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economist suntribune june 5 1885 re3 good record- keeping is a must no business person would argue the value of good recordkeeping strict procedures for handling and filing invoices customer orders cheques re ceiving reports and correspondence play a vital part in informing the ownermanager about transactions that over a designated period it also tells him or her of the effect of those transactions have on the business the obligations a business must meet and the resources it has available to meet them but what about an enterprises most im portant assetits employees beyond the bare minimum keeping records in that area is often dismissed by the small busi ness person as being a corporate function only applicable to firms large enough to have a separate personnel department while its true that many aspects of per sonnel administration relate mostly to big firms no business can afford to ignore it altogether it doesnt have to be a complex setup but regardless of a companys size some kind of formalized policy and record keeping system is a must it should cover these basic areas policies and procedures they are a starting point for any personnel system and their absence can contribute in a big way to poor employee relations a copy of your policies regarding such topics as hours of work pay schedules and raises vacations and sick leave should be provided to new employees one or two simple statements on each will help to pro tect both you and them from future com plications although most of your em ployee relations will be conducted on a very personal daytoday basis putting your policies in writing will help to make sure administration is in line with your per- sonal business goals and to prevent against the making of ad hoc reactive de cisions which might vary between em ployees and be construed as unfair setting out conditions also allows problems to be resolved by a designate in your absence personal files one should be set up for each employee to hold copies of all docu ments and correspondence relating to him or her from the time of application there are three main changes of status which occur during a persons tenue with a com pany start employment change duties and finish employment inside the file cover there should be a summary sheet to show at a glance the dates and remarks pertaining to these changes as well as the employees personal data and salary history setting up an accu rate and workable information system will be easy when you have just a few em ployees and will be essential as your busi ness grows job descriptions again they should be stated as simply as possible be given to each new employees duties with the pro viso other tasks to be included as deemed necessary job descriptions provide a basis for deci sionmaking in performance review and salary increase and provide the employee and employer with a knowledge of what is to be reasonably expected for the salary earned its a wellresearched fact that em ployees are more productive when they understand what they are supposed to do descriptions should be updated as the other tasks become part of the em ployees permanent responsibilities payroll and deduction files most busi ness have found the payroll system which works best for them in calculating and maintaining a continuous record of gross wages and deductions for their employees however including a monthly or quarterly sheet summarizing the current salary of all employees is useful for providing finan cial management information quickly application files for every position you have open as well as for many you havent amass application forms from a a number of people only one of whom will eventually be hired however keeping forms from selected others especially those whom youve taken the time to inter view can save you a great deal of time and effort when looking for staff in the future you should set a time limit for resume retention however after about six months tracking down previous applicants would take more effort than to advertise to a new crop different rules apply to the filesof for mer employees revenue canada dictates that an employees files must be kept for six years following the termination date also although many employers resist hiring former employees they can be good candidates for vacant positions depending on their reasons for leaving former em ployees are also a good source to use for filling in our seasonal or rush work so inac tive files can still provide some usefulness one of the most important things to keep in employee records is any discussion re garding performance if you want to ter minate someone for their poor perform ance you should have evidence indicating that the employee was advised of his short comings told how to improve and given the opportunity to do so t failure to provide such evidence can re sult in a wrongful dismissal suit regard ing an employees access to his own fife this has generality been considered to be at the discretion of the employer althoughit could be challenged within freedom of in formation rules under human rights leg islation you should check with the provin cial employment standards board if such a question arises while accuracy is a key requirement in any recordkeeping plan maintaining con fidentiality is of overriding importance in employee files personnel records contain private information and it is your respon sibility as an employer to see that access to the information is limited and privacy pro tected i editors note john kane ca is presi dent of markham and a partner in the toronto office of thorne riddell char tered accountants 2942200 4959440 6402100 6492292 cooley enterprises ltd general contractor specializing in residential renovations basement finishing rec rooms kitchens bathrooms carpentry painting decorating fully insured personal attention financing may be arranged 4776676 fertilizing tree removal mowing landscaping ijffl ijjhj snowplowing adams landscaping property maintenance bob adams 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