Demotion, termination, and other disciplinary decisions are so sensitive that managers need to deal with these issues very carefully. All employment decisions should be based on the results of performance evaluation, which is a strong tool to protect the company from lawsuits. A manager should discuss a performance problem with the employee when it becomes obvious, and develop an action plan for improvement. If the problem persists and the manager decides to discipline the employee, he or she should document everything that could help the organization prove its position in arbitration, including the performance problem, employee feedback from the action plan, and the reason for the discipline. For demotions, terminations, and disciplinary action, one should always remember to dot the i’s and cross t’s. In others words, document, document, document.
