Posted July 14, 2019
First, it is important for organizations to comply with laws and regulations at the federal, state and local level. Second, every business no matter how big or small should have a well written and comprehensive set of policies and procedures as it sets the rules and principles to guide employees and managers in how to behave in the workplace. Third, they offer protection to the organization and help mitigate risk.
Having a well written employee handbook and policies and procedures is critical, below are 5 important reasons why to have policies.
- Policies provide a Set of Rules and Expectations at the Workplace
They help the employees know what is expected of them, and what they can expect from their supervisors a co-worker on respect to standards of behavior, conduct and performance for employees. It is important that employees have a clear understanding of what those expectations are, and an employee handbook is a place where they can find some of those set of rules that guides them. For example, rules on attendance, harassment, usage of internet, bullying, harassment just to mention a few.
- It Helps Remain Consistent & Hold Management Accountable
They set rules and guidelines for decision-making, so managers know what to do. Also, it provides guidance on how to conduct themselves and the standards they will be held to. They help to have transparency across the company and to assist manager to remain consistent and treat employees fairly and equally as they can refer to the company’s set of rules.
- Ensure compliance with the law
Policies and procedures must not just be reviewed regularly, but they must be in compliance and up to date with new emerging laws. Safety is a very important purpose as they address legal and ethical safety for the organization as well as personal safety for employees. Having strong policies related to workers safety helps a company minimize their exposure to lawsuits.
- Can help defend against employee claims
Up to date policies and procedures can assist an employer in defending against legal claims. For instance, in defending a wrongful termination claim when in fact it was due to an employee’s bad attendance record. An employer can provide a copy of their attendance policy and how it has been consistently applied and provide record of the policy and documented corrective actions will prevent the company of exposure to lawsuits.
- Policies Communicate where employees can seek help
Finally, your policy should provide where to go when employees feel they are either not treated equally, fairly or have a complaint handling process in place to avoid claims and bias. Most companies have a dedicated Human Resources professional that will hear the complains and keep the confidentiality of the offended party to the extend necessary.
Policies and procedures provide a roadmap for the organization. However, policies and procedures won’t do any good to an organization if they are not been followed. Making sure that the policies and procedures are consistently followed is good for the organization and for the employees. When employees follow policies and procedures, the organization grows an achieve its goals
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