

I am talking about the Washington Navy Yard Shooting where 12 employees were killed by a subcontractor who then died also.

What does this have to do with Employee Motivation? Read on and you will see.

First, I am no stranger to these situations. I had several potentially similar situations relating to employees I inherited when I became a manager and also some job candidates who were at the top of list for hiring who I avoided hiring after vetting them.

I also witnessed another one under another manager’s supervision. My own were defused by my management actions.

Here Are Two Important Tips to Avoid a Tragedy Like This:

1. Disciplinary Action -

From a statement in a CNN article

“The Navy had sought to give him a “general discharge” due to at least eight incidents of misconduct while on duty, but ultimately had to give him an honorable discharge due to lack of evidence to support the sterner measure.”

This probably means the former manager(s) failed to document the incidents properly.

Managers frequently avoid doing this because 1. they don’t want to do this and it takes time, 2. hope the problem will go away, and 3. are “too busy” with other work.

As a result the employee was there for at least 8 incidents of misconduct. During this time it is probable that his misconduct affected other employees ability to do their work slowing productivity and possibly resulting in mistakes and at the very least was a distraction.

In addition, other employees would be less motivated as they lose trust in their manager’s ability to deal with the misconduct and start to wonder why they are picking up the slack for the other employee and being exposed to the negative situation. At some point, they probably worried for their safety also.

Had the former manager(s) documented the 8 incidents of misconduct, the shooter would probably have received a general discharge rather than an honorable discharge and there would have been one more red flag on his record.

If the former manager(s) had properly documented each incident there would have been a decreasing probability of the following incidents. Using a step wise disciplinary procedure where the consequences increase helps tremendously with this.

Following a step wise disciplinary procedure also eliminates sudden unpleasant surprises for the employee and gives control to the employee. He can stop the procedure at any step by complying with necessary corrections thereby removing any desperate or angry feeling he may have that he is losing his job.

Here is a related article I wrote on a true story of a problem employee I had and how it was resolved.

Click Link Below to See Article

http://howtomotivateemployeesnow.com/employee-extreme-makeovers-part-ii/

2. Vetting Job Candidates - the CNN article

quote - “The shooter at the Washington Navy Yard had a “pattern of misconduct” as a Navy reservist, had sporadic run-ins with the law, and had contacted two Veterans Administration hopsitals for apparent psychological issues, sources have told CNN.”

I gave you 5 pointers in the last Spotlight on vetting and hiring. There, of course, is much more detail on doing this properly.

The point is you can save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache by taking the time to do this correctly and AVOID hiring these problem employees.

Once on board, these employees will create problems with employee motivation by distraction, disruption, and more.

Here is a link to the last Spotlight article covering with 5 pointers for vetting and hiring.

http://howtomotivateemployeesnow.com/5-tips-for-more-motivated-and-higher-quality-future-employees/

CNN Article Click Link Below to Read

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/us/navy-yard-shooting-main/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

To cover these tips adequately in this e-zine is not possible.

I have written 2 e-books that provide detailed information on handling these situations.

These are not available at this time as I am revising my store.

If you are interested in them, go to the contact us page and send me a message and I will put you on a list to be notified about more information including when they will be available. Be sure to include your email address, first name, and which e-book(s) you are interested in.