Personnel Policies that Work:
Ask any business owner, "Do you have personnel policies?" and they usually say, "Sure." Ask, "Are they written?" and the answers are as diverse as the owners are. Responses range from, "Yes, and we review the policies annually," to, "My business isn't big enough," to, "We haven't gotten around to writing them down," or to the most emphatic response I ever got, "H___ will freeze over before I put anything in writing". With the exception of the companies that annually review and distribute their personnel policies, many companies lack current and relevant written personnel policy guidelines. Please note, the operative word is written. The reality is every business with employees [whether its 2 or 30] has personnel policies. If those polices are not formalized in writing, then they exist informally and this exposes the business and the owner to potential liabilities and the employees to confusion. Without written policies, employees and management are free to "wing it" as each situation arises. This is very risky, as it will invariably cause similar situations to be handled differently resulting in lack of direction, dissatisfaction and possible confrontation. Regardless of what you name it [manual, handbook, guidelines] develop a document delineating how the company deals with issues directly impacting employees. How will the company address discrimination, harassment and behaviors inconsistent with company policies? Outline policies or procedures dealing with work schedules, performance evaluations, attendance, compensation/payroll, benefits [i.e., vacation, sick leave, holidays, insurance], leaves of absence, termination, safety and general information relevant to personnel matters. Provide the employee with clues about the company's culture, personality and value system by including the company's history, mission and vision. The process of creating the document can be simplified by reviewing policies from other companies. Many owners will share their policy manuals and may even allow you to edit a copy to fit your own circumstances. Acquiring an existing document, that basically you like, saves you time in the initial creation, allows you to focus on editing and will shorten the development time. If you prefer to work through a creative process and develop your own from scratch, there are resources such as software programs, books and government publications to help jump-start the process. When the final draft is completed, have it reviewed by your attorney or an attorney specializing in employment law. Each time you review [ideally on an annual basis] or make a change in the policies, provide employees with a copy of the revisions. Have a log for employees to sign acknowledging receipt of the changes. Inform the employees that these policies are dynamic and subject to change as circumstances in the company change. Personnel policy manuals are important to the overall operation and efficiency of the company. It does not matter how many people you employ in your business. Even if you have only one employee, your operations will benefit from writing down existing policies. ©2000-present Flight Unlimited - All Rights Reserved |
