The Record Archives - understand-culture

The Taping System

On July 16, 1973, Alexander Butterfield, a former White House aide, told a Senate committee in a televised hearing that President Richard Nixon had ordered a taping system installed. On July 24, 1974, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to release the tapes. The vote was 8 to 0.

The White House released the tapes on August 5. A recording from June 23, 1972, showed Nixon approving a plan to have the CIA tell the FBI to “stay the hell out of this.” Nixon resigned on the evening of August 8, 1974, effective at noon the next day.

The Personnel File

California Labor Code section 1198.5 gives employees access to the record kept about them. “Every current and former employee, or their representative, has the right to inspect and receive a copy of the personnel records that the employer maintains relating to the employee’s performance, including education or training records, or to any grievance concerning the employee.”

The employer must respond “not later than 30 calendar days from the date the employer receives a written request.”

Cameras on the Uniform

On February 13, 2012, the police department of Rialto, California, began a 12-month experiment with cameras worn by its officers. Use of force fell from 61 incidents in the previous 12 months to 25. Citizen complaints fell from 24 to 3.

The record protects more than citizens. A lawyer for the ACLU of Southern California told ABC7 that the cameras were useful in “protecting officers against false accusations of abuse.”

Two Million Hours

In April 2015 Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall described in Harvard Business Review how Deloitte rethought its performance reviews. The firm had added up what its system cost. It found that it was spending “close to 2 million hours a year on performance management.”

Just to Confirm

Just to confirm what we discussed… — The first line of an email sent after a call.

To recap our call… — A summary follows, so that both sides have the same record.

Can you put that in writing? — A spoken promise is not yet enough.

Boilerplate. — The standard clauses of a contract. The word first meant the iron plates of a boiler. Later it meant ready-made text that newspapers received on metal plates. Ed McBain used it for legal text in 1965: “The rest of the will was boilerplate.”

Comey’s Memos

On June 8, 2017, the former FBI director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his memos on his meetings with President Donald Trump. “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document.”

He said that the first meeting “led me to believe I’ve got to write it down in a very detailed way.” He added that he had never felt the need to document his conversations with Presidents Obama or Bush.

The Brag Document

In June 2019 Julia Evans advised the readers of her programming blog to keep a “brag document.” She started from a common belief. “There’s this idea that, if you do great work at your job, people will (or should!) automatically recognize that work and reward you for it with promotions / increased pay.” In practice, she wrote, “it’s often more complicated than that.”

Her advice is to write down your own work before performance reviews. “And if you don’t remember everything important you did, your manager (no matter how great they are!) probably doesn’t either.” Work that is hard to see belongs in the document too, “because it’s the most likely to fall under the radar!”

Paper Trail

Paper trail. Merriam-Webster defines it as “documents (such as financial records) from which a person’s actions may be traced or opinions learned,” in use since 1935.

Cover your ass, or CYA. “To keep oneself/someone else from being blamed or punished.” It can also name a risk-averse mentality, often characterized by excessive paperwork and documentation.

If You Didn’t Document It

Nursing guidelines state a rule. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services begins it with a capitalized word in its documentation guidelines: “REMEMBER, if you didn’t document it, it didn’t occur.”

A nursing textbook explains why. “Legally only actions or care documented are seen as being completed.” It adds a reminder that the note may go to court and must be readable by a jury.