HR Policies

What Are HR Policies?

HR policies are a set of formal rules and procedures that spell out how specific situations should be handled in the workplace, including what employees are responsible for and what rights they have. These policies are grounded in employment law, and sticking to them is what keeps an employer out of regulatory trouble and penalties.

What Are the Functions of HR Policies?

HR policies serve several functions inside an organization, from setting expectations to protecting both sides when disagreements come up.

• They act as a channel of communication between employees and employer.
• They lay out the guidelines everyone in the organization is expected to follow.
• They set a standard for treating every employee fairly and equally.
• They give top-level management something solid to base decisions on.
• They make work processes more transparent.
• They head off misunderstandings between employees and employer.
• They raise employee productivity.
• They give the organization a sense of strategic direction.
• They improve a business's odds of succeeding over the long run.

Why Is It Important to Have HR Policies in Place?

Any organization with a sizeable headcount is going to run into HR problems on a regular basis, which is exactly why having policies in place matters. Without them, companies tend to make one-off or overly rigid calls each time a problem comes up, instead of handling it consistently. HR policies work more like a contract between employee and employer: when a problem does come up, there's already a policy to fall back on instead of improvising a decision on the spot.

• They make employees feel respected, since their interests are protected on paper.
• They help make sure employees get paid what they're owed.
• They help keep discipline consistent across the organization.
• They support training and development for employees.
• They help build a healthier working environment.

How to Write HR Policies?

Writing policies for your organization can be tricky, but these points make it easier:

• Pick a specific area or process the policy is meant to govern.
• Get clear on the purpose behind the policy before you start writing it.
• Write in simple, clear language.
• Make sure the policy reflects your company's values and image.
• Keep the policy user-friendly.
• Revisit and update your policies regularly.

HR Policies Sample

You can use the HR policy templates below as a starting point for building your own set of policies. They give you a solid structure and a baseline set of rules for handling day-to-day operational issues, covering some of the most common policies organizations rely on.