Good Employees Get Promoted. Bad Managers Get Created.
Most managers were promoted because they were great individual contributors — not because they were trained to lead, manage performance, conduct difficult conversations, or recognize when a situation requires HR involvement.
The result: inconsistent treatment, undocumented decisions, complaints handled wrong, and terminations made without process. Every one of those is a liability. And unlike a one-off compliance error, manager behavior creates a pattern — which makes it far more expensive to defend.
- Inconsistent discipline applied across employees of different demographics
- Harassment complaints handled by the same manager being accused
- Terminations without documentation — “we just knew it wasn’t working”
- Retaliation claims when managers punish employees who filed complaints
- ADA and FMLA accommodation requests that managers handle on their own
How Catapult Solves It
We build the training, processes, and guardrails that turn inconsistent managers into your company’s first line of legal defense.
Manager Training Programs
Live and on-demand training covering employment law basics, documentation standards, performance conversations, accommodation requests, and when to escalate to HR.
Performance Documentation Standards
Templates, timelines, and coaching protocols that create a defensible record before a termination — not after an attorney gets involved.
Disciplinary Process Design
Progressive discipline frameworks with clear standards, required documentation, and consistent application protocols that hold up under EEOC scrutiny.
Workplace Investigation Support
When a complaint is filed, Catapult provides investigation guidance or conducts the investigation — with documented findings that protect you regardless of outcome.
Harassment Prevention Programs
Interactive training and policy reinforcement built around the EEOC’s current standards — not a checkbox video from 2015.
HR Hotline for Managers
Direct access to certified HR advisors for real-time situation guidance — so managers don’t have to guess when something escalates unexpectedly.
What Our Clients Say
“We had a manager handling a harassment complaint completely wrong. Catapult stepped in immediately, guided us through a proper investigation, and helped us document everything correctly. We avoided what could have been a very expensive situation.”
“After our manager training program, the number of HR escalations actually went down. Not because things were being hidden — but because managers knew how to handle situations at the right level. That’s the outcome we wanted.”
What Manager Mistakes Actually Cost
The exposure from untrained management is financial, legal, and cultural.
EEOC Charges
Average resolution of an EEOC discrimination charge costs $125,000+ including legal fees, settlement, and internal HR time — even for charges that don’t proceed to litigation.
Wrongful Termination Claims
Undocumented terminations make it impossible to demonstrate legitimate cause. Settlements average $40,000–$350,000 depending on state and circumstances.
Retaliation Liability
Retaliation is the #1 charge filed with the EEOC — and it’s often a manager’s instinctive reaction, not malicious intent. Without training, you can’t prevent what managers don’t know is illegal.
Turnover from Bad Management
58% of employees leave because of their direct manager. That’s 50–200% of annual salary per departure — traceable directly to untrained leadership.
Backed by Ogletree Deakins Employment Attorneys
Catapult members have access to employment law guidance from Ogletree Deakins attorneys across all 50 states. When a manager situation escalates beyond HR, you have attorneys on call — without the surprise billing.
This means your HR team and your managers are always working with current legal guidance — not last year’s knowledge — on disciplinary processes, accommodation obligations, and investigation requirements.
Train Your Managers. Protect Your Company.
Your frontline managers make HR decisions every day — whether they realize it or not. Let’s make sure they’re making the right ones.