How To Prepare HR Policy & Procedure Manual?
HR policy and procedure manual is one of the most vital manuals an organization needs nowadays. To keep employee satisfaction optimized along with letting them know what the employer expects from them as well as what they can expect from the employer is described in detail in this manual. This is a framework every company requires for ultimate success.
Now, as an expert in HRM, I am going to let you know the steps you require to create an HR policy and procedure manual for your organization. After going through the article you will be able to understand clearly what are policies and are procedures. Which policies and procedures you must include in the manual and how to state them to the employees?
What is a policy?
A policy is a statement that may describe the company’s view on a subject according to the acceptable circumstances and present era which aligns with the company’s goal. The company policy includes compliance procedures, what to be expected from the employee, and disciplinary actions that may be taken if not followed.
What is a procedure?
A procedure is a process that implements a policy according to the alignment of organizational goals. It provides direction about how a job is to be done step by step and can be called to get rid of any problem or crisis in the organization.
The policy is the guiding principle of the organization while the procedure is the way of implementing it for achieving organizational goals.
Preparing HR Policy And Procedure Manual
Identify why you need a new policy and procedure manual
You can be working with a startup, or you can be working with an old policy and procedure manual. But it is important to find out why you may need a new HR Policy and Procedure manual. Maybe you need a set of new recruits who will work remotely, or you do not have a very good exit policy, even if you are introducing a new training and development policy for employees – for each purpose you need to introduce a new HR Policy and Procedure Manual.
Define roles
You need to define the roles of the policy-related personnel in making the policy and the procedure. Sometimes the BOD may decide the policies. Sometimes the HR department and teammates decide on certain policies. There are other roles for them that will review the policies and procedures.
Define the components
HR policy and procedure manual may contain many contents from recruitment to organizational behavior, norms, and cultures. Some of the components can be seen in the following list.
A. Team Members
- Probationary team members
- Regular team members
- Contractual team members
- Part time team members
- Management trainee
- Intern
- Casual team members
B. Benefits and Responsibilities
- Salary fixation
- Salary payments
- Pay scale
- Salary adjustment and pay scale review
- Increment
- House rent
- Medical allowance
- Conveyance allowance
C. Other benefits
- Festival bonus
- Overtime
- Salary advance
- Meritorious increment
- Provident fund
- Gratuity
D. Office Attendance and Organizational Holidays
- Office hours
- Late arrival
- Leave of office
- Daily attendance
- Holidays
- Casual leave
- Medical leave
- Earned leave
- Maternity leave
- Paternity leave
- Time-off
- Leave approval
- Leave compensation
E. Recruitment
- Recruitment Procedure
F. Performance Management
G. Transitions
- Promotion
- Transfer
H. General Conduct
- Code of conduct
- Misconduct
- Penalization
- Observation
- Suspension
- Resignation
- Termination
- Exit
- Retirement
Company Values
After you decide on the components you are going to include in the HR policy and procedure manual, you need to describe them according to the company values. You must remember them, policies are created to achieve organizational goals and procedures are to implement them. As a result, you should state the policies in such a way that the employees may be encouraged to give team-effort to achieve company values.
4. The Language
You must understand that HR policies are not direct legal documents. So you do not need to make them full of legal terms and conditions. You should avoid using complex phrases and language and keep it simple. It is to remember that the HR policy is created for mass, not just for selected personnel.
Besides, you should keep the manual short. The clarity in the language is enough. Although you include many things in the HR policy and procedure manual, you do not need to describe at length. Rather you can keep it short and simple for ease.
Clarifications & Exceptions
Sometimes some policies are not meant for all departments. Those are directed toward specific departments. In that case, you should clarify in your policy statements for which department the policy and procedure is meant.
Exceptions may happen from personnel to personnel from time to time. You should avoid specification on certain policies, especially the disciplinary ones and use words that may help you to use for exceptions sometimes.
5. Review
After you are done with making the draft, you should pass it to the necessary personnel, BOD or HR team members who are selected to play the role of reviewing the HR Policy and Procedure manual.
When they are certain that all the necessary edits are done according to the company values and ethics, then you can circulate the HR Policy and Procedure Manual to the employees.
Tips To Create A Good HR Policy and Procedure Manual
- Language should be understandable by mass employees
- Safety of goodwill of the company’s work environment should be stated
- A brief discussion about morals and culture should be included
- Employees should get a good picture of the total work environment
- Policies should always be audited, reviewed, and updated
Why HR Policy and Procedure Manual Is Important
- It creates a bridge between the employees and the employer
- It helps employee induction
- Employee orientation needs it as a compulsory element
- Employees can get ideas about the company’s values
- Employees can understand the meaning of their work and expectations
Conclusion
Without a proper HR Policy and Procedure Manual, induction cannot be introduced. You should focus on aligning company values, and morals with employee satisfaction when you are creating an HR Policy and Procedure manual.
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Monitor & Conduct Probation and Confirmation process
