A WRITE-UP

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A business owner from Texas called me the other day to talk about a recent performance problem caused by one of his employees. During our discussion, the business owner and I talked about the extent to which the written documentation should be drafted, balancing brevity with evidence. Interestingly, some owners and their managers write way too much information, explaining innumerable sundry points irrelevant to the specific the performance issue at hand. Too much information, usually replete with soap opera drama engulfed with new-age psychobabble editorializing, can quickly lead to a lynch pin of a discrimination, bias, or wrongful termination claim. More is not always better.

On the other hand, I have seen quite a few employee write-ups that are so concise (e.g., “Johnny cut down the wrong tree”) that they don’t accurately summarize the performance issue, adjoining circumstances, nor convey the impact of the inappropriate action onto the business operation, results, or goals. Every employee action should have an impact on some business outcome, metric, or process. If not, why is the employee doing it? Thus, too little information in a write-up is also problematic. Too little is never enough.

All performance feedback is subject to professional scrutiny, writing style, and of course, legal consequence. That said, all things being equal, my preference is “less is better than more.”

Here is the sample language I quickly drafted for the business owner’s review, revision, and response.

“On April 14, 2025, John Smith, was directed to install five plants at the ABC job site. When directed to do so, John replied that he would not do that task. He stated that a full crew should be deployed to complete that task.

That same refusal was again displayed when John Smith met with Bill Jones, the company business owner. After lengthy discussion, John Smith consented to complete the assignment.

John Smith must understand that all employees must work achieve company business goals in a team-based environment. His initial refusals contradict the company business goals of containment, gross margin, and customer satisfaction.”

Beyond that specific incident documentation, it is important to note that the Corrective Discipline Form used by the company contains the following standard language:

“Employees receiving this documentation are hereby put on notice of a violation of Company rules and/or standards of employee conduct. Further violation(s) may result in subsequent discipline, including possible termination of employment.

I (Employee Name) have read this Corrective Discipline Form and fully understand its content and how this violation can impact Company morale, operations, and results. I also acknowledge that I must demonstrate immediate, significant, and sustained improvement in this area to improve my performance to a satisfactory level.”

While open to your respected professional judgment and unique company culture, my sample text was purposefully taut, behavioral, and instrumental. It is assuredly succinct capturing only pertinent details, avoiding unnecessary personal jargon (e.g., “John is lazy,” “John was stubborn,” “John had a bad attitude”) or legal terminology (e.g., “insubordination”), presenting employee actions and event resolution, and linking the employee’s substandard performance to detrimental effect on various business goals.

Beyond the text of the write-up, readers of this column are well acquainted with my preference to deliver all performance management documentation to an employee in a 2-on-1 format pairing the direct supervisor with a silent witness (e.g., Human Resources, Office Manager, Safety Coordinator) to avoid any possible individualized disputes. In like fashion, if the employee refuses to sign the Corrective Discipline Form, simply have the witness document that fact on the form and file it accordingly.

While everything is BIG in Texas, when it comes to employee write-ups, I still believe “less is better.”

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