Employee Counseling Documentation is an Important Part of the Counseling Process

Managers should use employee counseling documentation to document employee: 

• Performance
• Behavior
• Policy violation
• Written and verbal warnings. 

It’s very important for managers and supervisors to document things like this because they may forget the incident occurred or the facts of the incident. The facts may be needed to adequately address the incident in the future, specifically in regard to using the incident as a basis for taking future disciplinary or other job-related actions. The employee may forget it happened, as well. 

For these purposes—and others—it’s important to have good documentation so you can refer back to it when necessary. 

Mistakes Managers Often Make

When it comes to employee counseling documentation, there are a few mistakes managers commonly make: 

• Lack of Documentation—not documenting anything is a very common mistake.
• Insufficient Documentation—not sufficiently completing the employee counseling documentation form, or failing to obtain a signature/acknowledgement from the employee substantiating the counseling action.
• Not Having a Standardized Form and Using that Form in a Consistent Manner—using several different forms for the same task. It’s important to have some type of template established so managers can consistently work from the form and apply it consistently in reviewing and counseling job-related actions between different employees individually and different groups of employees generally. There should also be an established procedure for documenting employee counseling meetings. This is especially helpful for new managers so they know what happens to the form after it’s filled out (Does it go to HR? Is it mailed somewhere else? Etc).
• Not Being Objective; Not Sticking to the Facts—managers may sometimes tend to want to state their opinions or feelings in a counseling document, but it’s always best to be objective.
• Use of Inappropriate Words—managers should refrain from using any demeaning words (or words that could be construed as discriminatory against any particular protected class of individuals) in this document. They need to write in a professional manner. 

It’s important to avoid all these mistakes so that if an outside person is reading the document (such as an HR manager or employer), he or she will get an accurate picture of what has occurred. 

Steps to Developing Effective Employee Counseling Documentation

Here are some steps managers can take to more effectively document employee counseling meetings: 

1. At first, managers should ask if there is a written employee counseling documentation procedure they can refer to. Is there a document or template of a standardized form they should be working from? Do they have enough information to warrant addressing the employee with a written counseling form? Or should it be a verbal counseling instead? It’s also important at this initial step to determine whether a formal disciplinary process or procedure is in place, and to follow that process/procedure (see below, No. 4).
2. If documentation is necessary, managers need to be objective; record the facts and observations, not personal judgments.
3. Managers need to be sure they’re consistent when conducting a counseling meeting, whether it’s for performance deficiencies or conduct issues. Managers should be consistent in how they talk to employees during counseling meetings, especially if there’s more than one employee that has an offense.
4. Refer to the company’s policy, practice or performance standard that has been violated. For example, if a manager needs to issue a written counseling form for a dress code violation, the manager can reference the actual dress code policy in the counseling document because part of counseling should be developmental and educational in nature. It shouldn’t just be corrective action.
5. Indicate previous warnings or counseling meetings if the manager is issuing a written counseling. For example, if the manager is issuing a written counseling and the employee has been verbally counseled previously, the manager should identify previous counselings. 
6. It’s important to complete all sections on the employee counseling report form.
7. Sign and date the form.
8. Have the employee review, then sign and date the form.
9. If the employee refuses to sign the form, document that the employee refused to sign. Signing basically acknowledges that the employee reviewed the form. It doesn’t necessarily mean they agree or disagree. But it is important to note if the employee refuses to sign. 

In my next Insight, I’ll explain more ways to effectively document employee counseling meetings.

It’s very important for managers and supervisors to document employee counselings because they may forget the incident occurred or the facts of the incident.