The importance of Ohio employers documenting their employee’s performance issues cannot be overstated. Too many employers rely on employment at will, and that’s a dangerous position to take because the cost of turnover is so high.
If an employee doesn’t know something is wrong, they can’t fix it.
If your employees don’t realize that their performance is not up to standards or that certain behavior is bad, then they won’t know to correct that issue. As an employer, you want to communicate that you want to better the employee and hopefully not have to terminate that employee given that the cost of turnover so high. So they need to know that something’s wrong.
No one likes to be in trouble.
Nobody likes to be in trouble, but they must know that if they are not meeting expectations or failing to comply, it will result in progressive discipline. As an employer, it is your responsibility to communicate and document the issue to allow your employee to understand that their actions, or lack thereof, do have consequences.
However, by documenting the issue, you are showing them that yes, they are in trouble, but you want to help them solve the issue and better themselves and the company.
Documentation makes the problem real for the employee
Documenting an issue is also important because it can be easy to brush off a quick verbal scolding. When employees recognize that something is going into their permanent file, they react differently. Documentation will cause them to take it more seriously.
Documentation sets an example for other employees
Lastly, consistent documentation of problems throughout your business shows that you are serious about your standards. You are setting an example for all employees when you hold people accountable. This way, you’ll have fewer issues in the future, as all of your employees know what is expected of them.
Overall, you want to be consistent and document problems as soon as they arise so that you can accurately and effectively handle them and prevent them from happening in the future.
If you are an Ohio employer, it is essential to instantly document performance issues and set your expectations of your employees from the beginning so that you and your employees can work towards bettering yourselves and the company.
