How Do You Handle a Hardworking Yet Dishonest Employee Without Losing Team Trust?

Hi Seniors, I am in a peculiar problem. One of our employees is a 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 lose a good worker. If I don't, his co-workers will take things for granted, as they have a clue that he is on my radar. Kindly advise.

Thanks & Regards,

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 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

As you are saying his performance is unquestionable, the sudden removal of such a person might create fear and job insecurity among other employees and will certainly adversely affect work productivity.

Addressing the Situation

If you can directly talk with him and explain that his fault was noticed but just ignored because of the contribution he has made to the organization, and if he stops these actions, he has good prospects in the organization. Make him understand the situation; it might work to some extent, but it surely does not mean that the problem is solved.

Steps to Take

- Give him a warning in mild words first.
- Observe him, and if despite your warning he continues the nuisance, then first issue a memo for the said purpose.
- If the problem continues, then nobody can question you if you terminate him.

But don't wait too long to talk with him and give him a chance to continue his nuisance in the organization.

Integrity and Probity in the Workplace

Integrity and probity are virtues that cannot be bartered with. If an individual uses their performance as a bargaining chip, 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 during Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's rule that 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.

Taking Firm Action Against Unethical Practices

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.

Regards,

Dinesh V Divekar

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

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

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

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.

Addressing Employee Dishonesty

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 channel 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.

With reference to your query posted in CiteHR, please answer the following questions. I hope this will help you solve your issue.

1. In what sense have you declared one of your employees as DISHONEST?
2. Is he one of the reasons for your organization incurring any kind of loss?
3. Did he try to demotivate your employees?
4. Did he refuse to execute or carry out his roles and responsibilities on time?
5. Have you had discussions trying your best to counsel him for a better change in his attitude, behavior, and nature?
6. Have you studied the factors associated with his DISHONESTY as pointed out by you?

Please study your employee with a psychologist's mindset and try your best to help him change by realizing his mistakes. We humans are not 100% perfect, as we do have some deficiencies which can be rectified.

With profound regards,
Regards

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.

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.

Assessing Business Situations and Continuity

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.

Advice for Handling Dishonesty in the Workplace

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

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

Assuming that you have cross-checked his honesty credentials thoroughly and have concluded 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 they are fully trained.

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

Hi Ajay,
Call the dishonest worker into your private room and instruct all other staff members not to come into your room for about half an hour. Then ask the person why he is behaving in such a manner. Is he not satisfied with the behavior of the Top Management, as Top Management many times tells lies to employees? If this is the case, then the worker is not dishonest. The dishonesty lies with the Top Management, and they should change their attitude if they really want to succeed.
Regards,

Understanding Dishonest Activities in the Workplace

Dishonest activities have an exhaustive meaning:

• An employee arrives at the office at 9:00 a.m. and signs the attendance as if he arrived at 8:30 a.m. This is dishonest.

• An employee (payroll executive) marking "present" intentionally to favor his colleague who is actually on leave.

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

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

• An employee submits a bogus lodging bill or alters a bill to claim more money from the company.

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

• An HOD sabotaging with a subcontractor and allowing him to submit bills for jobs that were never 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 that punching a different time in the attendance is wrong. However, this actually will not call for dismissal. Other activities seem to be more serious, and when you delve deeper, you will find other actions are more serious in nature.

I assume the person you mentioned falls somewhere lower on the above list.

If I were in your position, I would show him the way. It is a matter of attitude. Whatever position he holds, however skilled he may be, if he is proven to have done something like 5, 6, or 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 happens to him? What would you do in such a situation? If your production is going to be affected if you sack him, it means you failed to develop a second layer of responsibility. This can happen in any department.

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

I know of an automobile giant where a Quality Control Inspector, having put in 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 a ticket, was caught during vigilance checking. The corporation terminated him, and higher forums and courts ruled and justified the management's action.

People who engage in such activities lose the "confidence" of management. It is always assumed that such people would have been practicing this for quite some time and were 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

Dear Ajay,

Assessing Employee Dishonesty

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.

Evaluating Opinions and Facts

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.

Handling Confirmed Dishonesty

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

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.

I have the following questions:

1. What makes you say he is dishonest?
2. Are you his direct boss or are you from HR?
3. How do you assess that he is intelligent?

Regards,
T. Sivasankaran