How to Handle a Top Performer Who Sends Sarcastic Emails: Seeking Disciplinary Advice

Hi colleagues, I would like to seek your expert view on a case where an employee is an excellent performer at the company. However, he has a significant problem with arguing frequently with some seniors in other departments. He has a habit of writing sarcastic, unnecessarily dramatic, and scathing emails even for minor issues. Despite being advised many times that inter-department communication should not be used to launch such aggressive attacks on colleagues from other departments, he continues to do so. This behavior not only gives him a reputation for being a difficult colleague to work with but also affects the enthusiasm of service providers working with him.

Despite the many warning emails issued to him by his immediate boss, he continues to engage in this misconduct repeatedly. While we recognize that he is a good performer, he is also expected to adhere to some basic code of conduct as an employee.

In this context, can you please suggest possible disciplinary actions that can be taken against him? Although he is a good performer, we do not want to lose him.

Looking forward to your expert views. Thank you.

"A good performer has been rubbing his/her colleagues the wrong way." This issue has been discussed on this forum time and again. To provide a quick reply, it can be said that there cannot be a trade-off between "good performance" and "haughtiness."

So far, you have taken steps of positive discipline. However, it appears that these are not working. Therefore, it is time to move on to negative discipline. Give him a show-cause notice and ask him to explain why, in spite of several reminders to correct his behavior, he has failed to do so. If the reply is not satisfactory, then award him a suitable punishment. However, do not just settle the matter with a mere warning letter as it will have no impact on him.

Your fears about losing a good-performing employee are unfounded. If he quits, someone else will join. You should be capable of recruiting a star performer as his replacement. Possibly he is also under the notion that overall the company is over-reliant on him, and he is indispensable. Call him to your office and give a veiled threat that the price of his incorrigibility could be termination of employment with negative remarks on his "Service-cum-Experience Letter." With this kind of experience letter, where will he stand?

A healthy interpersonal environment in the company is sine qua non. Those who vitiate the interpersonal environment must be dealt with sternly; else, it could degrade the general morale, and once the damage is done, it will have a huge cost.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Balancing Performance and Conduct

You cannot have the cake and eat it too. But, as Dinesh said, you can have another piece of cake, a star performer, if you address the issue now! Moreover, if you compromise, this will result in damage to the morale of others who feel insulted by this star performer.

There is a common perception that a good performer is always in the good books of management, and whatever he does, even if it damages the harmony of the organization, management will protect him. You should change this perception. Treat him like any other employee when it comes to issues related to the decorum of the organization.

Regards, Madhu.T.K

Initiating Disciplinary Proceedings for Misconduct

If he is committing any misconduct as per your standing order, the model standing order, or any act considered misconduct according to the terms of employment, then you can definitely initiate disciplinary proceedings against him. Please note that before starting a domestic inquiry, ensure the management does its homework properly by gathering irrefutable evidence against the employee that can be proven in the inquiry.

As you mentioned that the employee sends sarcastic emails, on the other hand, the employee may claim that he had actually stated the facts. Therefore, the management needs to decide whether they can prove any charges or not.

Regards