The responsible person's explanation: what to include

The reconciliation statement has been shown to the person responsible for the stock: nine positions with a shortage. The chairman of the committee says: "Give us a written explanation." The storekeeper picks up the sheet of paper and does not know what to write. If he starts with "I am not to blame", that is not an explanation, and if he ends with "I don't know", the document is empty. The explanation matters to both the storekeeper and the manager: it can open the way to the cause or close it off completely.

What an explanation is and why it is needed

It is a written document in which an employee describes the cause of a difference in his own words, relying on facts and documents. It has two purposes. First, the committee finds the cause faster, because the person who knows the goods best is the storekeeper himself. Second, the employee's view is recorded, so that when the manager later takes a decision it can be shown that the parties were heard. An explanation is neither a confession nor an accusation.

When and how it is requested

• Ask for it after the employee has seen the list of differences; asking him to "write something" without it is wrong.
• Make the request in writing and state clearly which positions it concerns.
• Allow enough time to think and look through the documents, usually several working days. The exact period depends on internal rules and legal requirements, so check with HR or a lawyer.
• Pressure and intimidation ("sign or you're fired") are unacceptable. An explanation obtained that way is worthless as evidence.
• If the employee refuses to write, do not force him. Draw up a separate report on the refusal in the presence of witnesses.

People tend either to write at length and emotionally or to answer "I don't know". To avoid this, give the employee his own copy of the list of differences, let him write in a quiet room and, if needed, allow him to look at the delivery notes and registers. While he writes, a committee member should not stand over him. An explanation written from memory without documents almost always turns out vague.

What the explanation contains

1. To: position and name (the committee chairman or the manager).
2. From: position and name.
3. Date and subject: "Explanation concerning positions ...".
4. What it is about: which position, which difference (with the figure from the statement).
5. Facts: what happened, when and in whose presence, in time order.
6. Supporting documents: number and date, with copies attached.
7. What I do not know: writing "I do not know the cause of this difference because..." is nothing to be ashamed of.
8. A request: for example, a recount or a check of a particular document.
9. Signature and date.

A good and a bad explanation

The bad version: "I am not to blame. Everyone knows I work honestly. The goods just disappeared."

The good version: "On 12 October, 20 boxes of soap were released to a customer on delivery note No. 2. On 15 October the customer returned 4 boxes. I drew up the return report but did not hand it over to accounting (a copy is attached). So the books show an issue of 20 boxes and no return. Those 4 boxes are now on rack 3."

The second text gives a fact, a document, an honest admission of the writer's own lapse and a pointer to the cause in the process. The first expresses only emotion and says nothing checkable.

Typical mistakes

• blaming a colleague without proof;
• a guess written as a fact: "maybe the courier took it";
• the same text for every position;
• no date or signature;
• the explanation is quietly "corrected" later;
• no references to documents.

How a manager assesses an explanation

• compare every claim with a document: a delivery note, a register, camera footage;
• if something needs clarifying, ask a question rather than make him rewrite the explanation;
• rely on facts, not on an impression of "convincing" or "not convincing";
• attach the explanation to the report and reflect its substance in the relevant section;
• if a new fact appears in the explanation (for example, a document was left in another department), the committee checks it separately and records the result in the report;
• give the employee a copy of the signed explanation, which gives both sides confidence;
• remember that an explanation is not a verdict but part of the inquiry.

Conclusion

A good explanation is short, exact and based on documents, and for a manager it becomes a valuable source of information. The Reviziya team can help draw up the questions, compare explanations with documents and include them in the report.