Documentation is a word most used when a problem occurs. The truth is, most of us tend to skip over the documentation we should be keeping. It’s human nature.
But documentation can resolve problems and even prevent them. Thus, it’s important we change our mindset and make maintaining proper documentation a standard operating procedure.
The following are some basic items of documentation we all need to retain:
1. Hours worked must be documented. For each pay period or week worked, employees need to document starting and ending time, lunch, and any personal, vacation or holiday benefits. The time card (or other method) should be signed and dated by the employee, stating the times are correct, and then signed off by their supervisor after reviewing of hours submitted (if it applies). Employee theft of time not worked is one of the largest problems in the work force.
2. Employee problems must be documented after they have been discussed with the employees involved. This documentation could be notes from a verbal warning, or a formal written warning, signed and dated by the employee.
3. Receipts need to be issued on all moneys received: This documents who paid the money, date, the amount and who received the money.
4. Permission to embalm and the declination of embalming must be retained, along with who gave permission or declined embalming, and the date and time.
5. When cremated human remains are returned to the authorized person, to whom they were released to must be documented. It’s also a good procedure to request a copy of identification to be attached to the release form.
6. At the funeral home, whenever the deceased’s personal property is returned to the family it must be inventoried and documented to whom it was returned and when. Similarly, when the firm is given permission to dispose of personal property it requires the same form of documentation.
7. When a cemetery does a blind check of a grave it must be documented who did the check and when.
8. Whenever training takes place with the staff, whether it is OSHA, FTC or other, there should be a sign-off sheet for the employees along with notes from the training. The notes will help document what was covered. Then later, if an employee says “I didn’t know that,” they can be shown the notes.
9. Meetings that deal with your firm’s policies and procedures, like cremation, should be documented by distributing the policies and procedures to the employees in some sort of written format. Cremation is an irreversible process that has zero margins for error. Distributing the information allows employees to review the information at a later date.
10. Additionally, staff meeting notes should be retained in some format that allows management and employees to review what was covered at a later date. It also allows new employees to see what policies, procedures or guidelines the firm has. This information can also be used when there is an employee discipline problem.
11. Record of maintenance and repair on equipment should be retained in some form.
The above items are just a few of the areas in which documentation would be beneficial to the firm and employees. Every firm should find even more that are just as important. The critical component in retaining documentation is the accountability of the person(s) who is responsible for doing so. If the documentation is not done properly, then it is of little use to the firm when needed.