Fill it in live
Write the record during the conversation, not after. The team member sees what is being written as it happens.
Capture their view
Section 2 is their words. Ask open questions, listen, write what they say. Not your interpretation.
Name the commitment
Specific actions, who is doing what, by when. If you cannot name the next step, you are not ready to close the meeting.
Both sign before they leave
Print it, read it through together, both parties sign, give the team member a copy. This is the whole point of the record.
Where this sits in the escalation ladder
A Record of Discussion is a step up from a regular one on one, and a step down from a written warning. Use it when the issue is real but not yet serious, and when informal feedback has not shifted what you are seeing.
When a Record of Discussion is the right tool
Reach for a Record of Discussion when three things are true.
- You have already raised the concern in an informal one on one and the behaviour has not changed.
- The concern is real, but the seriousness does not justify a written warning. Examples: repeated attention to detail errors in client work, not attending team stand ups without notice, missed handovers between shifts, minor breaches of a process you have already walked through once.
- You can name the specific change you need to see, and the timeframe is short (two to four weeks).
If any of those three are not true, pick a different tool. A written warning is the right move for anything that touches safety, theft, bullying, or serious misconduct. An informal one on one is the right move if you have not yet had the first conversation.
How to run the meeting
A Record of Discussion is a fifteen to twenty minute conversation. Office with the door closed, end of a shift or early in the day, not in front of other team members.
24 hours notice
The team member should know there is a meeting and what it is about. A simple sentence is enough: "I want to sit down tomorrow afternoon to talk about what we discussed last week on the weekly reports, and document what we agree." Avoid springing it on them.
Support person optional, always mention it
Say in the invite: "You are welcome to bring a support person if you want one." Most Records of Discussion do not have a support person. That is normal. Mentioning the option is what matters.
Open with the purpose
"This is a Record of Discussion. It is a record of this conversation that we both sign at the end. It is not a written warning. It is a step to make sure we are on the same page about what needs to change and by when."
Name the concern in plain sentences
Use the specific examples. Read them out from the record. Do not hedge. The team member needs to hear the concern named clearly.
Ask for their view, then listen
"What is going on for you around this?" Then write what they say in Section 2. Their words, not yours. If they raise workload, training, health, family, anything that matters to the concern, write it.
Agree the action together
What will change, who is doing what, by when, and how you will both know it has changed. Write it into Section 3 while they watch.
Read it back, then sign
Print the form. Read the whole record aloud together. Both parties sign. Give the team member a copy before they leave.
What to write vs what to leave out
Write what you observed. Dates, times, what you saw, who reported it. "On 12 March the weekly report for Client A was not in the shared drive by end of Friday. You told me you had not finished it." Short sentences, specific.
Leave out what you inferred. No "you clearly do not care about this", no "I think you are overwhelmed", no "it seems like you are not prioritising this". Inference does not belong in a record that both parties sign.
Write what the team member said. Their actual words in Section 2. "Sarah said she has been covering another account on her own for three weeks and has not had a full day at her own desk in that time." If they raise a workload issue, write it. If they disagree with your version, write their version too.
Leave out your own commentary. Section 2 is theirs, not yours.
How it protects everyone
A Record of Discussion is documentation, not a weapon. If things resolve at step two and you never need to escalate, the record sits quietly in the file. If things escalate to a written warning or a Performance Improvement Plan, Fair Work will look for exactly this kind of documented conversation as evidence that the team member was told, was heard, and was given a chance to change.
It also protects the team member. A well kept record means nothing is being sprung on them later. Whatever Section 3 says is the plan, is the plan. If they meet it, the record closes. If new issues emerge, they emerge against a known baseline.
After the meeting
- Scan and file. Signed copy goes in the employee file. Keep a secure digital copy as well.
- Calendar the review. Whatever deadline you set in Section 3, put a diary note so the review conversation happens on the day, not the week after.
- Do your side of the actions. If you agreed to provide a resource, a shadow shift, or a training module, follow through fast. Fair Work looks for business side delivery, not team member side.
- Review with the team member. On the review date, a short second conversation. Has the change happened? Close the record with a short outcome note in Section 4. If not, you are either extending the timeframe or moving to a written warning.
COIN Feedback Planner
Plan the COIN conversation if you are still at the informal step before a Record of Discussion.
Feedback Scripts Library
Ten ready to use scripts including the opening for a planned discussion meeting.
Written Warning Generator
The next step if the Record of Discussion does not resolve the issue, or the issue is serious enough to skip straight to.
Performance Improvement Plan
For ongoing, multiple performance concerns that need a structured plan with measurable targets.