Newsletter – Documentation Hassles and How to End Them

If you are a leader, someone has probably advised you to document your staff’s behavior but….you are busy, it’s a hassle and you’re not convinced it’s that important.

Take it from a participant in one of our workshops who was sued three times by employees. Of course, we all want to learn from our mistakes so we asked him what he had learned. He said that he had learned not to ask: should I document this? because then the answer will frequently be no. Instead, he asks: if this happens again, will I wish I had documented it? Then the answer will almost always be yes.

“Consistent documentation proves consistent treatment.”

It’s easy to dismiss documentation as something that HR or legal is nagging you about, but if you do end up with some kind of complaint, the first thing the attorneys on the other side (as well as your own attorneys) will ask for is copies of whatever kinds of evaluations you have done, as well as any other forms of documentation. In order to prove that you were fair and consistent (which is most often the issue in employment cases) you have to provide the appropriate documentation. Consistent documentation proves consistent treatment.

In addition, documentation is more persuasive to the employee and helps you order your thoughts.