Supervisory counseling with staff is an expected preliminary step prior to corrective action and should be conducted when a staff member has not adhered to the expected Standards of Conduct or when a supervisor deems it necessary in order to bring a staff member's performance to an expected level.

Each supervisor has the responsibility of counseling his or her staff to try to modify behavior and to administer corrective action when appropriate. All corrective actions must be documented.

The following principles apply to supervisory counseling actions at Duke:

• The standards of conduct and performance should be communicated to each staff member in a variety of ways (i.e. through reviews of the Duke Staff Handbook and with regular discussions between the supervisor and the staff member).
• Standards of conduct and performance are reasonably related to the orderly, efficient, or safe operation of work at Duke or its entities, schools, or departments.
• A timely, fair, and objective review will always be completed before the decision to take corrective action is made.
• Consultation with the entity or department Human Resources representative and a representative of Staff and Labor Relations is required before implementing corrective action that involves a staff member’s conditions of employment or involuntary termination.
• Consultation with the entity or department Human Resources representative or a representative of Staff and Labor Relations is strongly encouraged for all other corrective actions.
• Initial and early performance discussions should occur between the staff member, supervisor, and Staff and Labor Relations. The supervisor should explain why the performance problem and/or counseling is occurring and should define the impact the problem is having on the staff member's department and/or coworkers.
• Supervisors should outline the steps necessary to correct performance and/or conduct deficiencies and should also document these steps using the Performance Improvement Plan document.
• Supervisors should schedule timely and regular follow up meetings for constructive feedback.
• Supervisors should ensure that when staff indicate that a health problem limits their performance, the staff member is advised of the availability of Employee Occupational Health & Wellness (EOHW), the Disability Management System, and/or Personal Assistance Service (PAS).
• Supervisors must ensure that all staff are encouraged to use employee assistance as an aid to improving or correcting performance and/or behavior.

If a staff member's work performance or behavior continues to need improvement or if a Duke policy has been violated, corrective steps should be taken to modify and improve behavior based on the nature and severity of the issue, the frequency with which the problem has occurred, and any extenuating circumstances.