Hai Seniors
I am in a peculiar problem. One of our employee,who is very hard worker and intelligent but he is dishonest. I fail to understand, what to do with him. If I show him the door, I am going to loose a good worker. If I don't do , his co workers will take the things granted. As they are having a clue that he is on my radar.
Kindly advice.
Thanks & Regards,

From India, Chandigarh
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Hello Ajay! Good day :)

Well, if you could try to check with the employee on what happened and how far he seems to be dishonest, maybe you could arrive at a decision. Of course, as an HR personnel, we need to think in 360 degrees before making a decision.

But if you find the employee to be dishonest after discussing with his manager from operations, you have no other choice but to show him the door. However, while speaking with operations, try to check what his contributions were, if there is someone as a backup to replace his roles promptly, or else you can try to address these points which may persuade him to stay in your organization.

Thanks

From India, Madras
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Right ,
As you are saying his performance is non questionable, then sudden removal of such a person might create fear and job insecurity with other employees and certainly will adversely affect work productivity.
If you can directly have talk with him and explain that his fault get noticed but, just ignored beacuse of contribution he gave in organization and if he stopped this things then he has good prospect in organization and make him understand the situation ; It might work to some extent But,surely does not mean that problem get solved.
So, Give him warning in mild words first Observe him and inspite of your warning he continues the nuisance then first issue memo for said purpose . If problem continues then nobody can question you if you terminated him also.
But, Don't wait for talk with him and give chance to continue his nuisance in organization.

From India, Mumbai
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Dear Ajay,

Integrity and probity are virtues that cannot be bartered with. If some individual uses their performance as a bargaining chip, then this cannot be condoned. If you turn a cold shoulder to the dishonest activities of this person, others will also follow suit. One fine day, it will ruin your company.

Let me give you an example from our country. Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about corruption. However, everybody knows well that it was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's rule during which the seeds of corruption were sown. He should have been very firm, but he never was. This seed has now grown into a big tree. Instead of providing us with shade, this tree is scorching us.

When it comes to taking firm action against unethical practices, we, Indians, tend to develop cold feet. Take the case of America. For engaging in insider trading, they sent Rajratnam to jail. On the other hand, when the securities scam broke out in 1992, the "big bull" Harshad Mehta did not go to jail at all; he died of natural causes.

Regarding dishonest work, is it just your perception, or do you have firm evidence? I recommend a thorough investigation before jumping to any conclusions. It is possible that some senior management personnel may be involved at the backend, while this person could be working in the front.

Dinesh V Divekar

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."

From India, Bangalore
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Dear Tariq,

If there is a genuine problem due to which an employee has falsified information, try to solve that. If it is habitual behavior, do not delay in taking action against it. While you can train employees for better efficiency, you cannot change the habit of dishonesty. Sending a message that dishonest employees are not a problem would be misleading.

Best regards,

Shafi Shoes

From Pakistan
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Dear Ajay,

It depends on what you mean by dishonest. If it is about not logging in or taking unauthorized leave, these issues can all be addressed through direct face-to-face interaction. However, if it is something more serious, then immediate and firm action should be taken. Failing to do so may result in losing other staff for the sake of one seemingly good worker. Whether or not he has been dishonest is open to debate.

Remember to maintain a professional environment and lead by example.

Regards,
Tresa

From India, Madras
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In my opinion, dishonesty of any degree must not be tolerated and should be addressed. However, the way it is addressed is of prime importance to your company. The entire process must be carefully planned and thought through; there is no room for clumsy handling of such a grave issue.

When you say the employee is hardworking, it is evident that he already has some work ethics in place. A professional probe into the reasons for his dishonesty, confrontation with evidence, and defining a timeframe by when he must prove himself otherwise in the course of his duty may help channelize his intelligence towards becoming a successful overall performer.

However, after having tried all of the above, if the employee still fails to deliver, no matter how productive and capable he may be, you definitely would have to show him the door. Your action on the matter would not be sending down wrong signals to the rest of the employees; rather, your inaction would cost your company a great deal of harm in the long term.

This is a sensitive issue, and I am glad you have turned to a forum for advice and guidance. We wish you all the best as you manage this issue tactfully.

From Pakistan, Karachi
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Dear Mr. Ajay,
With reference to your query posted in citehr, please answer the following questions and hope this will help you to solve your issue.
1) In what sense you had declared one of your employee as DISHONEST.
2) Is he one of the reason for your organisation incurring any kind of loss?
3) Did he try to demotivate your employees?
4) Did he deny to execute or carry on his roles and responsibilities in time?
5) Did you had discussions trying your best to counsel for a better change in his attitude, behaviour and nature?
6) Did you study are the factors associated with his DISHONESTY as pointed by you?
Please study your employee with a psychologist mindset and try your best to help to change by realizing his mistakes. We human's are not 100% perfect, as we do have some deficiencies which can be rectified.
With profound regards

From India, Chennai
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I think you can also try this: if you initiate a disciplinary enquiry against him, it will be a process of introspection on his part which may improve his behavior. Then you can give him a minor punishment and still retain him.

Thank you.

From India, Pune
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Hi,

Dishonesty (or honesty) is a subjective matter, as we often encounter integrity issues regularly. Gone are the days when honesty was seen as a binary trait - a person was either honest or not.

When assessing your current business situation and continuity, it is important to consider various factors. Let me recount a specific incident from my professional experience:

I was appointed as the superior of a long-time employee (who had a close relationship with the CEO) upon the recommendation of another board member. I recommended the dismissal of a deceitful employee who was accepting money from job candidates, and the board member supported my decision. Subsequently, peculiar events began unfolding behind my back, leading me to resign within three months. It later came to light that the long-time employee was backing the dishonest individual and turned the CEO against me in a battle I ultimately lost.

My advice, therefore, is as follows: If you are an employee within the organization, report the issue to the appropriate authorities (remember to present only factual information) and let them handle the situation. Conversely, if you are the owner, terminate the dishonest individual after verifying the facts to ensure they were not framed.

I hope this guidance proves useful.

Regards,

K. Raajaram

From India, Bangalore
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Dear Mr. Raaja Ram,

I truly appreciate your life experiences because I have experienced a similar one. I regret to say that, those (not everyone but in particular) who claim to be honest, loyal, committed, dedicated employees, etc., are found to be dishonest. Such employees are engaged in buttering up bosses and nodding their heads all the time, stating as if they agree with everything. These are the employees who are held responsible for leading their bosses astray, eventually becoming stronger, stubborn, and adamant.

Indeed, such things are happening in organizations because most businesses do not give scope for ethics, and the business owners only believe in making profits. If one follows ethics, there is no room for such a person to be a part of that business process. Good Luck.

With profound regards


From India, Chennai
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Assuming that you have cross-checked his honesty credentials thoroughly and have come to the conclusion that he is dishonest, you should take immediate action against him as per the prevailing practice in your organization. Tolerating dishonesty would spread a negative message to other employees. As the saying goes, "nobody is indispensable," and you have to make alternate arrangements to train someone else. His superior should assist the new person until he is fully trained.
From India, Bangalore
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Dear Ajay,

There is no scope for any leniency in matters relating to integrity. If the issue is related to integrity, there must not be any second thought about taking firm and immediate action, as any delay would only be viewed as a lack of resolve on the part of management even in such grave issues, and no management can afford that. So, in my opinion, take quick, firm action. Losing a good worker is always a bad situation, but you have to draw a line somewhere. Only make sure that you have full irrefutable evidence of his dishonesty; else, you may be making a grave mistake.

Best Wishes,
Shalabh Capoor

From India, Delhi
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Hi Ajay,
Call the dishonest worker in your private room and instruct all other staff members not to come into your room for about half an hour. Than ask the person why is he behaving in such a manner..is he not satisfied by behavior of Top Management as Top Management many times tells lies to Employees. If this is the case then the worker is not dishonest .. Dishonest is the Top Management..and Top Management should change their attitude if they really want to succeed..

From India, Raurkela
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Dear,

Dishonest activities have exhaustive meaning:

1) An employee arrives at office at 9.00 a.m. and signing the attendance as if he arrived at 8.30 is dishonest

2) An employee (payroll executive) marking “present” - intentionally - to favour his colleague who is actually on leave

3) An employee writes Rs.60/- towards auto charges in his conveyance sheet where he actually spent Rs.45/-

4) An employee submits a forged pay-slip (from his previous employer) in order to push for more bargaining

5) An employee submits bogus lodging bill or corrects bill to claim more money from company

6) Selling scrap material without the knowledge of the organization and making money out of it.

7) HOD sabotaging with sub contractor and allows him to submit bills for the jobs which never been carried out

The list goes on like this…

Issues like the ones above, are dishonest actions by an employee.

Take for example, the first one. No one can deny punching different time in the attendance is wrong. But this actually will not call for dismissal. However, other activities seem to be serious and when you travel down, you would find other actions are more serious in nature.

I assume the person you stated falls somewhere below in the above list.

Then, if I were in your position, I would show him the way. It is matter of attitude. Whatever position he holds, however skilled he may be, if he is proved to have done something like 5,6,7, he deserves no mercy.

No one in the organization is indispensable. If your production / process is going to suffer, you must be prepared for it. What would you do, if the same employee decides to quit or something UNEXPECTED thing happened to him. What would you do in such situation? If your production is going to be affected if you sake him, means you failed to develop second layer responsibility. This can happen in any department.

Being a “Star performer” or “Super performer” does not give him clean chit. If you do this, it is going to send wrong signal to others and they would also follow such things and get away with it.

I know in an automobile giant a Quality Control Inspector having put 33 years of service in the company (in 1986) , had to lose his job (and huge terminal benefits), when he was caught red handed carrying a gum bottle (worth Rs.2.00 ) at the security gate.

You would have read articles in LLR wherein a bus conductor collected Rs.1.50 from a passenger and failed to issue ticket, was caught during vigilance checking. Corporation terminated him and higher forums and courts ruled and justified management's action.

People who engaged in such activities lose “confidence” of management. It is always assumed that such people would have been practicing this for quite some time and caught on one particular day. It is a question of his integrity and credibility.

If I were in your position, I would have shown him the way. You decide whether you need to retain him, or otherwise.

Thanks,

V. Balaji

From India, Madras
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Dear Ajay,

You have to find out whether the employee has been dishonest since the very beginning or at some later date. In case he became dishonest from a later date, it is a matter of great concern. In the latter case, please go into the reasons for the person getting into dishonesty. In such a case, you have to take him, his superior, and colleagues into confidence in a very tactful way and try to solve issues generic to this nature.

If the employee is dishonest otherwise, please check if this is an opinion or a conclusion based on some material facts. In case it is an opinion, then whose opinion - whether of his superior or what? Try to find out the basis, adjudicate the same yourself and if the same is found without a base, please try to convince the concerned that the opinion is without a base (as per your findings) and the same merits to be reviewed lest it affects the morale of the employee concerned and his output. Watch if things are going positively on the part of the opinion makers so as to take remedial measures, if necessary.

If there are relevant facts supporting the contention of one being found dishonest, please collect relevant information with full facts spread over a fairly reasonable time and confront the employee on a one-to-one basis tactfully. Try to impress upon him your appreciation of his being a very good worker and that some of his actions do not align well with his performance. There is an ample requirement for the employee concerned to correct else he may lose his job disgracefully, which will, on one hand, affect his reputation while on the other hand, be harmful to his family's well-being. If he leaves the job in the existing company, the other company may look to the existing company for a reference check on him, which will again hurt him. After this counseling, give him a reasonable time to correct, observe his work and conduct. In case there is still no improvement, it will be prudent to take suitable action to address the issue.

Regards,

S.K. Johri

From India, Delhi
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Dear all, Having seen the responses of all, I would like to add the following:

1. Dishonesty has to be clearly defined from your organization's point of view. For example, misunderstanding of communication, misinterpretation, and wrongful practice of company policies. These are all areas where there is a scope of viewing the action or understanding of the other side as dishonest.

2. Fraud, theft, sabotage, damage to the property, intentional acts causing punitive loss, passing of business formulas to people unconnected to the business, misappropriation of company assets, properties, misleading people for private interests and against the company interests. These are all areas where the laws are clearly in favor of the employer. What is required in this context is clear proof before the law when the decision for termination is challenged from the worker's side. If the person is in management, there is no question of any laws.

If you are an HR person, by now there should have been a proper inquiry or investigation quickly done.

Take a bold call with a clear professional approach. I appreciate the views expressed by Mr. Shaik Abdul Khadir.

Regards, V. Rangarajan.

From India, Pune
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I have following questions 1. What makes ou say he is dishonest? 2. Are you his direct boss or or you from HR? 3. How do you assess he is intelligent? T Sivasankaran
From India, Chennai
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