Excellent Webinar on the importance of documentation.

1. Judi Clements,
President of Judi Clements Training & Development
www.judiclements.com

3. About Our Speaker
Judi Clements
• President of Judi Clements Training and
Development in Clifton Park, NY
• NENY Girl Scouts “Outstanding Community
Leader”
• Hudson-Mohawk American Society of Training &
Development Corporate Trainer of the Year
• Qualified Myers Briggs® Personality Type
Trainer & Speaker

4. HRCI Credit
•To earn RCH you must:
• Stay on the webinar for the full 60 minutes
• Be watching the webinar using your unique URL
•Certificates of Completion
• Will be delivered electronically to email that you used to
register for this webinar
• Sent to you no later 5pm PDT on 08/29/2012

5. Agenda
Learn how to:
 Analyze poor work performance
 Avoid the negative consequences of inadequate documentation
 Utilize the range of disciplinary options
 Respond quickly and appropriately to common disciplinary
infractions
 Keep a legal Performance Log
 Distinguish between subjective and objective documentation
 Develop Performance Improvement Plans
 Write legally safe and highly effective corrective & suspension
notices
 Q&A session

6. What is Discipline?
Formal and informal steps
taken by managers
to turn around poor employee
performance and protect the organization
from adverse legal action.

7. Why Use Discipline?
• To reverse poor
performance
• To avoid
termination, if
possible
• To substantiate
employment action
• To protect
individuals and
organizations from
liability

8. Consequences of Inadequate
Discipline
 Discrimination and retaliation lawsuits
 Management liability
 Lower productivity
 Poor morale
 Poor employee retention
 Increased # of terminations
 Higher costs to the organization

9. The Pyramid of Success
Employees do best with a healthy foundation consisting of:
Accountability
Clear Expectations
Respectful Relationships

10. How to Analyze Poor
Performance
Never let poor work go unnoticed.
1. Does the employee know his work is unsatisfactory? Is there a
pattern?
--- Let the employee know; provide feedback.
2. Does the employee know what he is supposed to do & when to do
it?
--- Let the employee know; create a work plan.
3. Are there obstacles beyond his control?
--- Remove the obstacles.

11. How to Analyze Poor Performance
4. Does he know how to do the job?
(Train the employee and/or provide practice.)
5. Does he have the needed support?
(Provide tangible support & feedback.)
6. Could he do it if he wanted to?
(Is it an ability problem or an effort problem?)
7. Does he know the consequences of his
unsatisfactory performance?
(If not, make it clear.)

12. Ability or Effort Problem?
If it’s an ability problem:
• Provide training and/or coaching.
• If the employee learns the job, provide
reinforcement & follow-up.
• If the employee doesn't, reassign him to a
more suitable job or start appropriate
discipline.

13. Ability or Effort Problem?
If it’s an effort problem:
• Provide counseling &
consequences.
If the employee
This image cannot currently be displayed.
•
responds, provide
reinforcement and
follow-up.
• If the employee doesn’t,
start appropriate
discipline.

14. Partner with HR
Consult with Human Resources
when analyzing & handling
performance problems.

15. Mantra of Effective Discipline
No surprises!
Nip poor performance in the bud!

16. How to Give Feedback
1. Don’t give too much feedback at once.
2. Explain the impact the employee’s poor performance has on the
employee, the supervisor, the team, and the company.
Poor: Bill, can’t you ever get your work done on time?
Good: Bill, when you don’t get your work done on time, we can’t make
quota. This slows up production in other departments too.
3. Check to be sure you are understood.
Good: Marty, please review for me why your performance is
unsatisfactory & what the consequences will be if you don’t improve.
4. Make it specific & behavior-based.
Poor: Henry, you are lazy and have a poor attitude.
Good: Henry, you have been late 15 minutes for the last three mornings.

17. Mantra of Good Feedback
Offer feedback multiple times
in multiple ways.

18. Disciplinary Options
• Discipline is NOT a
step system.
• Be sure you know
your organization’s
disciplinary policies
and procedures.
• Most policies allow
for a flexible approach
on a case-by-case
basis, while striving
for fairness &
consistency.

19. Disciplinary Options
1. Counseling
2. Counseling with
Verbal Reprimand
3. Counseling with
Written Reprimand
4. Performance
Improvement Plan
(PIP)
5. Suspension
6. Termination

20. Characteristics of Fair Discipline
• Focused toward
improvement
• Fair & consistent
• Equal for similarly
situated employees
• Situational
• In concert with
Human Resources

21. Options, Not Steps
• Your written policies should allow you to exercise
management discretion with disciplinary options,
particularly in serious matters.
• Never lock yourself into a “step system.”
• Serious infractions may require moving immediately
to suspension or termination.
• Most companies consider these grounds for
immediate dismissal: theft, violence, property
damage, falsification of records, illegal drug or
alcohol use, bringing firearms to company premises,
& ethics violations.

22. When to Counsel
 If the problem occurs once,
it’s a mistake.
 If it happens more than
once, it could be a pattern
of behavior.
 Take action if there is a
pattern of negative
behavior.
Never let poor work
or negative action
go unnoticed!

23. When to Counsel
Lateness Substandard Work
Leave Time Abuse Bad Mouthing the Company
Cell Phone Abuse Bad Mouthing other Employees
Internet Abuse Bad Mouthing Supervisors
Safety Violations Complaints About Assignments
Policy & Procedure Violations Peer Conflicts
Refusal to Follow Directions Threatening Behavior
Mistakes Harassing Behavior
Personal Problems Affecting the Job Substance Abuse
Take action if there is a pattern of
negative behavior.
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24. Why Document?
1. To create a collective memory
2. To track performance
3. To record important interactions
4. To record corrective action and
improvement plans
5. To make sure employees understand the
consequences of their behavior
6. To protect from liability
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25. 2 Types of Documentation
Formal Informal
Documentation Documentation
Maintained Maintained
by by
HR Managers

26. Types of Formal Documentation
1. Performance 4. Suspension
Appraisals Memos
2. Performance 5. Termination
Improvement Notices
Plans (PIPS)
3. Counseling
Memos

27. What All Documentation Has In
Common
It must be
behavior-based!
• Labels & descriptions of
attitudes have no place
in documentation.
Delete personal
opinions or judgments.
• All documentation must
be accurate, specific,
and focus on only
observable behavior.
27

28. Behavior vs. Attitude
A behavior
• Can be observed
• Is a written or
verbal statement
about actions
people do on their
jobs; performance
• Can be discussed
objectively
28

29. Behavior vs. Attitude
An attitude
• Is a subjective
conclusion or label
describing an
employee
• It cannot be measured
or objectively
discussed
• It can lead to an
employee’s defensive
reaction

30. Behavior vs. Attitude Example
Behavior:
Jennifer has not been delegating routine work
and has therefore missed 2 important
deadlines on monthly reports.
Attitude (Label):
Jennifer does not take her work seriously and
is lazy.
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31. 5 Behavior vs. Attitude Examples
1. Mike does not put a lot of effort into his work.
2. Sue Ellen has not completed her last two week’s
time sheet’s within the 7-day deadline.
3. Jeff seems distracted when I assign tasks to him.
4. Ann solved the problem concerning lack of coverage
for early morning calls by instituting a regular
rotation schedule among the staff.
5. Sue does not take her work seriously.
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32. Just the facts, ma’am.
Just the facts.
32

33. Documentation Formats
1. Performance Logs
2. Performance Goals
3. Performance Improvement Plans (PIPS)
4. Counseling Memos
5. Suspension Memos
33

34. Informal Documentation:
The Performance Log
• Everyday documentation
• Brief notes on good & poor performance highlights
• Maintained & stored by managers
• Can be SUBPEONED
• Serves as a collective memory for performance
appraisals, discussions, & documentation
• Can be kept in notebooks, file folders, index cards,
computer files, iPad, etc.
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35. Types of Performance Log Entries
Name, date, & time of each incident
 Positive Performance
 Coaching Sessions
 Training Sessions
 Investigations
 Disciplinary Actions

36. 6 Ways to Keep Performance Logs
Legal
1. Keep language simple.
2. Use objective measures.
3. Be specific.
4. Document everyone you manage.
5. Ask HR oversight from time to time.
6. Keep your log in a safe place.
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37. Performance Log Examples
Positive Performance
Friday April 15, 2012 9:00 AM
Senior management recognized Hugh’s service when
handling the product complaint as courteous and
prompt.
Counseling Session
Friday March 3, 2012 2:30 PM
Second time in 2 weeks, Jon was 20 minutes late from
lunch. Reminded him of company lateness policy, and
told him he would be written up next time. He said he
would be on time from now on.
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38. SMART Goal Documentation
Specific: Clear & unambiguous
Measurable: Able to be quantified
Actionable: Clearly identified by action item steps
Realistic: Doable by the majority within given parameters
Time-based: Defined with a clear schedule of start & end dates
and milestones

39. SMART Goal Example
Specific Complete monthly reports on time.
Measurable Each monthly report will be submitted by the last
Friday of the month by close of business.
Actionable Joe will work with Susan to review how to write the
reports & get the next 3 month’s reports reviewed
by Susan prior to submitting them.
Realistic Susan will devote one hour each week to coach Joe
on report writing for the next 3 months.
Time-based This will begin immediately as of 7/26/12.
39

40. Performance Improvement
Plans (PIPS)
1. Description of the
performance
problem
2. Description of the
needed performance
improvement
3. Detailed action plan
4. Follow-up procedure
5. Employee comments
(optional)
6. Signatures
40

41. PIP Example
Performance Problem:
Randy has been 20-30 minutes late to work everyday over the past week from July
9-13. When he arrives, he does not get to work promptly. Instead he takes time to
get coffee and talk to co-workers. He does not check his email or in-basket for new
assignments and thus misses important work assignments. He is often late to
meetings or doesn’t show up for them at all.
Needed Improvement:
Randy needs to come to work promptly at 8:00 AM. If he wants coffee, he needs to
arrive earlier to arrange for that before work time. He needs to check his email and
in-basket to be sure he gets his current work assignments and gets to meetings on
time and participates constructively.
Action Plan:
Randy will report to me briefly each morning at 8:15 AM over the next month (Aug.
2012) with an overview of his projects & meetings of the day and again at 3:15 PM
with his accomplishments of the day.
Follow Up:
After August 2012, we will meet bi-weekly to review his progress.
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42. Counseling Memos
 Also known as “Verbal Warnings and “Written
Warnings.”
 Check your organization’s policy for the number of
warnings and format.
 They serve as written records of the discussions
between managers and employees about substandard
job performance.
 They have the same 5-6 parts as a PIP:

43. Suspension Memo Example
To: Randy O’ Hara
From: Cliff Randall
Date: July 26, 2012
Subject: Suspension for Poor Work Performance
On May 8, you received an initial written warning and on June 1 you received a second written
warning which detailed several serious problems in your work performance. I have been
monitoring your work, and you have not made sufficient improvement in the areas we discussed.
Immediate and sustained improvement is necessary in the following areas:
1. You need to arrive on time and be ready to work by 8:00 AM sharp.
2. You need to read all your email and in-basket assignments by 8:15 AM.
3. You need to report to me by 8:15 AM to go over the day’s assignments.
4. You need to attend all meetings and complete all given tasks promptly.
You have been employed in our department for over a year and during this time your work has
continued to decline. Because of this unacceptable level of performance you are being suspended
without pay for three (3) days (August 6,7, & 8). You are expected to return to work at 8:00 AM
on Thursday August 9. Unless your performance improves and remains positive, your
employment will be terminated.

44. Review
 Never let poor work go  See discipline as a system
unnoticed. of options, not steps.
 Offer feedback multiple  Use both formal and
times in multiple ways. informal documentation.
 Work closely with HR.  Be consistent & fair.
 Use behavior-based  Take the time to
feedback & document now and save
documentation; time LATER.
eliminate labels.  If it wasn’t documented,
it didn’t happen!

45. Your Trainer Today Has Been…
Judi Clements
Judi Clements Training & Development
www.judiclements.com

46. Questions?

47. Certificates of Completion
• Delivered to those attendees who
stay for full webinar
• Will be delivered electronically to
email that you used to register for
this webinar
• Sent to you no later 5pm PDT
August 29th

48. MORE HRCI WEBINARS
Sustainability for the HR (RCH 1.0 - HRCI)
Aug. 9, 10am PDT
EVerify: Getting Started (CREDITS PENDING)
Aug. 16, 10am PDT

49. Contact Us
Ascentis Judi Clements Training &
Development
Human Capital Management
Software
518-371-9184
info@judiclements.com
www.Ascentis.com Twitter:
info@ascentis.com @judiclements
800.229.2713
www.judiclements.com