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I recently accepted a promotion within my company.  I am transitioning the management of my current teams of directs to a different manager.  I have gone through a process similar to the "how to resign" cast and prepared a 1 pg summary on each employee, created a packet with their most recent reviews, and have written their latest quarterly review.

My question is... what do I do with my O3 notes?  The "meat" is captured in their reviews and summaries. Do I include them in the packet for their new manager, keep them, or toss them?

vjlyons's picture

I would probably scan, zip and keep a copy of all my O3 notes.    I would provide a copy also to the incoming manager.  It may provide more background about items mentioned in the reviews and shows the progress (positive or negative) of individual contributors.  It will also provide a good template for the new manager to start their O3s in a format that is comfortable for the existing employees.

vjlyons's picture

I would probably scan, zip and keep a copy of all my O3 notes.    I would provide a copy also to the incoming manager.  It may provide more background about items mentioned in the reviews and shows the progress (positive or negative) of individual contributors.  It will also provide a good template for the new manager to start their O3s in a format that is comfortable for the existing employees.

mattpalmer's picture

Like you say, Suzanne, the "meat" is in the reviews and summaries; the O3 notes are intended for my consumption, and are written that way -- they likely will have little value to anyone else reading them "cold".  There's also often notes in them that I'd prefer not to share "in bulk" with other people, things of a more personal nature (all of my directs always know that there's no "absolute confidentiality" or "privilege" when speaking to me, but at the same time the fact that they might be going through some personal issues is something I might note, but which I wouldn't unnecessarily share with others).

As far as what to do with them, I'd keep them for a year or two, and then shred them.  I don't see much value in scanning them, because there would be a "shelf life" to the notes, after which they probably wouldn't even make sense to me.  How long I kept them for would depend on whether I saw any future value in them (such as, if there was possible litigation in the offing, I'd definitely be keeping them around, just in case).

 

DaniMartin's picture
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I have never given copies of my O3 notes to the new manager. First of all, my handwriting and note-taking system probably isn't clear enough to make them of much use. Additionally, there's may be items that could be misleading or confusing without the context provided from having been in the meeting.

I typically scan, shred the hard copies and keep the soft copies for about a 1-2 years. I've never actually needed to refer to them once annual reviews are delivered; I just like to know they're there in case I need them for a year or two.

Best,
Dani