Supervisor Foundations · Lesson 9.2

DOCUMENT FACTS, NOT INSULTS OR ASSUMPTIONS

Poor records often contain personal judgments.

Examples:

“Lazy.”

“Bad attitude.”

“Very difficult.”

“Cannot be trusted.”

These statements may reflect how the supervisor feels.

They do not clearly describe what happened.

Useful documentation should focus on:

date
time where relevant
observable behavior
what standard applied
what was communicated
what action was taken
what follow-up is needed

POOR DOCUMENTATION

“Amaka was rude and difficult again.”

BETTER DOCUMENTATION

“October 18: During the 10:00 a.m. team meeting, Amaka interrupted two colleagues repeatedly and raised her voice after being asked to allow them to finish. Communication expectation reviewed after the meeting.”

WORKPLACE EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE 1

Poor: “John never cares about customers.”

Better:

BETTER RESPONSE

“Two customer follow-up calls assigned for Tuesday were not completed by Wednesday afternoon, and no delay was reported.”

EXAMPLE 2

Poor: “Fatima is dishonest.”

Better:

BETTER RESPONSE

“Payment instructions sent to the customer contained a bank account that did not match the approved business account. Matter escalated for review.”

EXAMPLE 3

Poor: “Driver is reckless.”

Better:

BETTER RESPONSE

“Vehicle inspection checklist was not completed before departure despite the required procedure.”

EXAMPLE 4

Poor: “Employee has terrible attitude.”

Better:

BETTER RESPONSE

“Employee responded to supervisor instruction by shouting, ‘I am not doing it,’ in front of the team.”

Remember

Document what happened.

Do not use records to attack someone’s character.

Workplace action

Remove labels. Replace them with observable facts.

Quick Check

Which note is strongest?