The key to any good H.R. policy is, first, that it exists and, second, that it gets enforced. The challenge comes in initiating a tone in the language of the policy that allows H.R. leaders to enforce based on the situation. For example, if an employee is late most days of the week, that deserves a different reaction than if an employee is late once or twice per month.
In general, policies that offer some degree of reasonable flexibility, like those we list here, work best for improving morale and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. In addition, policies that provide a degree of freedom for employees will be most successful in retaining talent and improving compliance.
- Absenteeism & attendance
Because you’re an essential part of the team, we rely on you to be present and engaged in the mission you’re here to achieve. We need you, but your team members also need you since, often, absenteeism leads to co-workers doing more of the work.
Implicit in every employee’s job description is the necessity to maintain good attendance habits. Good attendance habits mean that you arrive to work early or on time every day and that, should an emergency that will lead you to be tardy or absent arise, you communicate about that problem with your immediate supervisor as quickly as possible.
Specifically, employees who are unable to work or who expect to be late must inform their immediate supervisor as soon as possible. Multiple instances of problems with attendance may result in corrective action, the end result of which may be termination.
- Business hours
In maintaining good attendance habits, it’s important to clarify our expected hours of business. Our goal is to maintain standard business hours that meet the needs of our industry, so we are in the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Start and leave times may be discussed and negotiated with supervisors. Salaried employees are expected to work eight hours per workday in fulfilling their responsibilities.
- Cell phone use
In promotion of a safe and efficient environment, we recommend that cell phones are used in a way that does not cause disruption to productivity. This means setting phones to vibrate or silent during meetings and only engaging in personal use sporadically.
- Dress code
In our industry, we dress in order to maintain a safe and positive image. Within our office, we expect business casual dress. There may be times when it may be appropriate to dress more formally (such as when meeting with clients).
- Expense policy
Employees may incur travel, entertainment, and other miscellaneous purchases of goods and services. These reasonable expenses will be reimbursed following the established compliance guidelines of the company. Reimbursements will be provided as soon as possible following approval of the related expense report, including 3-day or same-day ACH when possible. This policy will be enforced using a software solution to control spend and provide timely reimbursement to employees.
Related Article: What HR People Say About Company Policies
- Flexible schedules
In order to meet the real demands of balancing a healthy work-life balance, we offer some opportunities to work using set flexible work arrangements. In essence, workers may work later or earlier or they may work four 10-hour days in order to meet their 40-hour requirement. All changes in schedule should be discussed and agreed upon with your supervisor in order to ensure maximum productivity. This option may not be applicable to all employees.
- Gifts & gratuities
In order to ensure that all employees avoid conflicts of interest, any gifts that arrive from outside organizations or clients will be shared amongst all employees. If it is not possible to share the item, it may be raffled away to any interested employees with any money raised going to an agreed-upon charity. This policy ensures that we act as professionals without bias, which avoids conflicts of interest.
- Hiring
We are committed to hiring people who best fulfill the required roles of any necessary position. In general, several applicants will be assessed for their ability to fulfill the job requirements through an interview. There may be instances in which presently employed staff are evaluated for a position before (and/or without) evaluating outside candidates.
Resumes can serve as an application to the position. Resumes can be requested from candidates who are recruited from website postings, newspapers, references, or through 3rd-party recruiters among others.
After evaluation by the position’s supervisor, phone interviews will begin the hiring process, followed by in-person interviews within the office. Once a candidate has been evaluated for a specific position, a background check must be completed before an offer can be extended. As a courtesy, it is company policy to inform candidates who are not selected and thank them for their time, while inviting them to apply again in the future.
- Internet & email
Internet: The internet is a tool for conducting business, so we use it carefully (in regard to avoiding potentially malicious sites) and only in ways that contribute to our productivity. Maintaining focus and avoiding distraction will ensure that we get more done each day.
Email: In striving to remain professional, we carefully construct our emails to maintain a professional, informative tone, especially when we communicate with clients. We are representatives of the company and provide a voice to its needs, so it’s essential to remember this before you click "send."
- Job postings
We are committed to hiring people who best fulfill the required roles of any necessary position. The search for applicants begins with the development of a job description, which will detail the job title, the minimum requirements of the position, and the recommended requirements of the position.
- 401(k)
Employees may be eligible to enroll in the company’s 401(k) plan after [1 year]. You may choose not to participate, though we encourage you to consider this option.
- Leave
Salaried employees earn [15] days of leave per calendar year, evenly accrued over the course of the year. Leave is not distinguished between vacation, sick leave, or personal days, which means that they can be used in whatever manner best suits the employee.
Paid holidays include:
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Year’s Day
Employees will also utilize a time tracking system that will track leave and accrued time. This software will allow both the employee and management to know how much time an employee has available to use in real-time.
Related Article: 5 Steps for Efficiently Enforcing Absence Leave Policies
- Meals and/or breaks
We strive to stay productive, but we also know that taking breaks can lead to increased productivity. As such, we recommend two 15-minute breaks per work day in accordance with the needs of the company and in consultation with the supervisor.
- Non-compete agreement
We value your work, so we ask all employees to sign a non-compete agreement before their first day on the job. Because we complete essential work in our industry (and because we offer our employees the opportunity to work making a real difference in the industry), our non-compete agreement asks employees to avoid working for competitors for at least [6 months] after leaving our company. The agreement may cover limitations in an employee’s ability to engage other co-workers in potential work at a competing company. The agreement may also ask employees not to engage current customers in future work for competitors.
- Open door policy
This company maintains an open door policy. This policy was instituted in order to promote the open exchange of ideas and communication. Concerns or questions are invited from employees at all levels about any matter. We ask you to take responsibility for communicating about problems or issues with your supervisor and, in return, we take the responsibility to listen and answer questions so that we maintain a professional, productive environment.
- Professional development
We encourage you to use available resources to learn about what you can do to improve yourself as a professional in the industry. Here, we define “professional” not only in its connotation that suggests that we paid to perform a certain job or that we dress or act in a particular way; we define “professional” to mean being dedicated to the profession of our industry, which means continuing to learn more in order to keep up with trends while reflecting on whether we are learning and growing as members of a team devoted to a specific mission.
These opportunities may include conferences, opportunities to learn about other units of the business, best practices in IT & security, and many other opportunities. Please utilize available resources, including flexible time, in order to take advantage of any opportunity to grow.
- Quality control
In order to maintain quality control of work over the course of a year, performance reviews will be conducted annually with results documented in a record of employment. Employees will meet with their immediate supervisor or the next immediate supervisor in order to discuss successes and opportunities for improvement. To prepare for these meetings, employees will answer brief questions about their goals and accomplishments over the last year.
- Recognition
We recognize hard work, which means that we reward ongoing excellence in performance, specific achievements, and compliments from clients. As part of our culture, we will always say “thanks” and we encourage you to thank your team members when they do something for you. We will also thank you in other ways appropriate to the situation.
- Substance abuse
In an effort to provide a safe and productive work environment, we require that employees avoid the use of drugs or alcohol on the job. We also recognize that usage of alcohol or drugs may potentially be harmful to an employee, especially in terms of their health and ability to perform their job.
- Travel policy
Travel is sometimes a required part of our business. It is the policy of our company to reimburse staff for reasonable and necessary expenses as part of their approved travel for the company.
Discounts: Where possible, we encourage the usage of discounts in order to ensure the lowest overall cost of travel and to utilize travel spending allowances wisely.
Meals: Meals will be reimbursed on a per diem basis according to the most recent GSA rates based on the city of travel. T&E management software will be used to manage and reimburse those rates, so employees will be responsible for using that system.
Airfare: Airfare will be reimbursed if the traveler obtains the lowest available airfare that meets reasonable travel needs. The recommendation for best rates is at least 30 days in advance. First-class tickets will not be reimbursed. The company will reimburse for economy or coach tickets for domestic flights (or international flights of less than 5 hours excluding layover), and business class tickets may be purchase at the company's discretion for flights over 5 hours (excluding layovers).
Ground transportation: Transportation will also be reimbursed at the lowest rate, including rail transportation and pre-approved vehicle rental.
Lodging: Overnight loding (room rate & tax only) is reimbursable for approved travel more than 45 miles from the travel's primary worksite or home. Reasonable, single-occupancy or standard business rates are eligible for reimbursement.
While traveling, employees should use approved mobile expense reporting software to log receipts and file expense reports. This T&E management software will allow reimbursement approvals to be completed by administrators and managers. - Uniformed services leave policy
Employees in the military may need to request military leave consistent with orders. In accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, we will ensure that those in the military receive the time off they need while making sure that their job is not in jeopardy. When called to service, we ask that you provide written or verbal notice with documentation in addition to submitting a leave of absence request as soon as possible.
- Vacation
Salaried employees are eligible for paid vacation time. After [1 year] with the company, employees may take up to [15 days] of vacation per calendar year in consultation with their supervisor to ensure that the team can remain productive while you are away. Employees accrue vacation evenly throughout the year. We ask that you do take your vacation days so that you come back and maintain productivity.
Employers will utilize an absence management solution that provides accurate up-to-the-minute accruals, while keeping managers and administrators informed of available resources for upcoming projects. - Workplace diversity
We are an equal opportunity employer, complying with all applicable law, without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or other criterion prohibited by law and/or not related to specific job requirements. We hire exclusively on the basis of applicant qualifications/abilities and on our evaluation of the applicant’s capacity to fulfill the duties of the prospective job.
- Xeroxing & printing
In an effort to reduce the paper impact of our company, we’re undertaking a mission to print less and keep more digital records. For this reason, when possible, please reconsider the need for printing and instead, consider sending an email or making changes digitally to a document using Track Changes, or even signing a document digitally. There are times in which printing is required and appropriate to the situation, such as when asking clients to sign documentation. Otherwise, please double-check as to whether there is an alternative to printing and making copies.
- You & [company name]
We hope that as you continue to work as part of our team, you’ll find that our passion and dedication rub off on you. We ask you to take initiative when you can by filling in the gaps with new ideas and new solutions for problems. In return, we’ll provide you with a safe, comfortable workplace that values those ideas and solutions. This, we hope, will help you to project a positive view of [company] both inside and outside of our walls.
- Zzz… (taking care of yourself!)
In addition to our policy on avoiding illegal drugs and alcohol while at work, we hope that you will take care of yourself outside of our four walls so that you are in prime condition to do your best work within our four walls. This means making good decisions about your health and wellbeing. From taking advantage of flexible work hours to using all of your paid leave and using health benefits, we hope you’ll take care of yourself.
There you have it: twenty-six H.R. policies, from A-Z, to help you on your way to developing or revising your own policies. And remember, we advise that you shouldn’t have too many policies, so make sure to do an annual inspection of your employee handbook to ensure that it’s up-to-date and does the job you need it to do.
For more information on the DATABASICS Time & Expense solutions, contact us, or call (800) 599-0434.
DATABASICS provides cloud-based, next generation Expense Reporting, P-Card Management, Timesheet & Leave Management, and Invoice Processing automation. Specializing in meeting the most rigorous requirements, DATABASICS offers the highest level of service to its customers around the world.
DATABASICS is relied upon by leading organizations representing all the major sectors of the global economy: financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, research, retail, engineering, non-profits/NGOs, technology, federal contractors, and other sectors.
Connect with DATABASICS: LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. DATABASICS is headquartered in Reston, VA.
