Are you avoiding or inconsistently dealing with any employee performance, behavior and conduct issues?

It is fairly common for supervisors to avoid discussions and not documenting unacceptable employee behavior and performance.  These same employees may also have very positive performance reviews in their files.

Three of the most important words in employment law are “document, document, and document.”  If you ever doubt this, talk to someone who has been through a lawsuit.

A supervisor who consistently documents and provides employee feedback on both positive and poor performance in a timely manner is more likely to be perceived as fair and consistent by their team, and respected.

By quickly addressing workplace performance or behavior challenges, the issue will either get resolved or the supervisor will be prepared for a follow-up discussion and/or making an employment decision, which may ultimately include termination of employment if the issue does not resolve.

If the time comes when it may be necessary to end the employment relationship, you must be prepared or you are putting your company at an avoidable risk.

Dealing with and documenting employee workplace issues, both good and bad, has a positive impact on workplace productivity and morale, and greatly increases the odds of success if faced with defending complaints of unfair employment practices, costly harassment, discrimination or wrongful discharge accusations and unemployment insurance claims.

In future posts we will discuss employee relations and performance management in more depth.  Sign up for a subscription to HR Update to stay current with the latest HR and management trends, and new articles.

 

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