HR Policies

What Are HR Policies?

HR policies are a set of formal rules and procedures that define how certain actions should be addressed at a workplace, including employees’ duties and rights. They are tied to employment laws. To avoid penalties and non-compliance from the government, an employer must stick to HR policies.

What Are the Functions of HR Policies?

Following are the points identifying the functions and uses of HR policies in an organization:

• They are means of communication between the employee and employer.
• Shows different guidelines which are to be followed in the organization.
• Create standards to treat employees fairly and equally.
• Help top-level management in decision-making.
• Increase transparency in work processes.
• Prevent misunderstandings between the employee and employer.
• Increase employee productivity.
• Gives a strategic direction to the organization.
• Chances of a business succeeding in the long run increase when the HR policies are in place.

Why Is It Important to Have HR Policies in Place?

Any organization operating with a large number of employees will likely to have different kinds of problems regarding their human resource on a regular basis. That is why it is important to have HR policies in place to tackle those problems. Generally, it is seen that companies make temporary or rigid decisions when they face any HR problem during their business cycle and do not make any policies for it, but when there are HR policies is in place, then it acts as a contract between employee & employer and whenever any problem arises among them then a decision can be taken according to the particular problem’s concerned policy. The other important points for having HR policies are mentioned below:

• HR policies make employees feel respected by protecting their interests.
• They help to ensure that employees are paid adequately.
• They help to maintain discipline among the employees.
• They help to train and develop employees.
• They help to create a healthy working environment.

How to Write HR Policies?

Creating policies for your firm can be challenging, but the following points can help you to create them with ease:

• Choose a area or process to govern under the policy.
• Understand the purpose behind writing policy.
• Use very simple and clear language.
• Ensure that the policy doesn’t reflect the company’s image.
• Make the policies user-friendly.
• Keep updating the policies.

HR Policies Sample

You can use these HR policy samples as a guide to design your own set of policies for your organization. Using these samples or policy templates can help you to have a strong structure and basic rules to deal with day-to-day operational issues.

Following are samples of the most common HR policies used by organizations.