Why You Need to Document Workplace Discussions
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are second guessing yourself, feeling like you’ve gone crazy because you are certain you are clear on the conversation you had with an employee, yet they seem certain the conversation didn’t happen. Or perhaps the discussion is acknowledged, but the message you were sure you delivered simply seems to have been forgotten, misunderstood or completely misinterpreted?
You find yourself going around in circles and ending up back at square one with any required change or improvement seeming to never be getting any start or momentum.
Here’s the truth, we never think we need notes of those meetings, discussions or incidental ‘chats’ we have had – until we do. We think we will remember them in vivid detail, because they are so clear in our mind in that moment, but we have so much more on our plates as business owners and leaders, that the reality is we won’t remember. Like everything else, in time our memory fades, which makes it even more difficult to be certain when we have an employee adamant that we hadn’t said what we thought.
So, when should we be taking notes and documenting discussions in the workplace, and why is it important?
There is a common misconception that notes only need to be taken when we are conducting formal disciplinary processes and meetings, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, by having solid notes documented in the less formal meetings, it can often help us all avoid getting to those formal processes at all.
In reality, anytime we are communicating with an employee or our team in relation to updates, changes, policies, performance or behaviour – we should be documenting those discussions. Whether they happen as part of a regular team meeting, a toolbox talk, an informal discussion at their desk or a more formal work in progress or performance discussion, these should all be documented. And by documented I don’t mean pages and pages of notes, or formal letters, depending on the circumstances it could be as simple as a file note in your diary, against the employee file or anywhere else you can maintain a confidential record of when and where the discussion happened, what was discussed, and what action items, solutions or outcomes were agreed to.
Having these documented notes and records of these discussions creates clarity and certainty for everyone involved, and importantly they also help to protect you and your business if those note and records of discussion need to be relied on down the track when, in a worst-case scenario, end up in a ‘he said / she said’ scenario that you’re trying to resolve.
The other factor is that verbal discussions are interpreted differently by the parties involved in the conversation. Whilst we may think we have been abundantly clear, if the message has not been received with such clarity by the employee, or there has been some misinterpretation or misunderstanding, having documented the discussion is unvaluable. This is particularly valuable if you forward your documented notes to the employee after the discussion, to confirm the details of the discussion, and the agreed next steps. If there is any confusion at this point the employee has an opportunity to come back and seek clarification, if they don’t you can assume they are on board.
To recap, documenting workplace discussions is vital to ensure the clarity of the message, the agreed outcomes and action items, and to protect you, your business, and your sanity if the discussion is ever questioned in the future. We never think we will need to rely on these notes, until we do, because the reality is we won’t remember the details and if the employee has a different recollection you end up stuck in a stale mate with no way to resolve it in your favour.
So my message today is simple – DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT! Your future self will thank you for it.
An Invitation
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