Learning & Development

The Tiredest Mantra in HR—and Still the Most Important


In real estate, it’s location, location, location, and in HR, it’s document, document, document. Yes, it’s the most-hackneyed saying in the history of HR, but it’s still the most important.


Time after time, lawsuits are lost or settled because documentation doesn’t exist or is inadequate, inaccurate, or doesn’t support management’s statements. Somehow, you need to get your supervisors trained to do it and do it right.


Today, Attorney Jonathan Segal shows how to help supervisors with their documentation. Segal, a partner with Wolf Block in Philadelphia, made his comments in the HR Manager’s Legal Reporter.


Give Supervisors an Outline


Supervisors’ biggest problem, says Segal, is getting started, so give supervisors 20 starting sentences for the most common offenses. For example, “We expect our employees to report to work on time,” or “We expect our employees to safeguard our assets.”


Documentation Outline


Once they have started, ask your managers and supervisors to follow the outline below, recommends Segal. That will ensure that documentation is complete and consistent across the organization.


1. State the expectations that are not being met
State the general expectation. (We expect our people to come to work on time.) State the specific expectation. (We initiate discipline when people are late more than x days in y period.)


2. Specify failings in terms of the employee’s performance or behavior
Describe behaviors rather than use labels. For example, don’t say just “bad attitude,” say, “You are disrespectful of employees. For example, you said, ‘This is so simple even you could figure it out.’ ”
Focus on outcome rather than intent. For example, “You were late” rather than “You don’t care about being on time.”
Avoid absolutes. For example, don’t say, “You are always late in meeting deadlines.”


3. List prior corrective counseling
Enumerate prior steps in the progressive discipline process. Don’t forget to include informal discussions and oral notices.


4. Note expectations going forward
State general and specific expectations and include time frames.


5. Indicate consequences
Inform employees of the consequences of additional infractions.



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How About Your Managers and Supervisors?


Segal’s advice points to one thing—the stakes are too high to leave supervisors on their own to deal with dicey issues that include not only documentation and discipline, but also hiring, leaves, people management, and firing. They need training, and they need it now.


We asked our editors to recommend a BLR program to meet these needs, and they came up with a real prize. It teaches the essentials of discipline and documentation and a whole lot more.


First, let us give you a sampling from the popular PowerPoint® program, Easy Trainer: Hiring, Discipline & Termination. Then, we’ll get to the “whole lot more.” As an example, here are some of the points made about hiring:



  • Job Descriptions. Every hire needs to be preceded by a legally drawn job description. These days, that means separately listing the essential skills of the job.



  • Job Advertising. Job ads should focus on the essential skills and avoid use of terms that refer to gender, such as “repairman” or “saleswoman.” Educational requirements should also be job related and no more stringent than the job requires.



  • Interviews. Questions should be job related and must not intrude into such protected areas as age, race, marital status, national origin, and disability or health condition.



  • Documentation. Keep all documents for at least a year, not only for the hire but also for all applicants.



  • Try Easy Trainer: Hiring, Discipline & Termination at no cost for 30 days! We even pay return postage. Click for info



    The uniqueness of this program, the “more” we mentioned above, comes from the fact that the PowerPoint on legal hiring is just one of 10 PowerPoint programs on the CD that follow the entire employment “life cycle” from first day on the job to last.


    These include new employee orientation, effective performance appraisal, progressive discipline, documentation, and lawfully done termination. There are PowerPoint sessions on managing change and reducing turnover, too. It is, in fact, 10 programs for the price of one. And all can easily be customized with your company’s specifics or used as is, right out of the box.


    Daily Advisor has arranged for our subscribers to try the program at no cost for 30 days. We recommend you do so. Click the links below to see program samples, and to request your no-cost, no-risk trial.


    Download multiple slide samples
    Download speaker’s notes sample
    Download topic list


    Request no-cost, no-risk trial

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