Do you have any employees?

Can I see you HR Manual?

The first question is one that I often ask prospective clients.  The second question is asked if the answer to the first question was an affirmative.

Then I am usually told that they do not have one in place. If they do have one, it is usually a generic one that was downloaded from the internet and never really implemented. Nor relevant to their business needs or adhering to Illinois concerns or probably Illinois law.

Using a template from the internet can be a good starting point, this is not a bad thing. You need to tweak the wheel, not invent it.  But it has to be modified to meet the actually policies and procedures that you have planned to implement or have sprouted up in the absence of a basic policies or procedures.

My manual started out as a very detailed and industry specific policy.  I needed to remove all sorts of inappropriate or irrelevant information.  Such as the need to fingerprint and rigid dress code policies.

Once I finished the edit process, I submitted it to an HR attorney to review to make sure that what I added was legal and correct.  Surprisingly it passed inspection and he was impressed with the quality.

I am working in a consultant basis with a couple of clients, who have had no job descriptions and a generic HR manual.  They are looking to hold a couple of employees accountable for their duties.  But the duties are not written anywhere, or spelled out.  It is hard to hold someone accountable to a concept.

So I have them contacting their payroll service to see if they can assist with the job descriptions.  These would be a starting point.  Then they would need to be modified to meet the specific roles within the company.  Once written they should probably be passed in front of an HR attorney, just to be safe.  Then the HR policy needs to be fully addressed, it needs to be beefed up to meet the actual policies and procedures of the company. Starting times are all over the board, but management does not really want flex times.  I don’t know how you change that after a decade of flex as a reality.

Your most important documents within the HR department should be reviewed by a qualified individual, probably an attorney. If you need a referral give us a call.

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