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Facts & FAQs
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Q: I have always been of the opinion that having a policy and procedure manual just gets us into trouble. Whatever policy we establish, we're stuck with. Besides that, our law firm has told us that every policy becomes contractual. Would you agree?
A: No, while most Human Resource Directors and corporate CEO's understand why policies, procedures, and forms are necessary to effectively operate any organization, there are a few who establish these because "that is the way it has always been done." At the same time, there are many attorneys who will tell you that policies and procedures only place the company in situations loaded with liabilities because no policy manual can be without implied contracts.
There are no endeavors without risk, but in personal management, risk must and can be diminished. The major points for establishing policies and procedures are:
In the absence of policies, past and present activities become policy. Since many of these practices are or can be discriminatory (because of a lack of consistency), the company is in greater danger of law suits and claims with government agencies than if they had carefully spelled out the organization's expectations of the employee.
The contractual nature of policy manuals can be lessened considerably by providing management with sufficient discretionary powers to act in a number of ways under similar circumstances.
There is an much danger in saying too much as too little. What a handbook can do is provide the most positive way of maintaining management discretion while firmly communicating mutual expectations. Manuals which are more than 50 pages are usually replete with implied contracts. Further, they can require more frequent updating than policies which have left sufficient discretionary powers to give leeway in various situations.
Many policies and forms can and should have attendant disclaimers which articulate the rights of the employer and the obligations of the employee.
The employee deserves to know what is expected of him/her and what he or she can expect in return. Since job satisfaction is based upon rewards and expectations, it only makes sense to establish "benefits" and disciplinary policies.
"Consistency and Control Through Communications" is ostensibly the very foundation for having policies and procedures and forms. By establishing well-written policies, an organization can expect that supervisors and managers will (if properly trained) take approximately the same course of action in similar circumstances.
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