"Document, Document, Document."
Employment attorneys use that mantra all the time to stress how absolutely critical it is for supervisors to properly keep track of employee performance—both good and bad—before a lawsuit occurs.
In court, clear and specific documentation about an employee's performance or behavior can mean the difference between a quick employer victory and an expensive defeat.
Anyone reading your documentation should walk away knowing the who, what, where, when, how and most important, the why behind any decisions … and that you treated the employee consistently and fairly. Anything less and your documentation becomes Exhibit A for the employee in court.
Most managers avoid documenting discipline. That's because they lack the time (and the confidence) to compose well-structured write-ups. These smart strategies and customizable documentation templates are guaranteed to help you manage your progressive discipline policies and document even the most difficult discussions. Start tackling discipline head-on today!
Mistake 1: Surprise!
No employee should ever be surprised when he or she is terminated or disciplined for poor performance.
But, too often, the scenario goes like this: The manager has put Betty on super-secret probation for the past year—but never tells her about it. Finally, the manager decides enough is enough. He wants Betty terminated.
When HR reviews her personnel file before signing off, Betty's performance actually looks pretty good. HR asks the manager why the file doesn't reflect his true opinion. He says, "Well, she's sensitive, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings."
The resulting ambiguous documentation doesn't put the employee on notice—and it gives Betty reason to question the "real" reason she's being fired (discrimination perhaps?).
Tip: Your documentation must be direct, include specific expectations and the reasons the employee says she's not meeting those expectations. Keep a simple performance log for each worker, jotting down notes on performance—both good and bad.
Mistake 2: Using legally risky words
Documentation is black and white. When a judge, jury or plaintiff's attorney reads a manager's documentation, they can only go by what is written down.
Often, managers write absolute expressions such as "always" and "never," as in "Hillary never turns in her reports on time." In reality, however, that's rarely true. Using these types of absolutes without being 100% certain will undermine your credibility and hurt your case in court.
Tip: Choose your words carefully. Simply state the facts: "In the past three months, Hillary turned in weekly reports on time only once." This way, you're more accurate and take a more professional tone.
Join us Monday, October 17, for Documenting Employee Performance: Strategies and 101 Sample Write-Ups. You'll discover how to document and discuss employee discipline in the most clear, accurate and legally safe way possible.
Mistake 3: Lack of follow-up
Solid documentation must include regular follow-up discussions.
Example: A manager informs Bob about his performance deficiencies and gives him a step-by-step improvement plan. Documentation is solid up to this point. Unfortunately, Bob continues to struggle for the next six months. But the manager fails to document any follow-up conversations or efforts made to assist Bob. Now the manager wants to terminate Bob.
The problem: The documentation is incomplete. Any judge, jury or plaintiff's attorney will assume the manager put Bob on notice yet did nothing to ensure he was getting assistance.
Proper documentation would cite coaching sessions, Bob's stated reasons for not meeting his goals and efforts by the manager to help. Also, document that Bob knew he could be terminated if he didn't shape up.
Bottom line: At the end of the day, your documentation must be accurate, state the facts, include the employee's explanation and show all the efforts the manager made to help the employee succeed.
The legally safe way to document discipline
- Be consistent. Don't write up one person for a behavior that you ignore in other employees.
- Be specific. Example of poor documentation: "Employee was late twice in the past two weeks." Better: "Employee was 30 minutes late on Sept. 28; reason given: traffic. Employee was 45 minutes late on Oct. 4; reason given: overslept."
- Be clear and factual. Note the policy or procedure that was violated. Date the document, including the year.
- Avoid emotional content, including personal impressions ("I think …"), labels ("He's a whiner …"), adjectives ("very unproductive …") and drawing conclusions about the reasons ("It's probably because of her divorce").
- Ask the employee to sign and date the document if it's going into his or her personnel file. If the employee refuses to sign, note that on the document.
The webinar and book will help you: - Master progressive discipline and effectively structure terminations.
- Draft warnings, discipline and termination documents—the right way.
- Save time and remove the anxiety from the discipline-documentation process.
- Build confidence in your writing skills and improve your standing within the organization.
Shift responsibility for improvement away from the organization and back to the employee (where it rightfully belongs!).- Allow employees a chance to take ownership of their own performance improvement.
- Erect a legal barrier against wrongful termination lawsuits.
- Avoid the common mistakes employers make with their discipline policies and follow-through.
- Employ alternatives to formal disciplinary warnings, including letters of clarification and decision-making leaves.
- Discover how to use progressive discipline documents as a means to control performance, behavior and attendance problems … and cut costs.
Register today!
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