What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use that power wisely. ~Christopher Reeve

The accepted definition of supervisor is "an employee who supervises workers or the work done by others ." Any way you define it, the key part of the word is super. Supervisors must give superior effort to empower their employees to perform like superman.

All kidding aside, supervisors should be intimately involved in hiring, training, documenting performance, and deciding work assignments and disciplinary actions. If you are a supervisor, you should pull out your job description and bask in the glow of all the important, varied, detailed, and managerial roles you are asked to address. Now take a step back and realize that, while it may be tempting to delegate your most difficult employee problems to other departments, the buck starts and stops with you.

It is true that Human Resources (HR) and additional means are available to guide supervisors to the correct policies, laws, professional development opportunities, and procedures for most situations experienced in the business world. However, the supervisor, due to his/her immediate knowledge of their employees, is often called upon to assess employee performance, give feedback, and make recommendations on pay, promotion/demotion, and related issues. In other words, it becomes the job of a supervisor to give each employee under his/her direction a fair opportunity to perform superior work and then to communicate that employee's contribution to upper management.

Then, what does HR do?

HR should be contacted any time a supervisor has a question about job expectations, which policies apply, or how to handle the progressive stages of discipline. HR should not dictate the decisions made by a supervisor, but should advise as to whether the decisions proposed are supported and/or likely to be upheld if challenged. Most importantly, HR should be contacted immediately when an employee's job performance first raises concerns, not as a last stop on the road to termination.

Examples of when HR should be contacted:

  • an employee is not performing up to expectations after appropriate training and initial feedback.
  • an employee has violated a significant rule.
  • the employee responds to a critique by filing a grievance.

While HR cannot, and should not, be required to solve all problems, any HR personnel worth his/her salt will be able (a) to guide supervisors to helpful policies and procedures and (b) to caution about traps for the unwary. HR's purpose in this process is to help identify the roadblocks and assist in timing and delivery of news about the employee's work.

So, why involve the lawyer, too?

Not every situation demands that a lawyer be consulted. However, attorneys can be instrumental in confirming that the supervisor's documentation (when reviewed two years later by an impaneled jury) provides proper support for the proposed action, by ensuring it shows a legitimate, non-discriminatory, non-retaliatory, consistent reason this remedy was initially suggested. This is what we employment lawyers live to do!

My advice is always to reach out to your attorney in these circumstances:

  • an employee has legal counsel,
  • the employee has threatened legal action, or
  • the employee is in a protected class or has engaged in protected activity in the recent past.

Conclusion

Supervisors have a tough job. It is understandable that a supervisor would be tempted to ask another department to make the hard decisions that come with the supervisory title. But the very nature of their leadership position provides supervisors with the best perspective to judge work and reasonable expectations for their employees.

So, I say to supervisors everywhere – embrace your challenges; thrive by creating an atmosphere of collaboration; strive to empower your employees to become their best selves; and make proper use of your HR and/or legal departments when facing terminations or other adverse actions.

Superman himself had to judge whether a highly-charged situation could be resolved through calm reason or super-strength. As his modern-day counterpart, supervisors must show the same wisdom, knowing that their strength comes from the team and tools available to aid, but not relieve, them of their responsibilities in managing employees in the pursuit of the American dream.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.