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It also lists five key “Don’ts,” warning against generalizations, speculative diagnoses, editorial or mental impressions, overstating events, and apologizing in disciplinary records.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/","Letters",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/dos-and-donts-of-documentation-practical-guidance/279980/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/dos-and-donts-of-documentation-practical-guidance/279980.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Alex Sinclair","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-18","2026-09-16",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What are the main “Do’s” for effective documentation?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Set clear performance expectations, focus on verified facts, review patterns of problem behavior, write a specific improvement plan with measurable criteria and timelines, and follow up with formal reviews during the stated timeframes.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What should documentation avoid when addressing poor performance?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Avoid generalizations, diagnosing the “why” behind poor performance, adding mental impressions or editorial comments, embellishing or stretching the truth, and apologizing in disciplinary documents.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why is follow-up emphasized in documentation?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Documentation remains valuable only if the organization carries out the planned corrective process, using specific criteria and time frames and conducting formal reviews at the scheduled points.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},279980,1790050698,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,89,93,98,103,108,113,117,122],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":55,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":94,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":99,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":104,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":109,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},18,30,"letters",{"id":118,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":123,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":125},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":127},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":128,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":22,"category_id":114,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":135,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":139,"read_time":22},1099523882182,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Do’s and Don’ts of Documentation  \nBy Jason Ritchie  \nAs many of you know, proper documentation is critical in almost every aspect of managing your employees. Documentation is often the difference between a defense verdict and a multi-million dollar jury award. But don’t just document to document – poor documentation is worse than no documentation at all. Instead, document with purpose. Here are my top five do’s and don’ts of documentation.  \nThe Do’s  \n1. Do Establish Clear Performance Expectations. I like to start out formal documentation with a clear statement of what the employer’s performance expectations are for the employee. This statement of the performance expectations will guide every aspect of the documentation and set the standards upon which current deficiencies are noted and future performance will be measured. It should be obvious, but make sure an employee is not hearing these performance expectancies for the first time in formal documentation of a performance problem. If that is the case, you have bigger problems than poor documentation. Instead, the performance expectancies need to be consistent with the employee’s job description and the tasks actually assigned to the employee. Consistent, clear and well-written performance expectations are critical if you want an employee to succeed in changing his performance.  \n2. Do Focus on the Facts. Provide the employee with a clear statement of the facts. A clear statement of the facts focuses solely on what you know happened, and does not include any speculation or unverified information. For the purpose of a disciplinary action, the fact that an employee reported to work two hours late is sufficient. You do not need to include the speculation that the employee had been out drinking the night before because he has a weekly poker game at the local watering hole. Stick to the facts because this might have been the one night the employee missed the poker game to care for his sick child.  \n3. Do Review Patterns of Problem Behavior. When an employer takes the time to actually perform written documentation of a performance or behavior problem, it typically is not the first time the employee has had the problem. Instead of ignoring all of the previous instances, list in detail every occasion when the employee has exhibited the problem behavior. Be sure to include what steps were taken each time these problems came to light – did the supervisor talk to the employee, was the employee reprimanded (formally or informally), was the employee warned or suspended. Include the pattern to show that you considered these previous instances when taking the current action.  \n4. Do Write a Specific Plan. Include in your documentation a specific plan for the employee to improve. List out the criteria the employee must meet, and a time frame for meeting each expectancy. The more specific and objective the criteria, the easier it is to measure improvement. Be sure to include in your documentation that failure to meet the criteria will result in further disciplinary action, up to and including termination.  \n5. Do Follow-up. Documentation is only valuable if you follow-up. For example, if you place an employee on a formal 6-month corrective action plan, but never follow-up, the corrective action plan is void. The best practice is to have specific criteria with specific time frames, and have a formal review during those exact timeframes. Don’t delay!  \nThe Don’ts  \n1. Don’t Generalize. The most difficult cases to defend are those in which the employee is terminated for “not being a team player” or any other trendy cliché . Such generalizationshave no place in formal documentation. You must provide specific examples of problematic behavior. Fail to do so, and you may “be left holding the bag.”  \n2. Don’t Diagnose Why the Employee Is Performing Poorly. New lawyers are taught to focus on the what, when, where, and why when asking a witness questions. When documenting poor performance, don’t diag","cbCaitVyx0TAVFBP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitVyx0TAVFBP","pdf",137488,"English","# Do’s and Don’ts of Documentation\n## The Do’s\n## The Don’ts\n## Practical Take Away","[{\"question\":\"What are the main “Do’s” for effective documentation?\",\"answer\":\"Set clear performance expectations, focus on verified facts, review patterns of problem behavior, write a specific improvement plan with measurable criteria and timelines, and follow up with formal reviews during the stated timeframes.\"},{\"question\":\"What should documentation avoid when addressing poor performance?\",\"answer\":\"Avoid generalizations, diagnosing the “why” behind poor performance, adding mental impressions or editorial comments, embellishing or stretching the truth, and apologizing in disciplinary documents.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is follow-up emphasized in documentation?\",\"answer\":\"Documentation remains valuable only if the organization carries out the planned corrective process, using specific criteria and time frames and conducting formal reviews at the scheduled points.\"}]","Do’s and Don’ts of Documentation - Practical Guidance | PDF",1789531493]