Do you need to develop and/or maintain employee policies for your organization? Nearly every organization staffed with employees should have policies readily available, either electronically online or in print. Of course, online content (such as on a company intranet site) can be updated much more efficiently and economically.
Avoid extremes and remember most employees are reasonable adults.
Most people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces can confirm that the military is governed by hundreds, if not thousands, of personnel policies. Understandably, in the heat of battle, the military cannot afford to leave anything to chance or misinterpretation.
In contrast, civilian organizations are not usually driven to strictly oversee every movement or decision their employees make. So in the regular course of business, employee policies are usually developed to help guide actions and decisions, and minimize confusion, but in a much less restrictive manner. Business-related policies should also be developed with a “reasonable adult employee” in mind. I’ll go into more detail about this point later on.
All that said, 21st century employers and human resource professionals still have serious challenges in developing, maintaining and applying employee policies. These challenges are mostly related to today’s rapidly changing business and regulatory environments. Therefore, when employers develop employee policies, it’s important that they first establish the role, or purpose, of their policies. In your best-case scenarios, employee policies should give decision-makers some discretion so that managers and supervisors do not have to micromanage employees.
Employees look to employers to be professional, fair, consistent and reasonable.
With that foundation laid, let’s look at some fundamentals from the employee’s perspective. First of all, when an employee is working for a company, they usually want to know they are affiliated with a fair and professional enterprise—one that is also committed to providing a professional work environment. In addition, employees want to believe that they will be treated fairly and in a consistent manner.
So your policies should reflect the philosophy of the company, its level of integrity and the level of professionalism. Obviously, if the policies are unreasonable or overly restrictive, they can end up sending out negative signals to employees; and those employees may start doubting if they’re working at the right place. Or they may start to wonder if managers can possibly apply such policies fairly and with an even hand.
Generally employees want to work in an environment where they are treated as adults. They see themselves as individuals with common sense, who already know how to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner, unless proven otherwise. Obviously we know there are some employees who do not behave like adults; and those exceptions are a major reason for having policies in the first place.
Policies can generally serve to reassure employees and instill confidence in the following ways:
- Employees know what is expected.
- Employees understand the guidelines for appropriate conduct.
- Employees can be aware of and acknowledge potential consequences.
Employers want to project a professional image. Having employee policies in place speaks volumes about an organization and its level of professionalism. When policies are in place and down in “back and white,” your employees have an important resource. Employees need this resource so they can better understand what the company expects of them. This kind of clarity also helps them to work in concert with you and conduct themselves in a businesslike manner.
Note: This Insight is provided as general information only. Employers are encouraged to seek legal counsel in order to obtain specific information regarding employee policies.