Wherever humans are, there lies the potential for misunderstanding, conflict, inconsistency, manipulation, and outright deception. That’s not cynical, just realistic. Even when all of those humans have a vested interest in each other’s success—which is the best-case scenario of a workplace that we, ahem, don’t always encounter—there may be innocent errors. Or confusion. Or miscommunication. Or a host of other issues that workplace policies defang.
A solid set of workplace policies won’t eradicate all issues for all time, but it goes a long way toward protecting everyone associated with the company. With policies in place, you protect yourself from liability. Of course. But workplace policies do a lot more than that. (Not that that alone isn’t reason to get cracking on fitting company policies.)
Workplace policies make your operation more efficient, for one thing. They drive consistent decision-making and speed up the decision-making process. They ensure that everyone knows, at every moment, what is expected of them and how they’re expected to get those jobs done.
Workplace policies also make a business more stable by ensuring legal compliance and by creating firm ways of operating, from completing day-to-day tasks to handling sick time to disciplining employees who fall short.
All of that sounds intuitive, right? But we run into scads of companies that try to wing it without workplace policies. Maybe they started so small that policies felt unnecessary and overly corporate. Or maybe they have such faith in themselves and in their employees that they fear workplace policies would actually hinder their operations by coming across as a mark of distrust.
Whatever the reason, operating without workplace policies is a little like getting into a car with a drunken, blind chimpanzee at the wheel. Only more dangerous.
With employees dependent on the success of your business, taking the slightest risk with fairness—and the myriad of other elements that workplace policies cover, from social media usage to workplace harassment—is a danger that has an awfully long reach. And one that’s avoidable.
We can help you avoid the stress or complete devastation that so often wrecks a company. We’ll walk you step by step through all the elements of a successful workplace policy so that you can create the document best-suited for your company, your employees, your industry—and your piece of mind.
