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life is wearing me thin
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<blockquote data-quote="Mikey" data-source="post: 122466" data-attributes="member: 3579"><p>WW, again I sympathize. I agree with the others about keeping a detailed log, but I also STRONGLY encourage you to keep it on the Q.T., for several reasons.</p><p></p><p>First, if you're only giving this one person an exceptional level of open scrutiny, then you leave yourself open to accusations of bias, personal vendettas, and unfair management practices. She could make up any excuse as to why you're not treating her like everyone else. If you're going to keep such a journal, keep it on EVERYONE that works for you.</p><p></p><p>Second, make sure you document the work expectations, how they are communicated to your team, WHEN they were communicated (and how often), and how you determined if they were being met. Beyond that, make sure that any public communications (and private notes/journals) are positive, focused on the job (not the person), and lead to corrective actions that are meant to help the employee actually achieve the goals - not just record the fact that they failed. If your communications and personal journals/logs are in any way negative, bias could be alleged against you that you failed as a manager to put them in a position to succeed.</p><p></p><p>Third, make sure you are intimately familiar with your company's HR policies concerning counseling, writeups, and other such matters. It's a dicey issue whether you let anyone know you're actually keeping a log, but if you do, make sure it's exactly in line with your company HR policies.</p><p></p><p>Finally, you have to decide whether or not you disclose that you're keeping such a log. If your boss is already nervous about the situation, it could be bad for you because such logs have come back to bite companies in the nether regions later during civil lawsuits. Keeping such a log could make them worry enough to put you on the hot seat (or worse). An alternative comes to mind that might work, though....</p><p></p><p>I had a boss that I hated. I hated him because he was efficient, on the ball, and NEVER let anything slip. I also admired him, though. He would start the year by telling you exactly what was expected, how you would be evaluated, etc. That was provided in writing. He then had some index cards printed, and he used them in pairs. They had "Assignment", "Expectation", "Assignee", and "Result" printed on them. Whenever he asked you to do something important (like something that would end up on your review), he would quickly fill out the first three sections of both cards using a pen, and then give you one and keep one in a tickler file. </p><p></p><p>When you were done, you filled out the last section and handed it back. He then reviewed it with you (usually only took minutes), and then filled out the "Results" section of his own card with his own impression of the results. He then let you read it, and made you initial it. if you disagreed with his interpretation, you were welcome to file a rebuttal, which he would attach to the card. At the end of the year, he would use both the initial expectations and the work assignment cards to write up your review.</p><p></p><p>I know it sounds complicated, but it's not. It's a quick, pen-and-ink method that involves both the manager and the worker, and gives both a say in how the assignment was handled. It was fair, open, and supported by HR, and there might have been some gnashing of teeth at review time, but NOBODY ever questioned whether or not he was accurate. And when someone was terminated, they NEVER accused him of lying, bias, or any other defamatory action.</p><p></p><p>I'm not saying you should do that, but he treated everyone the same. He tracked the assignments and performance of everyone in the same, open, and unambiguous manner. And did I mention he came up with this because he had TWO people with tenure that were little more than seat-warming oxygen thieves, but he couldn't fire them? Within a year, they were gone, and with nary a whimper from either them or the company.</p><p></p><p>Long post, but I hope I'm giving you, er, "Hope". There are ways to do this, and I sincerely hope you find a way. It can be done - I have the scars on my back to prove it, but I'm still very successful despite the roadbumps and rockslides that happened in my career.</p><p></p><p>You're also welcome to PM me if I can help further. IANAL, but I'll give you whatever help or advice I can.</p><p></p><p>Good luck to you.</p><p></p><p>Mikey</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mikey, post: 122466, member: 3579"] WW, again I sympathize. I agree with the others about keeping a detailed log, but I also STRONGLY encourage you to keep it on the Q.T., for several reasons. First, if you're only giving this one person an exceptional level of open scrutiny, then you leave yourself open to accusations of bias, personal vendettas, and unfair management practices. She could make up any excuse as to why you're not treating her like everyone else. If you're going to keep such a journal, keep it on EVERYONE that works for you. Second, make sure you document the work expectations, how they are communicated to your team, WHEN they were communicated (and how often), and how you determined if they were being met. Beyond that, make sure that any public communications (and private notes/journals) are positive, focused on the job (not the person), and lead to corrective actions that are meant to help the employee actually achieve the goals - not just record the fact that they failed. If your communications and personal journals/logs are in any way negative, bias could be alleged against you that you failed as a manager to put them in a position to succeed. Third, make sure you are intimately familiar with your company's HR policies concerning counseling, writeups, and other such matters. It's a dicey issue whether you let anyone know you're actually keeping a log, but if you do, make sure it's exactly in line with your company HR policies. Finally, you have to decide whether or not you disclose that you're keeping such a log. If your boss is already nervous about the situation, it could be bad for you because such logs have come back to bite companies in the nether regions later during civil lawsuits. Keeping such a log could make them worry enough to put you on the hot seat (or worse). An alternative comes to mind that might work, though.... I had a boss that I hated. I hated him because he was efficient, on the ball, and NEVER let anything slip. I also admired him, though. He would start the year by telling you exactly what was expected, how you would be evaluated, etc. That was provided in writing. He then had some index cards printed, and he used them in pairs. They had "Assignment", "Expectation", "Assignee", and "Result" printed on them. Whenever he asked you to do something important (like something that would end up on your review), he would quickly fill out the first three sections of both cards using a pen, and then give you one and keep one in a tickler file. When you were done, you filled out the last section and handed it back. He then reviewed it with you (usually only took minutes), and then filled out the "Results" section of his own card with his own impression of the results. He then let you read it, and made you initial it. if you disagreed with his interpretation, you were welcome to file a rebuttal, which he would attach to the card. At the end of the year, he would use both the initial expectations and the work assignment cards to write up your review. I know it sounds complicated, but it's not. It's a quick, pen-and-ink method that involves both the manager and the worker, and gives both a say in how the assignment was handled. It was fair, open, and supported by HR, and there might have been some gnashing of teeth at review time, but NOBODY ever questioned whether or not he was accurate. And when someone was terminated, they NEVER accused him of lying, bias, or any other defamatory action. I'm not saying you should do that, but he treated everyone the same. He tracked the assignments and performance of everyone in the same, open, and unambiguous manner. And did I mention he came up with this because he had TWO people with tenure that were little more than seat-warming oxygen thieves, but he couldn't fire them? Within a year, they were gone, and with nary a whimper from either them or the company. Long post, but I hope I'm giving you, er, "Hope". There are ways to do this, and I sincerely hope you find a way. It can be done - I have the scars on my back to prove it, but I'm still very successful despite the roadbumps and rockslides that happened in my career. You're also welcome to PM me if I can help further. IANAL, but I'll give you whatever help or advice I can. Good luck to you. Mikey [/QUOTE]
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