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Maintaining a system of organized, accurate and consistent documentation in the workplace is both necessary and beneficial. Making documentation a priority, especially when it comes to the company’s HR department, can help mitigate disputes, offer resources when they are needed and answer important questions about the company. In this article, we will discuss why documentation is important and ways you might consider improving your documentation process.

Documentation refers to a set of records that exist online, on paper or on hard drives. It is material that provides evidence or information to serve as a record. In the workplace, documentation is retained records of employment and company actions and events as required by legal mandates and company policy.

The best human resource practices involve maintaining both formal and informal records about employment events. This can include items such as:

Maintaining extensive records allows the human resources department to preserve a written history of events. Documentation can guide managerial staff on employee promotions, disciplinary actions, pay raises and terminations. Documentation should always be factual, supporting insights without relying on the opinions of others.

While there are many reasons maintaining a consistent, organized system for documentation can help you and your organization be successful, here are three main categories to consider:

While certain documentation such as records of employment should be formal, it is appropriate for others to be informal. For example, a manager might keep a casual record of discussions she's had with employees throughout the year to address during one-on-one check-ins with them about their goals, projects or level of morale.

Informal documentation can even consist of notes or letters saved in an employee's personnel file. If an employee writes down a suggestion and gives it to management, they can file it away for future reference. Email and online interoffice communications can also serve as informal documentation when the need arises.

By contrast, formal documentation adheres to certain standards and conventions as determined by the company and official HR procedures.

Maintaining employee personnel files is one of HR's most important responsibilities. While your company's requirements might vary, a strong employee personnel file should include, but is not limited to, the employee’s:

If an employee is terminated or leaves the company for another reason, HR should continue documentation with the employee's:

Documentation isn't just for employee records and management practices. It also can also include items such as tech specifications, requirements, business logic and company manuals. Here are a few industry-specific documentation examples:

1. Software development
Software development is one industry where the importance of documentation is apparent. Whether you're talking about a small team or a large corporation, many people are often involved in software development projects. Therefore, proper technical documentation is important to complete tasks in a quality way.

Project documentation in software development can:

Documentation must be comprehensive in an industry like software development because any errors create gaps between those having access to the information. For example, if stakeholders don't fully grasp the product, they may have different expectations for it than what the engineers are trying to deliver. Not only does documentation clearly outline relevant information, but it also prevents mishaps and misunderstandings.

2. Computer system management
System documentation refers to a solution that serves as a reference for future software and hardware update or maintenance efforts. In other words, it describes the capabilities and requirements of software and informs readers about the software's functionality. System documentation is more technical than other forms of documentation because it includes aspects like:

User documentation within the realm of system documentation refers to information a non-IT user can more readily digest. Types of user documentation include user manuals, training manuals, installation guides and release notes.

3. Research
Performing research and writing up findings requires you to build and support an argument. Documenting your studies and giving credit to those whose ideas you’ve built upon is crucial. Reasons for documenting your research might include:

Part of being a professional researcher is keeping written, audio and visual documentation about your research. This includes recording their hypotheses, findings, questions and conclusions. Scientists must also collect data in order to analyze it—a form of documentation. Additionally, scientists may want to replicate an experiment to see if the test results vary based on a certain variable. In order to repeat the experiment precisely as before, they need documentation from the previous experiment or original scientist.

Those who perform scientific research need an accurate set of instructions to test hypotheses, repeat experiments, produce results and publish their findings. Without proper documentation in research, we wouldn't have the advanced technology, medications and agricultural methods we enjoy today.

Many industries require thorough documentation performed in a specific way. If organizations fail to maintain organized records, some of the consequences may include:

Documentation is used in all organizations to record a variety of information. No matter your career path, it's important to understand the role documentation plays in the workforce and how you can benefit from keeping organized records for your own career.