In employee issues, it is common for many people to be involved in communication with and about an employee (Reliant staff, ministry or church staff, etc.). To ensure that leadership and HR are aware of the status of the issue, decisions made (or to be made), and any communication/conversation, appropriate documentation needs to occur. This documentation is not meant to replace any corrective action documents that would go into the Employee File. Rather, it is a summarized record of what has been done to address and resolve the employee issue.
Process
Any communication involving employee conduct (email, verbal, text, etc.) should be documented promptly (preferably immediately but within 24 hours).
Generally speaking, documentation should include the following:
- The date of the event and when the documentation was prepared. (They should be the same in most situations. Supervisors should always prepare their notes for file soon after the event took place.)
- A description of what was said. It is not necessary to quote verbatim. However, it is important to capture the key thoughts, who agreed to what, and the details about any deficiencies or issues the supervisor pointed out. The level of detail depends on the topic and how important details were to the conversation.
- Details about how the conversation ended and if both people agreed to the action plan.
- Information about any follow-up meetings.
Best Practices for Note Taking
It's important to follow HR best practices for written notes. While it's very unlikely, consider that anything you write may be reviewed by an attorney/judge/jury.
- Do focus on facts.
- If something is hearsay, make that very clear in notes.
- Don't diagnose why an employee is performing poorly.
- Don't include your mental impressions or editorial comments.
- Don't embellish, stretch the truth, or call something what it's not.
Here is a quick word about creating documentation after the fact. While it is always best to say that your notes were made right after the event or conversation, it is also possible to create your notes in the days following that event. When you write notes after the fact, always put the date on them representing when you wrote them. For example, if you had a conversation on January 2 with an employee but didn’t get around to writing your notes until three days later, mark your notes with the January 5 date. That way, there will be no question about the fact that you prepared them after the event. In addition, it could be beneficial if you included a note saying what caused the delay in preparing the documentation.
Additional Resources:
How to Create Bulletproof Documentation from SHRM
Down with Documentation from SHRM (Note: yes, the author doesn't like the term "documentation," but his Same Day Summary communication tool is an excellent way to summarize a conversation and retain notes for your records.)
How to Document Employee Performance from The Balance Careers
The Do’s and Don’ts of Workplace Documentation from HR Daily Advisor
