Are you familiar with this scenario?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supervisor walks into your office and says, \u201cI have talked to [fill in the name] numerous times about being late, missing deadlines, incomplete work, etc. and I\u2019m just \u2018done\u2019 with [fill in the name]. Can I fire [fill in the name]?\u201d You then ask, \u201c May I see your documentation addressing the issues and how you have tried to help [fill in the name]?\u201d Silence \u2014 followed by \u201cWe just discussed it because I didn\u2019t want to be confrontational. So, I don\u2019t have documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I bet you nodded your head in agreement the whole time saying, \u201cI can\u2019t let you terminate [fill in the name] without proper documentation.\u201d Followed by a lengthy discussion about helping the supervisor document interactions with [fill in the name].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supervisors are rarely happy with this answer. But supervisors need to understand that without documentation, an employee can claim that he or she was never warned and had no idea there was any problem with their performance.<\/strong> [1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Without documentation, workplace decisions (including termination) are difficult to explain and defend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Documentation, however, is one of the easiest issues for managers to do. You can train them to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supervisors often think that documentation is busy work meant to protect themselves and their employer if an employee files a lawsuit. But it also shows<\/a> the steps we\u2019ve taken to help someone be successful. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Documentation is important for decision making \u2013 it records all performance incidents, both negative and positive for your employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there is a lawsuit, your thorough documentation shows an employment decision based on facts <\/strong>where you addressed performance issues with the employee rather than another reason (such as illegal discrimination<\/a>).[3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n You want your employees to be successful. If they don\u2019t know there\u2019s a problem with their performance, how can they make corrections? Documenting that you communicated the issue with the employee shows you made efforts to help them improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Documentation should be written during or immediately after talking to the employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not every action requires a formal meeting with a written warning. It\u2019s okay to document informal talks. Just because an action doesn\u2019t justify a formal meeting and a written warning or is the first incident doesn\u2019t mean don\u2019t document. Just put a simple note<\/strong> in the file that says, \u201cI talked with [fill in the name] today about arriving at 9:30 am instead of when expected at 8:45 am. I reminded [fill in the name] to contact _________ before the shift if there is an issue.\u201d The talk is now memorialized in the moment and supports later written warnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember to be specific.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If they refuse to sign, ask another manager to witness that the employee received the document but declined to sign it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And. . . be specific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means you provide specific examples, dates, times, impacts.<\/strong> For example, don\u2019t say and then document, \u201cyou\u2019re always late.\u201d Tell them and document the day you are talking about and give the time they are supposed to be at work and the time arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there was a rule or policy violation, tell them what it was.<\/strong> Make sure you give them a copy of the written standard and include a copy of it with your documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let an employee know how you can help them. Outline any training and support that is available. This includes contact information and an offer to be available to them if there are questions about meeting expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thorough documentation helps<\/p>\n\n\n\n Document, Document, Document!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next time you ask, \u201cIs it documented?\u201d I hope you hear, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Disclaimer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This article shouldn\u2019t be construed as legal advice. If you have detailed questions, they should be addressed directly with your labor and employment attorney.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.employmentlawinsights.com\/2019\/01\/i-should-have-written-that-down-5-quick-tips-for-documenting-employee-issues\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/resourcesandtools\/hr-topics\/employee-relations\/pages\/performance-documentation.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/discrimination-type<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Supervisor walks into your office and says, \u201cI have talked to [fill in the name] numerous times about being late, missing deadlines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,13],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-procesos","tag-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.smartscreeningpr.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why Document<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Document<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Reminder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One last thing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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