What is the Warning Letter?
Giving warning to anyone is not an easy task! The warning letter is written for many purposes like:
- For an improper behavior or any kind of misconduct by a person
- For the poor performance of an employee or any product that you have purchased
- For an employee remaining absent for many days
- For late coming
- For any kind of negligence
- For violating rules
In a warning letter, you basically inform the person about behaving in a wrong manner for any reason. In a work environment, such letters are written in order to warn an employee for his or her wrong behavior. When any kind of the behavior is unacceptable, you can consider writing such a letter.
If you are an employer and are planning to write this type of a letter, then first it is advisable for you to give the verbal warning. Try to find out the reason behind any improper behavior and then draft a warning letter.
How to write a warning letter to an employee?
You need to draft a formal warning letter when you find your employee behaving wrong or giving bad performances. You should outline the consequences that he or she might have to face if the warning is not taken seriously.
While drafting a warning letter, here are the few things that you need to keep in your mind:
- Draft such a formal warning letter when there is a chronic or a serious problem.
- First, carry out the verbal conversation and on the basis of the result of it, you should take decision-related to writing a warning letter.
- If you are writing it for the poor performance of an employee, then first consider reviewing the performance.
- Sending the warning letter indicates that the problem is more serious, so draft it carefully after getting the proper content for your letter.
- State your expectations from an employee.
- State the actions that you may take if an employee does not take your warning seriously.
- Your warning should not come as a surprise to an employee and so it is important to discuss the issue previously, before writing this letter.
- Before writing a warning letter, you should regularly give positive and negative feedback to an employee.
- Make use of professional language in the warning letter and don’t try to narrate any decision in such a letter. Remember, that you are not writing a termination letter, but you are writing a warning letter.
- Don’t make use of the bad words in a warning letter. It is important to maintain the strict tone, but that does not mean, you are allowed to be loud.
- Give detail information about the warning so that the reader can find it easy to understand the motto of the letter.
- Make use of the readable font.
- Write proper salutation and draft such a letter on the letterhead of the company.
- The concerned authorities should always sign such a letter.
What are the common problems, for which the warning letter is drafted?
Talking about the employee and an employer, there are many problems that they may come across and some of them compel the employer to draft a warning letter. Don’t be biased towards different employees, when it comes to giving a warning. Treat all your employees equally because this can help you to maintain the positive office environment. Here are the few employees related common problems, for which the warning letter is drafted:
- The most common problem is related to the improper behavior of an employee.
- Very low attendance of an employee is also the well-known reason for drafting a warning letter.
- The reason can also be treating co-workers badly.
- Inappropriate dressing in the office can also be the reason.
- Carrying out any kind of inappropriate communication with any employee or with any manager.
- Visiting unethical and pornographic website during office hours.
- When an employee does not complete his or her working hours.
- When an employee does not complete the office task or the given quantity of work.
There are many such common problems, due to which an employer may draft a warning letter to an employee.
What your warning letter should include?
Here are the few things that the body of your warning letter should include:
- Note down the bad conduct of an employee and the unacceptable behavior which compelled you to write a warning letter.
- Be very much specific, while writing a warning letter. Don’t leave any room for any kind of misinterpretation.
- How severe is the employee’s bad conduct? Depending on the answer to this question, you can decide on the tone of the warning letter.
- Write your warning letter in such a way that it can help an employee to get a chance to rectify the mistake.
- Say no to slang words while writing a warning letter.
- Don’t be too harsh or too lenient with the warning letter.
- Don’t try to humiliate your employee in this type of a letter. Try to maintain the dignity of a recipient.