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There are well publicized incidents these days of plagiarism. Stories of people in universities and print media come to mind. But what if someone copies a policy or handbook from another company or the Internet? You may not run afoul of copyrights, but there are many other risks and problems such a practice can bring about. Following are a few examples:

1. Unique Standards
“Borrowed” handbooks or copying someone else’s policy can cause problems if there are unique standards or rules that should be communicated but are missing. Also, if some other policies should not be there, they may be adopted by mistake.

2. Language
A use of impersonal, third person or “legal-like” language may cause someone to think it actually is a contract.

3. Unintended Promises
The employer may accidentally imply promises of employment security (e.g., phrases used like “permanent employee…” Also an employer may say things that inadvertently promise employment security (e.g., “You’ll have a job here as long as you perform well”).

4. Unsupported Policies
Similarly, resist the urge to publish a policy just because it sounds good, when there is actually no support for it. It can be very difficult later if the organization publishes a grievance process that management may later disregard.  Policies may contain absolute or “zero tolerance” wording and may require a “proof” standard. Mandatory wording (e.g., “shall” and “will”) conveys a commitment. It is better to use discretionary words (e.g., “may”).  Word to the wise: jurors cannot take a transcript of court testimony into the deliberation room, but can take a copy of the employee handbook.

5. Organizational Culture
Policies are much more than lists of rules.  It is critical the organization accurately communicate its position on job design, workforce planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, performance evaluation and appraisal, compensation, and incentives/rewards.  To effectively lead people, a manager must know how and why the various processes work as well as when to use them.  Management activity does not happen in a vacuum.  Managers must keep in mind the context of the organization in terms of the company’s strategy, characteristics and culture.  In addition, they must consider the concerns of their workforce.  Beyond organizational demands, strategic management requires organizational leaders to anticipate and take steps to meet the environmental influences associated with labor force trends, advances in technology, ethics and globalization, as well as to ensure they comply with legal and regulatory.

So, take the time to write your own policies.  Managers need solid guidance regarding the practices available for managing their people.  Organizational leaders generally and HR managers specifically can have an opportunity to influence the content and handling of policies and avoid many problems.  By creating policies within your own company, you can set the tone and culture of your organization and avoid potential headaches in the future.

Tags: communication, management

This entry was posted on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 12:32 pm and is filed under job advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.