Document it or Coach it
Employee is 7 minutes late for the first time.
What is coaching it?
An employee refuses to sign a write-up. Does that automatically make the documentation invalid?
What is no? The manager should follow company procedure for documenting the refusal.
“Sarah was 17 minutes late for her 8:00 a.m. shift.”
What is fact?
"John was extremely disrespectful."
What is subjective?
Every write-up should clearly identify this basic information about the incident.
What are the date, time, location, and specific behavior?
Employee has been late four times after verbal coaching.
What is documentation?
You witness an employee violating a standard. When should you document the details?
What is as soon as reasonably possible while the facts are fresh?
“Jessica called off three times in the last four weeks.”
What is Fact- but you need additional context?
“Sarah doesn't respect her job.”
What is Opinion?
After explaining what happened, documentation should identify what the employee was expected to do instead.
What is the expected standard or behavior?
Employee curses at a manager in front of guests.
What is document it?
During a write-up conversation, the employee starts arguing and blaming everyone else. What should you do?
What is remain calm, avoid arguing, redirect to the documented behavior, and allow the employee to provide their response?
“Mark was rude to the customer.”
What is too vague or a feeling?
“Ashley obviously doesn't care about her job”
What is too assumption?
If an employee has already been coached about the same problem, this information should be included.
What is previous coaching/documentation history?
Employee is rude to a guest.
What is document it?
You hear that an employee committed a serious violation, but you didn't witness it. What should happen before writing conclusions as fact?
What is gather the facts, speak with appropriate witnesses/leadership, and follow the investigation/HR process?
“Ashley arrived at 7:18 a.m. for her scheduled 7:00 a.m. shift.”
What is fact?
“Mark told the customer, ‘That's not my problem,’ and walked away.”
What is Observable behavior?
After receiving documentation, an employee says, “That's not what happened.” What should the manager do?
What is allow the employee to explain their perspective and document their response without arguing?
Employee and manager simply disagree about how something should be done.
What is coach it?
An incident involves harassment, discrimination, retaliation, protected leave, an accommodation, threats, or another serious HR concern. Should the GM simply handle it like a normal performance write-up?
What is no—follow company reporting/escalation procedures and involve HR/appropriate leadership?
“I've talked to him a million times.”
What is Vague?
“John raised his voice and stated, I'm not doing that, after being instructed to complete the task.”
What is Observable behavior?
Name the five parts of our documentation formula: FACT → STANDARD → HISTORY → EXPECTATION → ACTION.
What happened, what standard applied, previous coaching/history, what must happen going forward, and what action is being taken?