When broken
When a rule is broken
The half nobody writes about, and the half that determines whether any of the rules exist.
Finding Out
Breaches of the policy come to light in four ways, and three of them depend on somebody choosing to say something.
The First Conversation
Ten minutes that determine whether this becomes a process. Most matters should end here and most organisations do not have this conversation at all.
Grading What Happened
Six kinds of thing get called a policy breach. Deciding which before proposing an outcome is the step that keeps responses proportionate.
The Workaround, Which Is Most of Them
The largest category of policy breach by a wide margin, and the one where treating it as misconduct guarantees a repeat.
Proportionate Responses
The range is wider than the two options organisations actually use, and the middle is where most matters belong.
Consistency, and the Record That Proves It
The ground on which outcomes are most often overturned, and the record that answers it is one somebody has to decide to keep.
When It Is Serious
A small number of matters are genuinely grave. Recognising them early and handling them differently is what keeps the ordinary ones ordinary.
The Person Who Reported It
Someone raised it. What happens to them determines whether anybody raises the next one, and most organisations do nothing at all.