As a manager, there are three things that you don't do enough. You don't call your parents enough. You don't drink enough water. And you don't document employee issues to the extent you should. You probably don't brush your teeth the recommended two minutes either, but for sure your mom thinks you owe her a call, 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated and there's no chance you're documenting employee issues to the satisfaction of your HR department. Why is that?
As for your mom and hydration, we all have our excuses, but with respect to HR documentation, several factors are holding you back. First, no one trained you on documentation—it wasn't part of any post-secondary training in HR, nor was it in your management training program. Second, you don't have access to the tools to document employee issues easily and accurately. There are some tools you could use—word processing software, text, photo, etc.—but when you're on the floor dealing with production or customers, those aren't convenient. Finally, your organization doesn't have a culture of documentation in which managers reinforce others' documentation. But are these assumptions true?
First, if you're using social media, you're better at documentation than you think. Post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.—you're documenting incidents or issues of your life and you've gotten better at it over time. Second, there are low cost tools available like HR PaperTrail documentation software which allows managers like you to document employment issues real-time from any common device—phone, tablet, workstation, etc. Finally, you think nothing of checking in to a favorite restaurant on Facebook, posting pics and having your comments reinforced with feedback from your friends. That culture of documentation is closer than you think.
In short, you don't document enough, but the discipline and culture of documentation is closer than you think. If you can review your favorite restaurant, post about a trip with friends or text with co-workers, you're fully capable of using HR PaperTrail software to document workplace issues to the satisfaction of your HR department. Now grab a glass of water and call your Mom. No more excuses!
HR PaperTrail HR documentation software allows managers to document incidents, meetings, meetings, training and certification requirements, time and attendance issues, counseling sessions and all sorts of other workplace issues. Document more, stress less and management with confidence.
About the author
Kyle Kirkland is President of Brick HR, Inc., the developer of HR PaperTrail documentation software. As owner, President and General Manager of Club One Casino in Fresno, California, Mr. Kirkland has extensive experience managing employees in gaming, food and beverage, facilities, security, administration and managerial positions. He has direct experience in dealing with the challenges California employers face and how to mitigate the related risk. Mr. Kirkland is also the president of the California Gaming Association, a non-profit trade association which represents California cardrooms.
Prior to joining the gaming industry, Mr. Kirkland served as the chairman of Steinway Musical Instruments, the world-renowned musical instrument manufacturer, a position he held for 17 years. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kirkland worked at Bain & Company, an international management consulting firm and Drexel Burnham Lambert, an investment bank specializing in high yield securities. Mr. Kirkland has served on the boards of several public and private companies and non-profit organizations.
Mr. Kirkland holds an A.B. degree from Harvard College magna cum laude in Economics and an MBA degree from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
He can be reached at kyle@hrpapertrail.com.
