Don't let policies override common sense

As an HR person, I understand that policies are important and being consistent in how we follow them can protect both the company and employees.  However, I’ve often seen policies used as excuses to override common sense.

One of the more common policy issues I’ve seen these days has to do with return to office. Many companies have been pushing their staff to return to the office for various reasons, some good, some not so good. And either the company is doing a poor job of messaging the reasoning or it isn’t valid, as managers often can’t provide specific reasons for staff to return.

“Why do I need to return to the office?” an employee asks. “It’s policy,” Is often the response from management.

Don’t get me wrong, I do understand there are some positions that require an in-office presence and others that greatly benefit for various reasons.  But just like jobs are different, understanding what environment works best in various situations differs. And we shouldn’t lose good staff because of a blanket policy that doesn’t apply to everyone.

And it’s not just return to office policies that need to be considered.  Another that’s commonly used poorly is the corrective/disciplinary action policy. HR and management often utilize this to remove problematic employees.  But this policy should really be designed to increase the success of employees.

Instead of having honest and timely conversations regarding misunderstandings of expectations, managers often wait until they’re overly frustrated with an employee and look at it as a process for removal. This policy should be looked at as a tool to help instead, making sure we’re all on the same page regarding accountabilities and providing needed resources (training or mentoring or whatever) to get us there.

Not every person is right for every job, and I firmly believe that identifying this can help people move on to positions and/or organizations for which they’re better suited.  That’s a win-win. And it shouldn’t lead to bad feelings and resentment.

The bottom line is that we need to relook at our policies and use them as tools to strengthen our employees and organization and not as excuses that have nothing to do with common sense.  Reality is not that scripted.

#positivity #commonsense #policies #management #hrconsulting

Young girl trying to figure out what a policy really means.