Policy and procedure in a company serve a number of purposes, such as providing clear communication between the organisation and employees regarding their condition of employment. They also form a basis for treating all employees fairly and equally, as well as as a guideline for supervisors and managers to manage people with manners.
Sanjay Lakhotia, co-founder at Noble House Consulting Pte., commented that transparency in the workforce is important for both employees and other stakeholders. Thus, HR departments should articulate an organisational policy that gives structure, control, consistency, and fairness to organisational procedures and activities. Apart from serving as transparency in the workforce, added Lakhotia, HR policies are essential to sever a few functions in the workforce, including to best communicate the expectation within an organisation, to empower the company to comply with laws and to document/implement best practices appropriate to organisations.
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To develop an organisational policy, nevertheless, HR should ensure and follow nine key stages from identification to monitor, review, and revision. Other than these, HR should also consider the internal and external influence of HR policy. According to the study of Chitescu and Lixandru, here are 4 essential factors that influence organisational policy.
The various labour laws and legislation pertaining to labour have to be taken into consideration. Policies should conform with the laws of the country, state, and/or province otherwise they are bound to cause problems for organisations.
Social values and customs are to be respected in order to maintain consistency of behaviour throughout the organisation. The values and customs of all communities should be taken into account when framing policies. For example, many organisations today are doing social responsibilities by doing charities or volunteer program.
Management philosophy refers to a set of beliefs or rules used by managers to help them make decisions and used to ensure employees welfare. Without a clear, broad philosophy and set values, it would be difficult for employees to understand management. It might also be difficult for employees to communicate with management in terms of company’s performance.
An organisation’s overall finances can both create burden and advantage within the workforce. As an example, the financial effects of work-life programs will either improve or decrease the productivity of employees. Good financial program helps ensure the balance between employees’ work and non-work demands. That said, HR should consider how realistic it is to enforce a policy fairly or keep it up-to-date as these have the potential to create issues amongst employees.
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