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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on December 7, 2009 at 2:51pm

I would have a three strikes policy. The first strike is a warning, the second is a loss of hours, the third, you're gone. This seems harsh, but people need and want boundaries, and there have to be real reprecussions for not following them. I also say, temper everything with a balance of grace and justice.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Pond on December 7, 2009 at 3:08pm

Punishing your baristas with lost shifts and cutting their hours is cruel, unusual, and not professional. Remember, your baristas are not your children. You hired them to do a job as adults, so treat them like adults. Give them the same respect you ask from them. Stick to verbal and written discipline, and a three strike policy if you must.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on December 7, 2009 at 3:12pm

I should have stated, my comments were meant as a last resort for problems, and not for every infraction like being 15 minutes late. When normal respect policies aren't respected. With that being said, for normal situations, I agree with Alex, and he certainly does a great job of managing employees there in Portland.

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Permalink Reply by Cash Reynolds on December 7, 2009 at 3:25pm

Hi Sue, here are a couple ideas to consider - Consider what motivates your employee(s)/what does the Barista value about his or her job? If it's job security maybe consider a probationary period where they have an opportunity over a period of time to prove themselves out in order to keep their job. If it's money, then yes, your less shifts/hours is a good idea. If it's an employee you know to have integrity and care about their professional reputation but they seem to be having a personal problem in one specific area then maybe a combination of management and employee peer pressure and peer encouragement might well do the trick. Also getting your employees together to come up with the discipline policies together(with you as moderator & final say of course). This type of involvement can give us employees a sense of ownership & being valued that often leads to increased employee loyalty & better behavior. I don't know if anything out there is sure fire but I've seen these type of things work for various coffee retailers over the years. Hope you find something useful & would love to hear what works for you. - Cash c(__)

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