A

"Absence or Absent (Unscheduled)"
From Susan M. Heathfield,

Definition:
The unscheduled time off from work that occurs when an employee is not present at work during a normally scheduled work period.

Absences are generally compensated when their frequency and rationale fall within the guidelines established in the organization's attendance policy. These compensated absences may depend upon certain required employee actions such as seeking permission for scheduled absences from work in advance, or calling in to report an unscheduled absence within organization timelines and expectations. Too many unscheduled absences can result in the termination of an employee’s employment. This is generally governed by the organization’s attendance policy.

"Absenteeism Policy"
From Susan M. Heathfield,

Definition:
A policy that provides guidance within an organization about how to manage the state of chronic absence from work. Absenteeism is usually addressed through progressively stricter disciplinary measures that can result in the termination of the individual's employment. This is generally governed by the organization’s attendance policy.

"Attendance"

Definition:The act or fact of attending (being present at) work. Also, is used to define the number of persons present at work.

Examples - Attendance: Rob had a wonderful work attendance record; he rarely missed a day. The attendance on first shift averaged only 75 percent on Mondays.

"Attendance Policy"

Definition: The guidelines and expectations for employee attendance at work as defined, written, disseminated, and implemented by an organization.

Also Known As: Attendance policy is sometimes used interchangeably with absenteeism policy. My view is that an attendance policy is much more narrowly defined and limited to attendance, as opposed to absenteeism policies which address absenteeism management issues and more.

Sample - Attendance Policy: No-Fault Point System: The goal of this attendance policy is to reward good attendance and eliminate people with poor attendance.

It uses a point system, and does not excuse or unexcuse absences.

Each absence = 1 point(no multi-day occurrences)
Each late in (tardy) or early out = 1/2 point
Each no-show for work = 2 points
Each return with no prior call = 1 point
Each absence-free quarter eliminates all points and rewards the employee with a day off with pay.
Each employee starts fresh, with no points, each year.
Disciplinary Action:

7 points = verbal warning
8 points = written warning
9 points = 3 day suspension
10 points = termination

C

"Counseling/Work Coaching"

Definition:
The first step in any effort to improve employee performance is counseling or coaching. (I primarily use the word "counseling" in this context, as the word "coaching," has become, in recent use, a much more specific type of counseling.) Counseling or work coaching is part of the day-to-day interaction between a supervisor and an individual who works in his or her work area, or a Human Resources professional and line organization staff members. Counseling often provides positive feedback about employee contributions. At the same time, regular counseling brings performance issues to an employee's attention when they are small, and assists the employee to correct them.

The goal of performance coaching is not to make the employee feel bad, or to show how much the HR professional or supervisor knows. The goal of counseling is to work with the employee to solve performance problems and improve the work of the employee, the team, and the department. There are six main steps in effective and supportive counseling or work coaching.

Show confidence in the employee's ability and willingness to solve the problem. Ask him or her for help in solving the problem.
Describe the performance problem. Focus on the problem or behavior that needs improvement, not the person. Ask for the employee's view of the situation.
Determine if issues exist that limit the employee's ability to perform the task or accomplish the objective. Four common barriers are time, training, tools, and temperment. Determine how to remove these barriers and add these actions to the overall plan.
Discuss potential solutions to the problem or improvement actions to take. Ask the employee for ideas on how to correct the problem, or prevent it from happening again. Offer your suggestions.
Agree on a written action plan that lists what the employee, the supervisor, and possibly, the HR professional, will do to correct the problem or improve the situation.
Set a date and time for follow-up. Determine if a critical feedback path is needed, so the supervisor knows how the employee is progressing on the plan. Offer positive encouragement and your confidence in the employee's competence to make the needed improvements.

D

"Discipline (Progressive Discipline)"
From Susan M. Heathfield,

Definition:
Progressive discipline is a process for dealing with job-related behavior that does not meet expected and communicated performance standards. The primary purpose for progressive discipline is to assist the employee to understand that a performance problem or opportunity for improvement exists.

The process features increasingly formal efforts to provide feedback to the employee so he or she can correct the problem. The goal of progressive discipline is to improve employee performance.

The process of progressive discipline is not intended as a punishment for an employee, but to assist the employee to overcome performance problems and satisfy job expectations. Progressive discipline is most successful when it assists an individual to become an effectively performing member of the organization.

Failing that, progressive discipline enables the organization to fairly, and with substantial documentation, terminate the employment of employees who are ineffective and unwilling to improve.

Typical steps in a progressive discipline system may include these.

Counsel the employee about performance and ascertain his or her understanding of requirements.

Ascertain whether there are any issues contributing to the poor performance, that are not immediately obvious to the supervisor. Solve these issues, if possible.

Verbally reprimand the employee for poor performance.

Provide a written verbal warning in the employee's file, in an effort to improve employee performance.

Provide an escalating number of days in which the employee is suspended from work. Start with one day and escalate to five.
End the employment of an individual who refuses to improve.

E

"Employee Involvement"
From Susan M. Heathfield,

Definition and Examples
Definition:
Employee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs.

Employee involvement is not the goal nor is it a tool, as practiced in many organizations. Rather, it is a management and leadership philosophy about how people are most enabled to contribute to continuous improvement and the ongoing success of their work organization.

My bias, from working with people for 40+ years, is to involve people as much as possible in all aspects of work decisions and planning. This involvement increases ownership and commitment, retains your best employees, and fosters an environment in which people choose to be motivated and contributing.

How to involve employees in decisionmaking and continuous improvement activities is the strategic aspect of involvement and can include such methods as suggestion systems, manufacturing cells, work teams, continuous improvement meetings, Kaizen (continuous improvement) events, corrective action processes, and periodic discussions with the supervisor.

Intrinsic to most employee involvement processes is training in team effectiveness, communication, and problem solving; the development of reward and recognition systems; and frequently, the sharing of gains made through employee involvement efforts.

Employee Involvement Model
For people and organizations who desire a model to apply, the best I have discovered was developed from work by Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) and Sadler (1970).

They provide a continuum for leadership and involvement that includes an increasing role for employees and a decreasing role for supervisors in the decision process. The continuum includes this progression.

Tell: the supervisor makes the decision and announces it to staff. The supervisor provides complete direction.

Sell: the supervisor makes the decision and then attempts to gain commitment from staff by "selling" the positive aspects of the decision.

Consult: the supervisor invites input into a decision while retaining authority to make the final decision herself.

Join: the supervisor invites employees to make the decision with the supervisor. The supervisor considers her voice equal in the decision process.
To round out the model, I add the following.

Delegate: the supervisor turns the decision over to another party.

"Employee Empowerment"
From Susan M. Heathfield,

Definition and Examples
Definition: Employee Empowerment
Empowerment is the process of enabling or authorizing an individual to think, behave, take action, and control work and decision making in autonomous ways. It is the state of feeling self-empowered to take control of one's own destiny.

When thinking about empowerment in human relations terms, try to avoid thinking of it as something that one individual does for another. This is one of the problems organizations have experienced with the concept of empowerment. People think that "someone," usually the manager, has to bestow empowerment on the people who report to him.

Consequently, the reporting staff members "wait" for the bestowing of empowerment, and the manager asks why people won't act in empowered ways. This led to a general unhappiness, mostly undeserved, with the concept of empowerment in many organizations.

Think of empowerment, instead, as the process of an individual enabling himself to take action and control work and decision making in autonomous ways.

Empowerment comes from the individual.

The organization has the responsibility to create a work environment which helps foster the ability and desire of employees to act in empowered ways. The work organization has the responsibility to remove barriers that limit the ability of staff to act in empowered ways.

Also Known As:
Employee involvement and participative management are often used to mean empowerment. They are not really interchangeable.

Examples
The manager of the Human Resources department added weeks to the process of hiring new employees by requiring his supposedly "empowered" staff members to obtain his signature on every document related to the hiring of a new employee.

John empowered himself to discuss the career objectives he wished to pursue with his supervisor. He told his supervisor, frankly, that if the opportunities were not available in his current company, he would move on to another company.

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Simge Velipaşalar