Policies - Focus on the Opportunity

This week in HR, we turn to the tricky little subject of Policies. And that’s just it: they really shouldn’t be tricky.

Way back when, “when I was a young wart hog” (sung in the voice of Pumba from the Lion King), I worked for a legal services company that led me to believe that the more legal jargon there is in a document, the better it is, the less risky it is, the more official it is. Since then, I have learned that folks don’t respond to unnecessary complexity. In fact, unnecessary complexity gives readers adverse medical reactions.

Company Polices & Procedures ensure a safe, organized, empowering, and nondiscriminatory workplace. Policies protect employees from a free-for-all environment of favoritism and unfair treatment. Be careful not to create a policy for everything; it becomes unproductive, and some situations just call for individualized action plans. An overabundance, irrelevancy, or unfeasibility of policies increases the likelihood that managers will apply them unequally and unfairly. There is a necessary policy balance that CrescentHR can help you achieve.

Aberrant employee behavior, as in a rare infraction of a generally accepted company standard, may not elicit a policy. Policies document an expectation, and once created it is very important to consistently apply them. A company may need a policy when employees consistently ask questions or break normal practice, value, or cultural components that are not clearly articulated in a Handbook or other policies.

The primary considerations for achieving a policy balance are employee safety and legal risk. If your employees are prone to make a costly or dangerous mistake, consider writing and explaining a clear policy that heads off the risk before it occurs naturally in your company. Other fundamental considerations for policy balance are clarity of process and cultural reinforcement.

There are at least two types of policies. Most policies related to simple rules and employment laws should stick closely to the letter of the law in simple language and be customized to the company’s branding, culture, and employee’s education and language. Policies related to process and methods are necessarily more elaborated and complex. Use simple language and illustrative workflows. Strong process and methods policies are about helping employees accomplish their work; they are not punitive nor unnecessarily burdensome.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE COMPLYING WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT LAWS?

There are certain rules that apply to all employers, and you need to know they exist and follow them. For some, you should have internal policies and procedures that help you ensure everyone at your business is complying.

*Additional state and local rules may need to be explored separately.

QUALITY CHECK ALONG THE WAY…

• After each section of a policy, pause and ask yourself, “What if?” This rule of thumb for policy writing helps you anticipate and mitigate potential weaknesses in your policy.
• Select a policy committee to vet and critically analyze policies for exceptions. (later…This committee will be instrumental in championing and implementing new policies during their rollout.)

COVERING YOUR BEHIND

No policy is complete without an acknowledgement. Remember that part about mitigating risk? If your employees haven’t acknowledged receipt, you can’t say they ever had any understanding of said policy…

And remember, in everything you do, BE CONSISTENT in the application of your policies and expectations. What applies to one employee should apply to all employees. Arbitrary application of otherwise critical company policies and procedures leads to wide-open exposure, and worse, low employee morale.

CrescentHR supports the end-to-end process of policy generation and implementation. Policies can fundamentally advance your strategic Mission, Vision, & Values.