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Module-7: HR Policies and Practices

HR Policies can be defined as the strategy for developing, communicating and

enforcing a set of practices that reflect your standards of acceptable behavior.

Successful policies and practices strategy do more than drawing boundaries; they

also recognize and address peoples needs. he focus in any successfully run

business is not !ust about meeting specific goals but also about how you achieve

them.

o ensure that the employees have clear e"pectations and are treated fairly as they

wor# to help build your company depends largely on the manner in which an

organization addresses the four #ey elements related to the development and

deployment of its policies and practices$ policies, conse%uences and tools.

Policies

&anagers and employees need to share a clear understanding of what is and what

is not acceptable behavior what can be said and what cant be said within the

company etc. Setting clear and specific standards, procedures and guidelines in

the form of policies establishes a framewor# for spotting and addressing

violations of those standards. 'f an organization relies on loosely defined general

standards, procedures and organization that arent properly documented, then

violations become sub!ective and open to interpretation. he result of such

ambiguity is often litigation, which could ultimately lead to dissatisfaction and the

e"it of the employee.

Consequences

'ts important that an organization clearly states conse%uences for violations of the

standards, guidelines and procedures so that employees #now what to e"pect and

have early warning of those e"pectations. 'n addition, clear conse%uences help to

ensure that the company is not limited in the options for dealing with violations.

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Tools

ools address the %uestion of how the organization supports the people in the

company who manage other employees. (hen faced with a specific personnel

issue, what resources are available to them) *or instance$ the employee guide or

the handboo# on HR policies. ools li#e these are vital not !ust to help avoid

litigation, but also to minimize the time it ta#es for you to deal with productivity+

draining people issues instead of core business matters.

HR Policies and Procedures

HR policies and procedures are written guidelines on a wide range of issues

handled within the organization. here is no set list of what policies andprocedures an organization should have, as this will vary based on the industry

you are wor#ing in, the number of employees, the wor#place location s etc. *or

e"ample, a basic HR suite of policies and procedures would include$

'nduction-rientation

niform / dress standards

0onfidentiality

Privacy

Social &edia

0ompany Property / Resources

'ntellectual Property

(or#place 1ullying / Harassment

2rievances

3eave &anagement

Performance &anagement

4isciplinary &atters

ermination

Developing the HR Policies

he reasons for developing the HR policies are$

o help the employees and management teams run the organization in an

efficient manner.

o help ta#e ma!or human resource decisions, develop company guidelines

and procedures that can ma#e the organization a better run entity.

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o help in documenting and communicating to all the employees the

managements plans, rules, intents and business procedures.

o help in comparing the policy alternatives understanding their importance

and evaluating the companys current practices.

o save countless hours of management time. o prevent mere legal issues from becoming serious legal problems.

o organize and announce the managements plans for the growth of the

organization and also e"plain employee benefits and wor#place issues.

o define management standards for ma#ing decisions on various personal and

organizational issues.

o help an organization run at its most cost+effective and efficient level

thereby bringing about additional revenue.

o protect the legal interest of the company as well as define the rights and

obligation of the employees and the company.

Providing Guidance of HR Policies

HR Policies also provide guidance in the following highlighted areas$

5nsures that the employees dedicate themselves to total %uality and constant,

never ending improvement of the organization.

Hiring people on the basic of s#ill, training, attitude, ability and character,being oblivious to other discriminatory factors li#e age, color, se", race, creed,

national origin, religion, political belief or disability that does not prohibit

performance of essential !ob functions.

Pay all the employees according to their effort and contribution to the success

of the business.

-perating an economically successful business so that a consistent level of

steady wor# is available.

Review, wages, employee benefits and wor#ing conditions constantly withob!ectives of providing ma"imum benefits in these areas, consistent with

sound business practice.

Provide paid vacations and holidays to all eligible employees. Provide eligible

employees with medical and other benefits.

4evelop competent people who understand and meet organizations ob!ectives

and who accept ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism of fellow

employees with an open mind.

6ddress complaints which may arise in everyday conduct of the business,

promptly in a practical way.

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Respect individual rights and treat all employees with courtesy and

consideration and help in maintaining mutual respect in the wor#place leading

to an amicable ambience.

Introduction of HR Policies to !plo"ees

-rganizational policies and procedures should not !ust be a written document

sitting on the shelf that is never referred to, having documented policies and

procedures in place is not enough. 5mployers need to ensure that employees

clearly understand these and they are ingrained into the daily operation of the

business to ensure their effectiveness. Suggestions of how this can be done

include$

Induction7 6t an employees induction you can provide them with a copy of the

organizations policies and procedures, provide training on them and have them

sign+off to demonstrate they have read and fully understand them.

Throughout e!plo"!ent7 Revisiting e"isting policies that are in place and also

providing new training for new, changed or updated policies. Providing polices at

the induction stage of their employment and not referring to them again through

the employment is not ade%uate, nor is simply sending an email to employees

with the policy changes or new polices. he employer needs to ensure that staffclearly understands the policy and the e"pectation surrounding it.

nd of e!plo"!ent7 Having employees leaving complete an e"it interview

providing information as to why they are leaving the business. 'f information

provided includes feedbac# relating to a lac# of clarity around e"pectations,

feeling unfairly treated, issues with management, then this will assist you in

tailoring future polices to current issues that are occurring specific to you

business.