HR policies are essential for any organization. They put employees and culture first and assist in driving desired behavior. It also aligns people with the company vision and lets you boost strategic engagement. Start-ups usually have some basic HR policies in place initially. But with time, when they grow, they need better and more structured HR policies. Here’s a guide to setting up HR policies for your start-up that will come in handy when your company grows, and you need better and more defined HR policies.
·
Build a Cross-Functional Team
The first
step in creating HR policies is to involve multiple people in the process. The HR
Head should not be assigned the task of creating the policies and implementing
them. Instead, it should be a team effort involving business leaders/partners,
department heads, and other key members who played a vital role in initiating
the start-up.
·
Decide Roles
Once you
have picked the team, the next step is to assign roles to different people. You
can decide who will be the initiator and talk about policy with other team
members. Then you can decide who will be the writer responsible for drafting
the written guidelines and taking care of relevant communication. A person can
be assigned as a communicator who keeps everyone updated on the task. Finally,
you can assign one or more owners who will update the policy as per changing
needs and legal requirements.
·
Think of Legalities
When
crafting HR policies, you cannot forget that you have legal obligations towards
your employees. You need to know about your
country’s human rights and employee rights so that you don’t get yourself
in a legal tangle. You also need to know about privacy legislation around
employee information.
·
Where to Begin?
Some of the
best places to start when it comes to crafting workplace policies are pay
equity, health & safety, emergency preparedness, workplace harassment,
personal information protection policy. Start with one and then move forward.
Take the help of legal counsel to revise your drafted policies and give inputs
from a legal standpoint.
·
Cover Everything
Make sure
your policy is not just about the basics. It should also cover areas like code
of conduct, work hours, overtime, absenteeism, attendance, work from home
details, vacation time, paid time off, conflict of interest, leaves of absence,
confidentiality, performance management program, social media, internet, email
and electronic use, drug, and alcohol use, expense reimbursement and conflict
resolution, among others.
Don’t
Forget These!
Ø You should also create an overall
ReadMe that sets the tone for your overall approach and provides company
culture cues to support it. It will offer helpful context and clarity for
everyone, especially your employees.
Ø Communicate all HR policies with
existing employees and new joiners to know about it and always have it in the
back of their minds.
Ø Annually review
the HR policies so that your company stays up to date!
Source:
https://learn.marsdd.com/article/developing-hr-policies-and-procedures-for-your-startup/