Policies are principles, rules and guidelines formulated and adopted by an organisation to reach its long-term goals. Procedures are the steps that will be followed to implement policies. Together, policies and procedures ensure that an organisation is effectively managed in order to be sustainable and profitable.
Every company needs policies and procedures in order to operate efficiently, to avoid employee confusion and to adhere to legal and regulatory guidelines. HR Policies familiarize new employees with company rules. It also helps answer the most basic questions about the workplace while making new employees aware of company expectations.
Policies and procedures need to be concise, clear and to the point so that it can be effectively implemented. Even the smallest organisations must have clear and concise HR polices to run efficiently.
Without policies, some employees will take advantage of the company, hurting morale and causing time-consuming problems. Poorly written policies can lead to serious legal implications.
The nature of the organisation will determine the specific need for policies and procedures (e.g. smaller organisations may require fewer policies).
Examples of policies that your organisation might need are listed below:
- Absenteeism policy
- Bursary policy
- Code of conduct
- Code of good practice
- Company loans policy
- Confidentiality policy
- Company car policy
- Corporate gifts policy
- Disciplinary code
- Dress code
- Employment Equity and affirmative action policy
- Exit interview policy
- Fixed assets policy – cell phones, computers, lap tops
- Grievance procedure
- Health & safety policy
- HIV/Aids policy
- Induction policy
- Leave policy
- Performance management policy
- Policy on bullying and sexual harassment
- Policy on company benefits (e.g. medical aid, provident/pension fund, petrol card, company car etc.).
- Policy on drug and substance abuse
- Policy on entertainment expenses
- Policy on filing and mailing of documents
- Policy on long service recognition
- Policy on the development of human resources policies
- Policy on travel expenses
- Promotion policy
- Racial discrimination policy
- Recruitment and selection policy
- Remuneration and performance management policy
- Retrenchment policy
- Security policy
- Smoking policy
- Staff loan policy
- Termination of employment policy
- Training and development policy
- Use of information technology (IT) and electronic media policy
- Use of telephone policy
Contact us on info@beyondconsulting.co.za should you need assistance with updating your HR Manual or if you need to develop your HR policies & procedures from scratch.