How to Write Up an Employee: The Six Part Write Up That Is Never a Surprise

By Andreas Pettersson, Founder, Leaders ADAPT

Most managers search for how to write up an employee at the point where they are angry, late, and about to do it badly. The write up arrives as the first formal signal, the employee is blindsided, HR asks why nothing was documented earlier, and the document that was supposed to protect the company now protects the employee.

The version on this page has one rule that prevents all of that. A write up is never a surprise. It records a conversation that already happened and did not change anything.

I run Leaders ADAPT and wrote the 5-Minute Leader, whose Accountability Protocol is where the conversation below comes from. I am not a lawyer, and employment law varies by country and state, so the template is the manager's side of the job. Check your policy and local law for the rest.

What a write up is for

An employee write up is a dated, one page record of a specific incident or pattern, the expectation it breached, the change required by a stated date and the consequence if the change does not happen. It exists to make the standard unmistakable and to create a fair record, in that order.

Managers who ask how to write up an employee usually get the order backwards. They write for the file, in HR language, and the employee reads a legal threat rather than a clear ask. Then the behavior continues, because nobody ever said plainly what had to change by when.

Gallup's research on performance feedback found that nearly half of employees get feedback from their manager a few times a year or less. A write up that lands on someone in that half is the first real feedback they have had, and it reads as an ambush because it is one.

Before you write anything: the no surprise test

Ask yourself one question. Has this person heard, from me, in plain words, that this specific behavior is a problem and has to change?

If no, do not write the write up. Have the conversation this week, in the 1:1 or the same day as the incident, note the date, and write up the next occurrence. The Accountability Protocol I teach calls this the Warm but Firm conversation: open with positive intent, name the behavior and the change with no softening, close by asking what they need from you. It takes five minutes and it is the step that makes every later step fair.

If yes, and it has happened again, the write up is the right tool, and the rest of how to write up an employee is clerical. Pull the date of the earlier conversation into the document. That date is the most important line on the page.

How to write up an employee: the six part template

Copy this. Plain text, one page, no adjectives.

``` EMPLOYEE WRITE UP

Employee: Role: Manager: Date: Type: verbal reminder on file / written warning / final written warning

1. EXPECTATION The policy, agreement or standard that applies, quoted or named.

2. INCIDENT Date, place, what the employee observably did or did not do. Witnesses if any.

3. EFFECT What it caused for the team, the customer, the schedule or the number.

4. PRIOR CONVERSATIONS Date and summary of each earlier time this was raised, and by whom.

5. CHANGE REQUIRED The specific behavior expected from now on. Visible by: date. Support the manager will provide:

6. CONSEQUENCE What happens if the change is not visible by the date.

Employee response (their words, optional):

Employee signature (confirms receipt, not agreement): Date: Manager signature: Date: ```

Sections 2 and 3 are SBED, the feedback format from the 1:1 Protocol, with the demand moved into section 5. If you have been giving feedback in that format all along, the write up is the same sentences with a date on top.

A filled example

Fictional, so you can see the standard.

Notice what is absent. No "unreliable". No "attitude". No "consistently". Three dates, three times, two prior conversations by date, one change, one consequence. The employee can disagree with the interpretation but not with the facts, and that is the test.

The conversation that goes with the document

A write up handed over in silence, or emailed, fails. Deliver it in a private meeting, with HR present if your policy requires it, and run it in the Warm but Firm shape.

Open with the intent. "I am having this conversation because I want you here and doing well, and the late starts are getting in the way of that."

Read the incident and the prior conversations aloud. Do not paraphrase. The dates do the work.

State the change and the date. Then stop talking. Silence is not rude here, it is the space for their response.

When they respond, listen, and write their words into the response box. If they explain, acknowledge the explanation and hold the standard. "I understand the bus changed. The standard is a message before 7:30, and the message is what was missing." Reasons are not results, and the line that follows is the one I teach every manager: starting now, if something is going to make you late, I hear about it before the shift, not after.

Close with the question: what do you need from me to make this work? Write the answer into section 5 as support. Then sign, ask them to sign for receipt, and give them a copy.

If it gets emotional, acknowledge it without retreating. "This is landing hard, I can see it. Take a moment. The conversation is happening because I believe you can fix this, and the standard does not move."

Mistakes that turn a write up against you

Writing the first warning in the write up. Covered above, and it is the one most managers make.

Describing character instead of behavior. Attitude, lazy, difficult, not a team player. Each of these is an opinion and the employee will dispute it, correctly. Replace every one with a dated incident.

Bundling. A write up about lateness that also mentions the dress code, the tone in a meeting and a missed report is four grievances stapled together and none of them lands. One behavior per document.

Leaving out the manager's commitment. A list of demands with nothing owed back reads as a verdict. Section 5 has a support line for a reason.

Skipping the date in section 5. "Improve punctuality" has no finish line. "Every shift through 30 November" does.

Doing it alone when the policy says otherwise. Many companies require HR in the room for a written warning, and local law or a union agreement can require more. The performance improvement plan employee rights page covers the questions employees ask, which is a useful list of what to get right in advance.

Confusing the write up with a plan. If the problem is wide, long running and spread across several areas, a write up is the wrong tool, and the performance improvement plan template is where that goes. If it is one behavior that was named and has repeated, the write up is right, and the how to hold employees accountable page has the daily version that makes write ups rare.

Writing up an employee FAQ

What should an employee write up include?

Six parts. The policy or expectation that applies, the specific incident with a date, the effect it had, the earlier conversations where the same thing was raised, the change required and the date it must be visible by, and what happens if it is not. Keep it to one page, in plain language, and have the employee sign that they received it, not that they agree.

When should you write up an employee?

When a verbal conversation about the same behavior has already happened and the behavior has repeated, or when a single incident is serious enough that your policy calls for a written record on the first occurrence. A write up should never be the first time the employee hears about the problem. If it is, go back and have the conversation first.

How do you write up an employee for attitude?

You do not write up an attitude. You write up behavior. "Rolled her eyes and said whatever when given the schedule on Tuesday, in front of two colleagues" is a behavior with a date and witnesses. "Bad attitude" is an opinion the employee can dispute. Describe what a camera would have recorded and what it caused, then state the standard going forward.

Does an employee have to sign a write up?

Usually the signature confirms they received the document, not that they agree with it, and the form should say so. If they refuse to sign, note the refusal, the date and a witness, and the write up still stands. Local employment law and any union agreement can add requirements, so check with HR or counsel before the meeting if you are unsure.

How many write ups before termination?

There is no universal number. Many companies use a verbal warning, a written warning, a final written warning and then termination, but policy, contract and local law decide the sequence for your situation. What matters more than the count is that each step was documented, delivered, and gave the employee a fair chance to change before the next.

What is the difference between a write up and a performance improvement plan?

A write up records one incident or one pattern, states the change required and warns of the consequence. A performance improvement plan covers a longer period, usually 30 to 90 days, with several measurable goals, scheduled check ins and support from the manager. A write up is a warning. A plan is a structured last attempt to make the role work.

Have the conversation first, then the document is easy

If you are reading this with a write up half drafted, run the no surprise test before you finish it. If the person has not heard it plainly from you, say it this week and date the note. If they have, fill the six sections from your notes, deliver it in person, and let them respond. How to write up an employee is mostly how to have been honest with them for the last month.

Which conversation have you been postponing that will otherwise become a document?

Run the five minute conversation that makes write ups rare.