Are you looking this product? Now you can get product in PDF Format,just following step by step until finish you will be guided downloading this book for free, Enjoy it.
When there's a problem with an employee (for various and sundry reasons), the immediately supervisor and the human resources department must get involved in the process. There will be, no doubt. a write-up concerning the incident. There is one mistake you never want to commit, and you can bet attorneys will go over these documents with a fine tooth comb. Here is the one mistake they can count on supervisors making 80% -90% of the time.
Language Is Key
One of the surprises most human resources (HR) professionals and supervisors discover (often when it is too late) is words have meaning before the court. The language you use in a write-up carries deep and often unintended meanings. Now factor in this equation that most supervisors have never attended any classes where they are taught proper documentation and procedures. So what do they do? They wing it the best they can. Well, guess what? Opposing counsel will not say "well let's give the defendant (the supervisor) a break- they did the best they could." No, she smells blood and will not relinquish her cross examination of the witness until he is ringing wet with perspiration.
No I Didn't Mean That
Case in point. While being cross examined on the witness stand, a supervisor was asked to explain a statement he wrote in the employee write-up. He wrote that during the meeting with the employee, the employee was depressed. Counsel wanted to know how the supervisor knew this as fact. "Did my client ever say they were depressed, she asked?" The supervisor answered no. "Did my client ever say they were being treated for depression?" No again. "Did my client ever present a doctor's note stating they were being treated for acute depression? No came the answer again. "So then, tell this court and this jury, she demands, how you arrived at this conclusion. I thought (the supervisor says)...stop right there. The company is sunk. The case turns on it head because the supervisor cannot justify the use of this dangerous word.
Why Dangerous?
Why is this word and many others like it considered dangerous? The use of the word depressed (in this case) implies that the person writing this statement has the professional background, credentials, and education to diagnose depression. Imagine the jury sitting back, watching this unfold, and saying to themselves "oh this person is a professional and knows what they are talking about. Now, imagine their disappointed expressions when opposing counsel rips the supervisor apart - revealing they have no professional background or professional credentials to diagnose depression on any level. Checkmate.
Don't Get Tied Up
I train HR professional and supervisors not to allow themselves to get tied-up in the courtroom this way. Get trained on how to do write-ups; the ones that will stand up in a court of law. Furthermore, HR you must attend training to learn how to conduct internal audits on these and other documents, long before they become a problem. Imagine your value to the company. The time to learn this new skill is now.
Summary
There is one mistake you never want to commit, and yet it is one attorneys can bet on and win 80% -90% of the time. It is supervisors interpreting behavior and writing as if they are experts in a particular field, and they are not. Now is the time to attend training on how to do proper write-ups and proper documentation.
© 2009 Cubie Davis King. All Right Reserved Internationally.
