Tips On How To Respond To A Warning Letter From Your Employer

By Lilian Wamaitha

Termination sucks! But before termination, there are those critical warning signs that tell you that your job is at risk.

Before an employer terminates you, they will send you a warning(s) either written or verbally. It’s not the most admirable thing but when this happens, you need to know how to respond to a warning letter without compromising your job further.

So before you are shown the door, how do you ensure that you still remain relevant in the company?

How do you react to a warning letter from your employer?

Do you boil over and make everything worse blaming every one for your ordeal or do you accept your mistakes and plan a way to move forward.

Let’s look then at how you respond to a warning letter with dignity.

Before we go to the details of how to respond to a warning letter, it is good to note that you have a right as an employee to respond to a warning letter in any organization.

Tips on How To Respond To A Warning Letter

Your employer has sent you a warning letter stating that they are unhappy with your performance. You do not want to lose your job since it’s the only thing you have got going. The only thing you can do is think of all those bills you haven’t paid yet and how termination will force you to go back to the village, something you dread.

Before you do anything drastic, let’s look at a few tips on how to respond to a warning letter.

1. Compose yourself before you respond

You are tensed because this is a sign that you might be jobless soon. Compose yourself before you respond. Read the letter over and over again because in the spur of the moment you might misinterpret some things and end up making more of a mess than it already is. You can still turn the situation around.

What is your boss’s reason for sending you that letter? Why is he not happy with you? Is something you can work on or the situation is too dire that you need to start sending applications?

A warning letterer is not a death sentence. It’s scary, yes, but, you just have to pick up the pieces and think about how to get on your boss’s good books once more.

2. Avoid being defensive

Unless your boss is one of the horrible bosses we have around, they can’t just send you a warning letter maliciously just because they want you to leave. There has to be something you have done or haven’t done recently that has warranted that warning letter. In that case, while responding avoid being defensive.

Accept your wrongs without getting defensive. This is the moment you also make it stick that you are loyal to the company and there is nowhere else you would rather be. This is not the time to reply to your boss by stating all the things you are not happy about in the company, including that the company does not provide lunch for its employees.

3. Respond in writing

As I stated before, you have a right to respond to a warning letter. Acknowledge you mistakes and include your version of the events that led you to making those mistakes. Explain also how you plan to make amends. It is good at this point to also request a meeting with your boss to discuss the issue further.

4. Keep the matter private and act with respect

This is not the time to gossip about the letter while placing the blame on others. Instead carry yourself with dignity and respect. You will only add salt to injury if you go gossiping about the issue.

You can ask questions where it’s not clear, it’s better than gossiping and blaming others for what are obviously your short comings.

5. Try and fix your mistakes

The next thing that comes after a warning letter is a dismissal in most cases if you still continue with the trend that invited the warning letter in the first place. Instead of waiting for a termination, you can try to fix your mistakes.

This will show your good will for the company as well as restore the broken relationship with your boss.

6. Get back into the job market

Worst case scenario, you have received too many warnings and the next thing on your boss’s to do list is drafting your termination letter. Before that happens, consider a dignified exit strategy. While you continue amending your mistakes, revamp your CV in the best way possible and start applying for other jobs. You never know, this maybe a case of you overstaying your welcome and they need someone fresh for the position.

You may have received a warning letter in the past and you didn’t know what to do about it or you may be struggling with what to do with the one that was just handed to you. Use these tips on how to respond to a warning letter to determine the best way forward.

The worst thing that can happen is being told to pack up and leave. However you still have a chance to make amends by replying to the warning letter without making the situation worse.

Lilian is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email; lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke