Are you consumed with getting branding, products, prices and customer service right? Yes you’re tending to valuable features of your business, but you’re forgetting one. A vital one: Your team.
During the 1900s the approach to business—and what will make a company truly successful—has evolved over time. Today we know that employees matter and HR is one of the most important departments in your company.
So how is yours operating at the moment?
Let’s help you gauge your efficacy and perhaps tweak it so you get better results. A few policies can make the world of a difference so your team helps you improve—not hamper—those other important business features.
Do They Know What You Expect?
You can’t expect your employees to know what you want. People have different viewpoints, backgrounds and perspectives. So who will be correct when you find fault with someone’s actions in how they represented your brand?
Here you need that all important list of guidelines combined in a Code of Conduct:
- The values you want to portray
- The standard of behaviour you demand
- What is seen as unacceptable—and therefore punishable—actions
Much of what we discuss below you can incorporate into this document. But put the policy in place that all employees must sign it before starting work.
What You Need: A Code of Conduct
What Are Your Office Hours?
Does it seem excessive to do this? After all your employees will arrive for work. Or will they?
Without guidelines you’ll have people abuse situations, be untruthful about worked hours or state that you were never clear about expectations. And it’s up to you to keep order and prevent misunderstandings because not everyone you hire will turn out to be loyal.
Luckily modern time tracking tools can help you manage this aspect. Browse on advancesystemsinc.com if you want to know more. But remember, you can only enforce this if there’s a policy.
What You Need: Policies for time keeping, payroll, pay deductions and paydays.
What do You do if Someone is Absent?
And what will you do if someone doesn’t show up for work? Even being late will impact your productivity so you must prevent it at all costs. That’s why you’ll dole out punishment if employees don’t adhere to your rules.
Policies are about communicating the repercussions of certain circumstances. You can’t punish an employee if you didn’t tell them that there will be consequences.
Yes, you live in a society where everything has to be stated on paper. But don’t see this as an encumbrance. A policy is there as much to protect you as it is to set out rules and even to protect your workforce.
Or view the rules as preventative measures. When people are warned not to overstep certain boundaries you’ll deal with fewer frustrations.
Note: You will rarely be able to legally dismiss someone on a first offence. You will first issue warnings. Your policies will note where these warnings are applicable and which actions will lead to immediate dismissal.
What You Need: An absenteeism and tardiness policy
Does Your Planned Leave Policy Work?
Of course your employees will take time off from time to time. But they shouldn’t be allowed to do this at will:
- What is the reason? Will it be for holiday or for health reasons? These are acceptable reasons but only for a certain number of days each year.
- Do your employees get paid for the days they’re off? This must be stated in writing so they don’t expect payment from you later on.
- Can they take off at any time or must it first be approved by leadership?
- What is the process of applying for sick leave and in which circumstances are they allowed to do this without first visiting you in your office?
Communicate your reasons for strictness with your employees. They must understand you need to run an orderly office and if you never know who will pitch up for work it can become quite dysfunctional.
What You Need: Policies for vacation and sick days
Do Private Devices Help or Hinder?
Currently you may expect your employees to use their SmartPhones or tablets at work. Yes, these devices seem to be beneficial to office functioning because you can reach people at any time. But have you thought about this:
- What else do people do on their phones besides working? You must lay down rules of what’s allowed in terms of social media usage or using the company’s internet facilities. Don’t let your resources be abused.
- What security features do people have on their devices? If they cause malware or other viruses to access your network it could ruin your business. Everyone must be aware of security expectations.
- How much time are they allowed to be on the internet? Don’t let work hours be used for personal things because your productivity will plummet.
What You Need: Phone and internet policy
Do You Protect Your Workers?
As stated this isn’t only about protecting your business. Your workers have rights and when you show you want to create a safe working environment they’ll repay you with loyalty.
Communicate your expectations of how workers should act towards each other. You can’t govern all actions that happen on your site or in the office, but employees should know that everyone has value and should be respected.
You also want to be known as a company where people’s rights are prioritized. This will attract quality employees from the job market.
What You Need: Policies regarding bullying, harassment and discrimination
What if Employees Have Complaints?
And since policies are about looking after employees’ interests as well you should allow them to voice their concerns. But don’t let everyone run to your door every day. A systematic procedure will ensure people are treated fairly, complaints won’t get ignored and your workers will feel they work in a safe environment.
What You Need: A grievance policy
[Conclusion]
Are these guidelines superfluous? Think for a minute. It will help you build a finely tuned company where everything goes like clock work. Put a little effort into creating the policies now and then enjoy the results they’ll push your way later.
