Documenting Discipline

Documentation of discipline is not an exercise in tact and diplomacy. Communicating gaps between expectations and actual performance should be

1. direct
2. factual
3. focused on behavior or performance rather than on the person

General statements, such as "The employee is always late" are difficult to substantiate.

A record of the dates the employee was late and the times the employee arrived is much more useful in documenting the extent of the problem and why correction is required.

"Edna has a bad attitude" is a conclusion.

The facts are

1. On April 3, Edna told her supervisor that she "would not" follow a directive to train a new employee on the scheduling system.
2. On the morning of May 5, the supervisor overheard a phone conversation in which Edna told a client that she "didn't care whether [client] ever came back to this office for service."

"James appeared intoxicated" is a conclusion.

The facts are

1. James staggered as he walked.
2. James' speech was slurred and difficult to understand.
3. There was a strong odor of alcohol.

Avoid these common errors in discipline documentation:

1. mispelled words, incorrect grammar and punctuation
2. incorrect dates and times
3. inaccurate, incomplete descriptions of misconduct or poor performance
4. wrong names
5. wrong rule or policy cites