Trace the history of Documentation.
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Documentation is the written and retained record of employment events. These records are made up of government and legally mandated elements, documents required by company policy and practice, documents suggested by best human resources practices, and formal and informal record An employee's record of documentation is a written account of his or her actions, discussions, performance coaching incidents, witnessed policy violations, disciplinary action, positive contributions, reward and recognition, investigations, failure to accomplish requirements and goals, performance evaluation, and more.
Maintaining these records allows the employer and employee to preserve a written history of the happenings and discussions that occurred around a specific event. Documentation of the employment relationship provides a written record that may be necessary to support such actions as employee promotion, employee pay raises and disciplinary action—including employment termination.
Documentation about employees, when necessary, is generally both positive and negative. It is factual, not judgmental. It describes events as they occur, not based on the beholder's opinions and thoughts about the event. The documentation also describes the actions that were taken in notable instances such as providing formal employee recognition or taking disciplinary action.
Remember, you need to create documentation as close to when the incident occurs as possible so that records are timely, detailed and accurate.
In a legal proceeding, documentation about an employee's past performance is often critical to the outcome the employer experiences from the event. Putting forth a fair picture of the employee's performance without focusing purely on the negative happenings is the goal.Types of Documentation
Policies, procedures, the employee handbook, and performance development plans are also forms of documentation that record expected employee behavior and workplace requirements to maintain an orderly, fair workplace in which employees know what is expected from them.
Records are also the written statements of the accused, the accuser and witnesses to hostile workplace events that involve employee misconduct such as sexual harassment.
This documentation also includes permanent records such as the signed employment application, written employment references, application materials such as resumes and cover letters, and background checks. Kept aside from the employee personnel file, other paperwork such as the I-9 form (that verifies the employee's eligibility to work in the U.S.) is also maintained, as are medical records, FMLA records and so forth.
Documentation may also be informal as in a manager's record of his or her discussions with an employee over the course of a year. It is important that managers maintain this documentation on all of their reporting staff members. No employee should be singled out because of performance. This could be construed as discrimination at a later date.
Documentation may be formal and retained in the employee's personnel file. Employees are expected to sign this documentation to acknowledge they have received a copy, and have reviewed the contents in their entirety. Note: The signature does not signify agreement with the statements in the documentation.
Use of Documentation
Documentation of critical incidents, whether positive or negative, is also recommended so that managers have a record of employee performance spanning a period of time.
Organizations can use the documentation they keep in other ways. These may include procedures, work instructions, and computer software instructions to name a few, but for purposes of the human resources function, these are the common uses of documentation. The next section outlines instructions about how to document appropriately.
Performance Documentation Samples
Documentation about an employee’s performance will allow you to discipline, terminate, or fairly promote, reward, and recognize employees. Without documentation, making a case for any of these actions is difficult, and potentially risky for the employer.
The employer must avoid any potential accusation about discriminatory treatment of employees. All legalities aside, good employers want to create a work environment that is fair, consistent and supportive of employee goals and career plans.
This environment is supported by the manager's professional documentation of employee performance—both laudatory behavior and actions in need of correction or improvement. How to document these was discussed earlier in detail. The following situations give you more examples of appropriate documentation.