My boss claims that when we have an issue with a coworker, we should provide written feedback to the coworker. I feel that this pits people against each other and verbal feedback should be given and the boss should provide the written feedback.
I feel we have a bullying colleague on our team. I have given them verbal feedback. I stepped in deep doo doo when after the bully escalated an item to myself and a colleague’s (John) boss claiming John made a mistake when the mistake was actually the bully's mistake. I complained to my boss who told me to put feedback in writing. I sent this written feedback to my boss and it ended up in front of HR. Now my boss is providing corrective feedback to me because it turns out John’s boss actually asked the bully to write the feedback to John. My boss said that John’s boss was super busy and therefore asked the bully to write the feedback And I should realize there is more to a situation that what I see.
Is this correct? I feel like John’s boss should have taken the time to understand the situation and write the feedback to John themself instead of using the people who work for these bosses to do their “dirty work?”
How do I handle my response to HR?