Corrective Action Examples in the Workplace: A Guide for HR Professionals

The workplace, whether remote or in-person, is a humming hive of productivity. With employees managing different workloads and responsibilities, it’s essential that everyone understands appropriate behavior in various situations. In addition to a code of conduct, performance standards and a corrective action plan can guide employees and address issues as they arise. While no team is perfect, having clear corrective action measures in place can reduce the impact of misconduct, performance lapses or safety concerns.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about corrective action in the workplace — sharing examples, best practices and beyond.

TLDR: Corrective Action in the Workplace

• Corrective action improves workplace performance and safety: It addresses existing issues, prevents recurrence and can range from coaching and training to formal disciplinary measures.
• Corrective action plans provide structure and accountability: Clear steps, timelines, documentation and employee acknowledgment ensure consistency, legal compliance and measurable results.
• Effective feedback and root cause analysis are key: Deliver feedback privately, be specific, offer support and identify underlying issues to prevent repeated problems and strengthen team culture.

What is Corrective Action in the Workplace?

Corrective action is a term used when any work-related activities are undertaken to improve performance or to reduce the risk of harm in the workplace. This can include a range of things, such as employee training, disciplinary action and safety inspections. These actions can be part of a larger strategy, or they may be standalone actions that have been developed in response to an incident.

Corrective action can also be taken by employees themselves if they’re dissatisfied with their working conditions or if they feel unsafe at work. In these cases, employees might file a complaint with their employer and request a change in their work situation. Sometimes, this is referred to as “self-corrective action.”

What is the Goal of Corrective Action?

The underlying purpose of the corrective action itself is to prevent future incidents from occurring. Some people argue that it’s more important to focus on preventing harm than it is to focus on correcting past mistakes. However, some view corrective action as a necessary step in the process of learning from missteps and improving for the future. Nevertheless, it’s important for any organization to have an action plan in place that both proactively and reactively deals with appropriate corrective action in the workplace.

What’s the Difference: Corrective Action vs. Preventive Action

In employee relations, it’s important to understand the difference between corrective actions and preventive actions. Both are critical tools, but they serve different purposes:

• Corrective Action is reactive. It addresses an issue that has already occurred, aiming to fix the problem, hold parties accountable and prevent the same issue from recurring in the future. Common examples include performance improvement plans, formal warnings or coaching after a policy violation.
• Preventive Action is proactive. It seeks to anticipate potential problems and implement measures to avoid them before they happen. Examples include training programs, policy updates, process improvements and risk assessments.
• Your team should be using both corrective and preventive approaches. This ensures your organization not only addresses current issues effectively but also reduces the likelihood of future conflicts, contributing to stronger employee relations and a healthier workplace culture.

What is a Corrective Action Plan?

A corrective action plan is a document that outlines the steps to be taken when correcting an issue. Of course – and hopefully – each instance will be unique and non-repetitive, your human resources (HR) and employee relations (ER) team can draft a template to serve as a starting point for most cases. Corrective action plans are a way to document the status of a corrective action, as well as describe the measures for completing it. In many cases, this plan is created by human resources management and signed off by the affected employee(s).

Elements of a Corrective Action Plan

A common template for a corrective action plan includes the following elements:

• Purpose: This section should explain why you’re taking action. You can also include a description of what happened or why this is important, as well as the relevant policy that applies.

• Action Items: Here, you’ll list each action you’ll need to take in order to complete the corrective action. There are several ways you can structure this section. For example, you could note each step on a worksheet and check off each item as you finish it. Or, you could record each step and put them in chronological order depending on how long it will take you to complete each one.

• Timeline: This section shows when each step will be completed. You can include deadlines if there’s a specific time limit for completing the tasks. If you have multiple people working on these tasks, include their names and roles as well.

A corrective action plan is an important tool for quality management. The process of creating one doesn’t need to be complicated or arduous, but it’s important to have a plan in place to identify and fix any issues that may arise, for the health of your organization.

Legal Considerations of Corrective Action Plans

Corrective action plans have important legal implications. Proper documentation and implementation can help protect your organization from disputes and ensure compliance with employment laws.

1. Documentation and Evidence
A corrective action plan provides a formal record of the issue, steps taken and expectations for resolution. Thorough documentation can be crucial in defending against claims like wrongful termination or discrimination.

2. Compliance with Employment Laws
Corrective actions must comply with federal, state and local laws. This includes anti-discrimination statutes, wage and hour regulations and protected leave laws such as FMLA.

3. Consistency and Fairness
Applying corrective actions consistently helps reduce legal risk. Uneven treatment of employees or escalation without clear reasoning can lead to claims of unfair treatment.

4. Employee Acknowledgment
Employees should acknowledge the plan in writing to confirm they understand the expectations.

5. Confidentiality and Retaliation
Keep corrective actions confidential and avoid penalizing employees for reporting issues or participating in investigations. Retaliation can create significant legal liability.

How to Create an Effective Corrective Action Plan

Creating a corrective action plan doesn’t have to be complicated. Follow these steps to ensure your plan is clear, actionable and effective:

1. Identify and define the problem: First, clearly state what went wrong or what needs improvement. Be specific and factual.
2. Complete a root cause analysis: Determine the underlying reasons for the issue to ensure your solution addresses the source. This will help ensure you don’t just document the symptoms.
3. Create your action plan: Now, you’ll outline the steps required to correct the issue, assign responsibilities and set deadlines.
4. Implement the plan: Put the plan into action, ensuring all responsible parties understand their roles. (This is an especially important step!)
5. Watch and verify effectiveness: Track progress and confirm that the corrective actions are producing the desired results. Put your findings in one secure source of truth so referencing any findings in the future is easy.
6. Document to prevent recurrence and make necessary updates: Record the process and results, and consider changes to policies or training to prevent the issue from happening again.

This approach keeps your corrective actions focused, measurable and repeatable—setting the stage for successful outcomes.

Examples of Successful Corrective Action Plans

Not every corrective action plan is the same! Here are some corrective action examples in the workplace and how you as human resources or employee relations professionals can resolve similar matters in your organization. 

Performance-Based Corrective Action

It can be stressful for ER managers to speak with employees about how to improve their performance, but you can alleviate this anxiety by approaching staff casually and on a personal level. The most important thing that managers can do to help their employees is to point them in the right direction by providing constructive criticism and support. This will help them improve their skills, which, in turn, will lead to better performance and a higher level of engagement.

It’s vital for managers and employees to have a healthy relationship. When both parties are open with each other, it allows them to discuss any issues that might arise and come up with solutions together. Feedback should be given in a timely manner so that the employee can take action as soon as possible. It’s also meaningful that feedback is constructive instead of destructive so that the employee can learn from their mistakes instead of feeling defeated. You can also offer resources and learning opportunities to help them grow in their positions and within the organization.

Employee Behavior

The stress from a workload, differences of opinion and even trouble at home can all lead an employee to conduct themselves in less than ideal ways. Not only can hostile behavior lead to dissonance in the workplace, but it can impact the overall performance and productivity of the organization and escalate into a serious problem. Negative attitudes are extremely hard to deal with because they generally stem from deep-seated issues that need addressing.

To handle a negative or poorly behaved employee, stay calm and professional at all times. If you react too quickly or lose your cool, it will only reinforce their undesirable  behavior, making it more likely that they will continue the behavior in the future. Instead, take things one step at a time and focus on the task at hand. In time, this approach will prove more successful than reacting defensively or emotionally.

For many behavioral incidents that happen in the workplace, immediate corrective action needs to be taken in response to non conformity (failure to comply with a standard expectation of behavior) or potential non-conformance to prevent it from occurring again. It’s typically a short-term fix that’s put in place until a more permanent solution can be implemented.

Employee Misconduct

Having a code of conduct isn’t going to prevent instances of insubordination from happening in your organization. For those intentionally violating the code, such as by committing fraud, a piece of paper telling them not to do that isn’t enough to deter them. Having an understanding of the consequences and corrective action that will be taken will have a greater impact, especially if the misconduct is small, such as excessive absences.

The corrective action for employee misconduct in the workplace can vary depending on its nature and severity. There should be a clear outline of corrective action for specific acts of wrongdoing, such as no-warning dismissals for extreme misconduct or tier-based consequences based on the number of minor occurrences. For instance, if an employee has made one mistake, they may be given a warning or suspension; if they have made two mistakes, they may be put on probation; and if they have made three or more mistakes, then their employment will be terminated.

Business Process Inefficiencies

The distance between point A and point B – as in, the length of time it may take to complete a business operation – may be longer than managers think, and could be impacting output and productivity in the workplace. Your organization’s management team should be identifying and correcting inefficiencies in all business processes to increase efficiency, effectiveness and predictability.

It’s important to know that there are many reasons why a business process can be inefficient: It can be because of a lack of communication between departments, procedures might not be defined well enough or there may be too many people involved in the operation. The list goes on.

The only course of action is to review how each department completes specific tasks, how well they work together and whether there is a centralized system set in place to prevent silos and promote consistency. Continue to research new and innovative ways of conducting business and pinpoint whether a digital transformation could resolve weaknesses in your organizational operations. Offering continuous training and improvement resources to employees will ensure they adapt quickly and easily to changes in the workplace and don’t fall back into their old habits.

Safety Issues

Safety is one of the most important things to consider when working in any environment. However, certain industries are more prone to safety issues than others. For example, construction sites and mines are notorious for accidents and injuries. It’s important for employers to take steps to prevent safety problems before they occur and have a suitable corrective action plan for when they do happen.

The implementation of corrective actions isn’t enough to ensure the safety of employees. It’s also important to have a system in place that can monitor the ongoing situation and make sure that corrective actions are still effective.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has multiple laws and regulations that all workplaces in the US must follow. Many have to do with exit routes and emergency planning, occupational noise exposure and medical and first aid. These should be a starting point for proactively preventing safety issues. Mistakes and emergencies do happen — When it has become obvious that corrective action needs to be taken to promote a safer work environment, it’s important to respond quickly and find and resolve the problem promptly.

How to Deliver Corrective Action Feedback Effectively

Deliver corrective action feedback with clarity and impact by following these steps:

1. Prepare: Know the facts, examples and desired outcomes before the conversation. The first time you’re reading the corrective action plan shouldn’t be when you’re sitting down with the employee.
2. Choose Privacy: Hold the discussion in a private, neutral setting.
3. Be Specific: Focus on behaviors or performance, not personality. Use clear examples to demonstrate your points.
4. Set Expectations: Explain what needs to change, the timeline and potential consequences. The clearer the better.
5. Listen and Engage: The conversation shouldn’t be a monologue. Let the employee respond, ask questions and provide context.
6. Offer Support: Identify training, resources or guidance to help them succeed. You never want to tell someone to do something differently without providing next steps to improve.
7. Document: Summarize key points in writing for clarity and follow-up.

Keep feedback direct, fair and solution-focused. Remember: The end goal is improvement.

How to Identify the Root Cause of Workplace Problems

The goal of corrective action is to fix the underlying issue and prevent it from happening again. Finding the root cause isn’t always simple. Miscommunication is often the main culprit, leading to misunderstandings, conflict and low morale. However, without identifying the root cause, the issue will likely recur.

Encourage open conversations between employees and management. Casual check-ins, asking employees to share challenges and requesting regular feedback can prevent conflicts and build stronger relationships.

Sometimes the quickest solution works. For example, an example of a corrective action is addressing an employee leaving work early. If there’s a valid reason like childcare, offering flexible hours may resolve the problem.

If issues persist, investigate deeper. Look for patterns or management factors that may be contributing. A thoughtful corrective plan of action ensures problems are addressed at the source.

How HR Acuity Helps Strengthen Your Corrective Action Process in the Workplace

A well-executed corrective action plan isn’t just about addressing issues — it’s about building a culture of fairness, accountability and continuous improvement. Without proper documentation and consistency, organizations risk legal exposure and employee distrust.

HR Acuity’s solution ensures every corrective action is tracked, documented and managed with transparency. By centralizing case records, automating workflows and standardizing processes, ER and HR teams can implement corrective actions consistently while maintaining compliance and mitigating risk. With clear, defensible documentation, organizations can address issues proactively, mitigate risk and foster a more accountable workplace.

Empower your employee relations team with the tools to manage corrective actions the right way.

Ready to learn how we do it? Book a demo with our team today.