Effective Strategies to Document Employee Discipline

Keep your company out of hot water by making sure you have the appropriate documentation when disciplining an employee.

Many employers faced with responding to wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, or related complaints lack the requisite documentation to support disciplinary actions. Documenting employee misconduct and performance issues can support future adverse employment decisions, and show that the employer took the necessary and appropriate steps to address and correct any performance or disciplinary issues. This program will equip managers and human resources professionals with the know-how and tools to create effective documentation that supports negative employment actions taken in response to disciplinary or performance problems. Participants will learn best practices for managing the employee discipline and performance evaluation process. Specifically, participants will have an understanding of documentation basics, such as the type of information that should--and should not--be included in the documentation of disciplinary warnings and performance reviews. Using real-life examples, this program will walk participants through the process of drafting effective performance evaluations, performance improvement plans, disciplinary warnings, memos to file, and investigation reports, including disciplinary recommendations. This topic is critical for employers to protect their business, ensure that they have established a record of problematic behavior to support any disciplinary action, and defend against administrative charges and lawsuits that challenge the employer's justifications for its actions. As an added bonus, participants will better understand how fair and effective documentation can promote more equitable employment decisions, thereby enhancing cooperation and teamwork, and increasing productivity.