No Bull Business Blog

Seven things not to say

Excerpt from the Executive Report: Document, Document, Document - What Every Manager Needs to Know About Tracking Performance and Problems

Good documentation lists specific events and examples, clearly identifying issues that need to be addressed. So some words and phrases weaken good documentation because they're either too vague or too hard to prove.

Avoid using these seven when documenting performance or problems:

1. Perhaps
2. Possibly
3. I think
4. Never
5. Every time
6. Always
7. It seems

DIGGING DEEPER
Documenting employee performance or problems is key to being a good manager. To do it the right way, read the Executive Report: Document, Document, Document - What Every Manager Needs to Know About Tracking Performance and Problems

The trap of the 'at-will' myth

Excerpted from the Executive Report: Terminating Without Fear – What Employers Need to Know

The vast majority of states operate under the "at-will" doctrine of employment, which gives both employers and employees the right to terminate a working relationship at any time, for any reason - or for no reason at all.

But the at-will doctrine often provides supervisors with a false sense of security: "Hey, we're operating on an at-will basis here. If I want to fire 'em, I fire 'em. I don't need a reason."

That's only true up until the point that the employee actually sues for discrimination or retaliation, or any number of other possible violations.

When the employee's attorney asks the manager why the person was dismissed, the manager answers, "I didn't have a reason. I didn't need one. He was an at-will employee, so I was within my rights to fire him."

What happens next is a classic case of filling in the blanks ... to suit your own agenda.

Since the manager left the reason for the firing essentially "blank," the lawyer simply begins filling in that blank with past interactions between the employee and the manager, portrayed solely from the employee's point of view and tilted in the employee's favor.

And because the manager has no documentation and no stated reasons for the firing, it's very hard to counter whatever bias allegations the employee might be claiming.

It's the plaintiff's attorney's job to create the suspicion of discrimination in the minds of jurors. In the courtroom, years after the encounters have occurred, that's not hard for a good lawyer to do if the manager has no documents supporting his or her actions.

And that's why employers are well-advised - even in at-will situations - to not only establish good reasons for firing an employee, but to be sure to create the critical documentation that backs up the decision.

DIGGING DEEPER

Yes, managers can terminate problem employees. In fact, problem employees make it easy, but managers still need to follow some basic rules. For the right way, read the Executive Report: Terminating Without Fear – What Employers Need to Know