Do's & Don'ts of Documenting Employee Behavior & Performance

Course Description:

The absence of solid documentation is the single most common mistake employers make when handling employee performance, behavior and discipline issues. Not properly documenting, or not documenting at all, can hurt employers and employees in several ways. Documentation can make or break a manager’s ability to discipline, terminate, fairly promote, reward and recognize employees. Additionally, solid documentation will become an employer’s best friend when an employee brings discrimination or other employment-related claims against the organization.

Possessing a solid understanding of the do’s and don’ts of documenting employee performance, discipline, and behavior is an essential tool for managers and supervisors because they need to make a serious effort to effectively record all events in the employment history of their employees – both positive and negative.

Why Should You Attend :

Participants in this presentation will learn the importance of and how to create effective, bullet-proof documentation, recognize the pitfalls to avoid when documenting, the importance of the performance appraisal process, and understand documentation’s role in investigations and lawsuits.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Importance of solid documentation

• Role documentation plays in investigations & lawsuits

• If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen!

• What, When, & How to document

• Documenting as a routine task – don’t put it off!

• Errors & pitfalls when documenting performance & behavior

• Best practices & guidelines when documenting performance & behavior

• Analyzing performance & behavioral problems

• What is Progressive Discipline?

• Utilizing Progress Discipline in your workplace

• Handling employee disagreements with disciplinary and/or performance write-ups

• What to do when an employee refuses to sign/acknowledge performance write-ups

• Documentation examples: The good, bad & the ugly!

• Use of Subjective vs. Objective terminology & examples

• Assessing the risks of taking action versus not taking action

• Stakeholder responsibilities in the Performance Appraisal process

• Factors that distort performance appraisals

• Common issues when providing feedback & how to overcome them

• Tactics for providing effective feedback

• Pitfalls to avoid when assessing performance

• Goals & key elements of conducting effective investigations of performance & behavior

• Taking corrective action

• Documentation retention

Learning objective :

• Defining Employment-at-will

• Identifying situations falling outside of employment-at-will

• Identifying exceptions to employment-at-will

• Anti-Discrimination laws and employment-at-will

• Rights and obligations of employers and employees

• Employment Agreements, Disclaimers

Who Will Benefit:

• Business Owners

• Human Resources professionals

• Managers & Supervisors

• Project Managers

• Team Leaders

• Compliance professionals

• Operations professionals

• Talent Development professionals

Instructor Profile:

Diane L. Dee, President of Advantage HR Consulting, has over 25 years of experience in the Human Resources arena. Diane’s background includes experience in HR consulting and administration in corporate, government, consulting and pro bono environments. Diane founded Advantage HR Consulting in early 2016. Under Diane’s leadership, Advantage HR provides comprehensive, cost-effective Human Resources solutions for small to mid-sized firms in the greater Chicagoland area. Additionally, Diane conducts webinars on a wide-variety of HR topics for various training firms across the country.

Diane holds a Master Certificate in Human Resources from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and has attained SPHR, SHRM-SCP, sHRBP and HRPM® certification.

Diane is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Diane performs pro bono work through the Taproot Foundation assisting non-profit clients by integrating their Human Resources goals with their corporate strategies.