Corrective action is the process the supervisor begins when an employee’s performance or conduct is first identified as needing improvement. Normally, the first step in corrective action is bringing the issue to the employee’s attention (counseling), and suggesting ways to “correct” the problem (corrective action plan). This first step is informal and may or may not result in a memo confirming the counseling. However, if a written memo confirming the counseling is not issued to the employee, the supervisor should still retain some written evidence that the counseling session occurred (e.g., a note in the supervisory drop file).

Examples of informal “corrective action plans” you may suggest in these initial discussions for performance problems might be:

• proofread your documents before submission
• review procedures daily
• attend training class in Word

Examples of informal “corrective action plans” for conduct problems might be:

• have no more than 2 unscheduled absences over the next 3 months
• attend a course on dealing with difficult people

The intent of corrective action is to assist employees in correcting their performance and/or conduct to meet expectations. Corrective action includes verbal counseling, written counseling memos, corrective action plans, letters of warning, leave restriction letters, and letters of reprimand. For performance problems, performance evaluations may also be considered corrective action.