Company Policies

Establish firm company policies and procedures to prevent and protect against workplace lawsuits
By LaRita Heet, Freelance Writer, Journalist, IBT Designer LMH Communications Company policies are useful business tools. Often compiled into employee handbooks, they detail rules for employees as well as your company’s mission and goals. Don’t be daunted by the thought of writing your company policy – numerous vendors can assist you in writing your company policies and procedures or can provide prewritten employee manuals or company policies and procedures handbooks.
 

Here are the top considerations for company policies and employee policies:

1. Create company policies and procedures, including employee policies, to set forth company regulations for everything from making personal phone calls at work to handling customer refunds.
2. Company policies and procedures are the best way to set forth rules and regulations and to outline disciplinary issues.
3. Make sure all company policies and procedures, as well as employee manuals, are legal and compliant with federal, state and local requirements.
4. Establish and enforce anti-discrimination and anti-harassment employee policies.

Save time with prewritten company policies and samples

Go to the pros for customizable pre-written company policies to fit your company's business mission, goals and employees. Most pre-written employee handbooks can be easily altered to suit your specific company policies.
Try: Bizmanualz provides pre-written employee manuals, HR policies and procedures and employee policies. Other solutions include Business Owner's Toolkit for a customizable smoking policy; this Sample Travel Policy; and a host of other employee policies at HR.BLR.com.

Choose company policy software to write employee policies

Company policy software can help you with a plethora of workplace issues: hiring, firing, benefits, employee privacy, performance appraisal systems, workplace dress codes and workplace behavior.
Try: Over 25,000 small businesses have used TemplateZone.com’s Office Policy Manual software, which features 50+ HR forms and more than 130 in-depth business and technology company policies, such as disaster recovery plans, military leave policy, blogging and IM usage policies, cell phone usage policies and more.  

Insist on legally compliant employee manuals, policies and procedures

Your company policies must be compliant with the EEOC, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Immigration Reform Acts, along with other related federal, state and local statutes. Choose company policies written by attorneys or HR experts to ensure legal compliance.
Try: Get a comprehensive template for employee manuals at SampleEmployeeHandbook.com, which covers more than 80 company policy topics as well as state-by-state compliance information for all 50 states. Protect your business with software from The Standard Legal Network that contains customizable employee manuals and HR legal forms.

Outsource writing of employee policies and company policies to HR experts

If there are particularly touchy issues at hand - or, if you're in an especially litigious industry - don't skimp on your company policy. Hire an HR expert to write your company policy.
Try: CheckPoint HR is a leading provider of human resources management solutions that allow you to build custom employee handbooks using a powerful online wizard that takes into account both federal and state requirements. Find more HR experts who can help write employee handbooks at Business.com.

Test-drive company policies before purchasing

Many company policies and procedures vendors offer free trials or let you sample a limited number of resources before purchasing their software or templates.
Try: Personnel Policy Service, Inc. gives you 30 days free to try out their Personnel Policy Manual. Also check out their free HR policy download center to download free company policies on rest breaks, sexual harassment, holidays, layoffs, recalls and more.

• Avoid workplace disputes (which can lead to employee turnover, poor customer service and declining workplace productivity) by setting forth company policies in writing.
• Plan to review and update your company policies, including employee handbooks, every year to ensure they address all current policies.
• Be specific in company policies and employee policies so there is no room for misunderstanding.
• Give new employees a company policy manual, and ask them to sign a sheet once they've read through the company policies and procedures.
• Don't allow some employees special privileges while others are expected to obey all employee policies to the letter.