SafeRide Accountability Guidelines

The goal of the SafeRide Accountability Guidelines is to provide a workplace environment that will help SafeRide improve as a program, hold our staff accountable, and keep our riders safe. These guidelines provide a predictable, structured professional environment, where expectations are clear and ambiguities are kept to a minimum. SafeRide employs a progressive system of strikes, warnings, and offense levels for violations of policy. 

The purpose of the SafeRide Accountability Guidelines is to change behavior by communicating to employees the impacts their behaviors have and providing coaching to help the employee improve. It is progressive because the consequences increase in severity as behaviors continue or the employee fails to meet performance expectations. Students will always be afforded the opportunity to explain their behaviors and circumstances verbally and/or in writing.

Outline of Progressive Steps

SafeRide’s accountability process has five steps. These steps are:

1. Informal Coaching

2. Verbal warning

3. Written warning

4. Final warning/Probation

5. Termination

Each step will be communicated to the employee through written communication from the Coordinator. This communication will include which step of the SafeRide Accountability Guidelines the behavior warrants, the impact of the behavior, corrective actions to address the behavior, and a reminder of the employee's expectations.

The accountability process may begin from a different step or skip steps, depending on the severity of an employee’s behavior and at the discretion of the Coordinator

Explaining each step

Step 1: Informal Coaching - This conversation is more educational for both parties. The Coordinator will provide feedback to the student employee, offer help, and discuss how to support the staff member in changing their behavior. The Coordinator and the employee will discuss any mitigating factors that may be contributing to the behaviors or offer context for the behaviors and explore how these factors can be addressed. Coaching will also make the students aware of future steps if no improvement is seen.

If the employee has another/an intermediate offense within an academic year, step 2 takes effect.

Step 2: Verbal Warning - While this step may be called a verbal warning, it will also be followed up with written documentation. The verbal warning lets the employee know the Coordinator has not seen significant improvement and officially puts the employee on notice of their problematic performance. The Coordinator will provide the employee with a copy of the policy they violated, documentation of the issue, an explanation of the impact, and an explanation of the accountability process. The Coordinator will continue to provide the employees with professional coaching.

If the employee has another/an intermediate offense within an academic year, step 3 takes effect.

Step 3: Written Warning - The employee receives a formal written reprimand with appropriate documentation including the policy they violated, documentation of the issue, and its impact. The Coordinator will explain the accountability process, provide more specific coaching, advice, and discuss the potential consequences should performance not improve.

If the employee has another/an intermediate offense within an academic year step 4 will take effect

Step 4: Final Warning/Probation - Employees will be called in for a formal disciplinary meeting with the Coordinator. They will have the chance to explain themselves and the Coordinator will explain the impacts the behavioral incidents have had on the staff, riders, and the SafeRide program. The Coordinator will clarify that this is the final step before an employee is terminated.

If the employee has another/an intermediate offense within an academic year and/or their behavior is not immediately corrected step 5 will take effect.

Step 5: Termination - Employees who continue to violate SafeRide policies, either voluntarily or involuntarily, by this stage will be terminated.

Explanations of Offenses

Levels of Offenses:

1. Minor

2. Intermediate

3. Major

Minor Offenses are remedial in nature and should be addressed through coaching. Examples of these types of infractions include, though are not limited to:

• Failure to abide by dress code.

• Inappropriate language, behavior, or conversations while on shift.

• Arriving late for a scheduled shift without notifying the Coordinator and/or Nightly Operations Leaders (dependent on the circumstances surrounding the situation).

Intermediate Offenses are more serious in nature and require more direct action by the Coordinator to minimize impact to SafeRide riders and staff. Actions will be determined by the severity of the offense, though all will come with documentation appropriate with the level in the SafeRide Accountability Guidelines. These types of infractions include, but are not limited to:

• Any third episode of a minor infraction where appropriate coaching and counseling failed to remedy behavior.

• Missing a shift for reasons other than those listed as “acceptable” in the SafeRide sick policy (dependent on the circumstances surrounding the situation).

• Inappropriate language, behavior, or conversations while on duty (depending on the circumstances surrounding the situation).

• Insubordination to any member of the Leadership Team or hostility to staff.

  • Hostility is defined as words or actions that negatively or severely impacts another employee’s ability to complete their work

• Failure to meet the minimum shift requirements each month.

Major Offenses are considered a serious safety hazard, an obvious inability to work as part of a team, and/or putting oneself or others at risk of injury. Actions will be determined by the severity of the offense, though all will come with documentation appropriate with the level in the SafeRide Accountability Guidelines and may result in more serious consequences including immediate termination of employment. Examples of these include, but are not limited to:

• Failure to arrive for a scheduled shift, staff meeting, or training without notifying the Coordinator.

• Failure to maintain required certifications.

• Gross insubordination or directed hostility to any member of the Leadership Team or staff.

• Serious inability to perform the duties of the job for which you are employed.

• Failure to report any serious safety violation by staff or riders.

• Showing up for work under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

• Violence of any kind, unless in self-defense or the defense of other staff or riders.