Phase 3 of 3 · Hard Conversations
Performance documentation
Dated, factual notes of what was expected, what happened, what was said, and what comes next, kept in the personnel file.
Dated and factual belongs in the file. Everything else is a story.
In plain English
Performance documentation is a short, dated record of facts, not a novel about how the owner feels.
- What it looks like in business
- After a missed deadline, the owner writes the date, the assignment, what was delivered, the conversation, and the next check date, then files it.
- Why it matters
- Memory fades, stories split, and a later unemployment claim or discrimination charge will ask what the file actually says.
Reading it once is not the same as knowing it. Put this term in the daily rotation and let the quiz come back for it.
Study this termWhere this comes from
This is HR guidance, not legal advice, and rules change. Check the current text and your own facts before you act on it. When a situation needs a lawyer, Jennifer will say so.
Where it sits
Phase 3: Hard Conversations
A fair process for performance, complaints, accommodations, and exits so the owner is not both the boss and the only adult in the room.