Use
a Simple Log System to Document Employee
Performance
It
happens to every manager: You sit down to
prepare a staff member’s review and realize you can only
remember what the person has done for the past few
weeks. Or
you let a single incident (good or bad) color your
assessment.
Never
rely on memory to evaluate an employee’s
performance.
Instead, create a simple recording system. Such performance
logs don’t need to be complicated or sophisticated – a
sheet of paper in a folder or a file on your computer
will do.
(Be sure to keep it secure to maintain
confidentiality.)
Note: Courts will
quickly dismiss many wrongful termination lawsuits if
performance logs clearly demonstrate a history of
performance problems.
Eight
Tips for Recording Employee
Performance:
Create
a file for each employee you supervise, including a copy
of the employee’s job description, job application and
resume.
Follow these steps for recording
performance.
1.
Include positive and negative behaviors.
Recording
only negative incidents will unfairly bias your
evaluation.
Make a point to note instances of satisfactory or
outstanding performances, too. One way to
ensure balanced reporting: regularly update
employee performance logs, instead of waiting for a
specific incident to occur.
2.
Date each entry. Noting
times, dates and days of the week may help to identify
performance patterns – and problems that may cause
them.
3.
Write observations, not assumptions.
Be
careful about the language you use – your log could
become evidence in court. Comments should
only focus on behavior you directly observe. Don’t make
assumptions about why the behavior occurred or judgments
about an employee’s character.
4.
Be specific. Example
of poor documentation:
“Employee
was late three times last month.” Better: “30
minutes late on Feb. 5; cited traffic. 45 minutes late
on Feb. 9; cited oversleeping. Hour late on
Feb. 23; cited car trouble.”
5.
Don’t use biased language. A
good rule of thumb:
Any statement that would be inappropriate in
conversation is also inappropriate in an employee
log. That
includes references to an employee’s age, sex, race,
disability, marital status, religion or sexual
orientation.
6.
Be brief, but complete. Use
specific examples, not general comments. Instead of
saying, “Megan’s work was excellent,” say, “Megan has
reduced the number of data entry errors to less than one
per 450 records.”
7.
Track trends. Note
patterns and flag prior incidents of repeated
behavior.
Bring your observations to the employee’s
attention only after you’ve defined a specific
problem.
8.
Be consistent. Don’t
comment about one person’s behavior if you ignore the
same behavior in other
employees.
Source:
HR Specialist:
Minnesota
Employment Law, March 2010 issue, Carl Crosby Lehmann,
Esq., Gray Plant Mooty, Minneapolis.
