6 Tenets of Human Resource Documentation

Prepare human resource documentation for those "what if" scenarios.

Thoughtful preparation and documenting the right items on a consistent basis will help minimize HR problems down the road.

Nestled in the corner of our garage is a long-handled, brand-new shovel. It’s never been used; it is there “just in case”. "Why is the tool there?" you may ask.

Well, it’s for the errant copperhead, cottonmouth, diamondback or coral snake that may just slither into our garage.

Of course, we have never had a poisonous reptile sighting nor do we wish to experience one, but we bought the shovel, none-the- less. We are hedging our bets with its presence.

Think about it. We do plenty of preparation in anticipation of a lot of things. This is why there is bottled water, home generators, canned food, paper towels packs of 24, battery-operated radios, extra keys/glasses, sleeping bags, copy machines, umbrellas…the list goes on.

Back ups are not isolated to items, they also include entire industries. Careers are founded on anticipatory events: temporary agencies, “iron mountain”, security vaults, substitute teachers, locum tenuns, and the weather channel.

This is what is at the core of Human Resources: anticipation, preparation, and “what if” scenarios. People by nature are complex, and so our responsibilities as HR professionals are equally so. There are 28,800 seconds in an eight-hour workday. If the average-size business in the United States is 24 employees, that's 691,200 seconds available every day that may or may not need your direct involvement.

Your biggest challenge is probably documentation by you and/or the managers and supervisors at your organization.

Perhaps the most challenging "what if" scenarios involve Performance Evaluation and associated human resource documentation. Three key documents are:

• The employee manual
• Job descriptions
• Performance reviews and disciplinary actions (in that "what if" scenario)

The 6 key tenets of documentation

1. Fairness and equity. Our team is our most important asset, as such, we need to be objective and not rely on memory, or events, or happenings.
2. Clarity and expectations. All documentation should involve outlining expectations before a job starts. In the probationary period, there should be open dialogue about how an employee is doing and opportunity for exchange of information and feedback.
3. Factual and professional. The facts are as important as how they are presented.
4. Accurate and balanced. Always be truthful and present information that is neither overly negative nor effusive.
5. Details. Try to include names, titles, dates of events or incidences. Something that was not properly documented may be considered a “non” event.
6. Promptness. It is always wise to document within one hour of the event, which prevents you from having to recollect what was said and what happened.

Thoughtful preparation and documenting the right items on a consistent basis will help minimize problems down the road, and, if you get a shovel, will keep reptiles at bay.

Today's blog post written by Stephanie Hunter

Photo Attribution: Tokyotter