File Organization for hearing
Lonnie
7 Posts
Lurker Lonnie here. I'm a middle manager who will soon be attending my first board of review hearing where am ex-employee is appealing the termination. I'm unsure about how to organize my file on the employee. There are several annual performance reviews, written warnings & suspension plus a ton of my informal notes (some handwritten, some typed, some notes jotted on calendar) documenting numerous incidents, coaching, counseling, problems, etc.
Should I keep everying interfiled or would it be better to separate the formal material from the other? Also, is there such a thing as "too much" doucmentation? Years ago an employee here (not mine thank goodness!) won an appeal because "after so many warnings and disciplinary action, employee had no reason to believe he would ever be terminated no matter what progressive discipline received, no matter what he did or didn't do on the job."
I've learned the hard way to be more formal in documentation, but that's water under the bridge--and in 25 year of supervising it's never been necessary before!!!
While our place isn't union it is extremely, IMHO, pro-employee.
Any suggestions about how to prepare for the hearing would be appreciated--first times are so scary.
Thank you.
Lonnie
Should I keep everying interfiled or would it be better to separate the formal material from the other? Also, is there such a thing as "too much" doucmentation? Years ago an employee here (not mine thank goodness!) won an appeal because "after so many warnings and disciplinary action, employee had no reason to believe he would ever be terminated no matter what progressive discipline received, no matter what he did or didn't do on the job."
I've learned the hard way to be more formal in documentation, but that's water under the bridge--and in 25 year of supervising it's never been necessary before!!!
While our place isn't union it is extremely, IMHO, pro-employee.
Any suggestions about how to prepare for the hearing would be appreciated--first times are so scary.
Thank you.
Lonnie
Comments
The lead person representing the employer should always be the HR staff person. Assuming that not to be you, your file should not be nearly as complete as theirs. It is a given though, that you should not take a document along from YOUR file that the HR file does not contain or that will surprise the HR rep.
Since the opposing side can demand you hand a file over to them in a hearing, I do not take entire files. I take only that upon which the termination was based, led up to it, substantiates it or in some manner relates directly TO it. Notes, scribblings, drop notes, calendar entries are not good evidence typically.
Your side will be called upon to testify as to why the person was terminated, who terminated him and upon what policy violations, behaviors and evidence that was based. I always line my evidence out on the desk or table days prior to the hearing and number each document to correspond with my written agenda I will follow in evidence production. The process, for me, gets a bit anal, but one can be made to look awfully unprepared in a tiny room with no table or only lap room and documents being shuffled and tempers flaring.
To a typical hearing I take copies of work policies, copy of document they signed when they received the policy statement, copies of time cards or other hard evidence of violation, copies of disciplinary writeups, copies of attendance and progressive discipline policies, copies of anything else that clearly corroborates a link between the behavior, the policies and the action we took. Always take three copies: One for you to testify from, one for the hearing officer, one for the claimant that is given to the hearing officer to give to her if he chooses to. If you are a manager or supervisor, chances are you are going as support. You won't be allowed to sit through the testimony or questioning of others if indeed you are to testify. The hearing is taped, the testimony is sworn, things are generally kept orderly. It's not at all like your manager's roundtable disciplinary meeting at work.
Thanks for the details about the other. It helps me understand the process better. I sorta feel like i've been out of the loop in a way on what to do and how to do it. And seeing the results of other termination appeals doesn't leave me with a lot of confidence in the process. Thanks again! Lonnie
p.s. I assume it will the company attorney representing us and she doesn't exactly have a high batting average. Excuse me. I think I must be in a bad mood today. I feel very cynical. What was the point of them (HR) telling me to document, document, document and that handwritten notes were good docuemntation if none of it is taken into account at the hearing? What's the use of progressive discipline. I need chocolate. Lots of chocolate.
Don made some good points. Just remember, be organized, relaxed and matter of fact. Also help is you know that others have been termed for similar offenses. Stick to the facts, keep your toes crossed maybe you will win.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
"Document, document, document has another piece. File, file, file."
Yeah... that other piece is what got left out in all the sessions I had with our HR manager about how to cope with this extremely challenging employee. And the training supervisors got from the company itself was basically if the supervisor would just counsel and coach everything would work out. No bad employees, just bad supervisors. I could toss my cookies.
Thanks Don and Balloonman for your feedback.
An aside: I hang out on the list to try to learn how to manage staff and deal with unpleasant staff situations better -- not something I learned with my technical background & education, or do I have the instinctive knack. Please all you HR managers who work with managers like me - understand we didn't get taught the information you were taught. Help us!