Tag: OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN RESOURCE POLICICES

Meaning and Definition of Human Resource Policies

Policies are universal statements that guide the flow of ideas and actions while making decisions. They’re also known as action plans. Human Resource policies are a collection of organisational practices that are concerned with the establishment and maintenance of employment relationships.

HR policies need the organization’s established techniques to manage important aspects of HRM and to give continuing training on how to use these approaches. HR policies identify the organization’s beliefs and philosophies that advocate for how people should be treated, as well as the principles by which managers should operate while dealing with HR issues.

“HR policies are a set of suggestions and actions that serve as a reference point for managers in their dealings with employees,” Brewster and Ricbell.

“A policy is a preset and recognised route of thought and behaviour that is specified and developed as a guide toward approved aims and objectives,” according to Dale Yoder.

“Policies,” according to James B. Bambrick, “are expressions of the organization’s overarching aims and objectives in the different areas with which its operations are involved, such as people, finance, production, and marketing.”

Personnel policies, according to Armstrong, “give rules for a range of employment relationships and explain the organization’s aims in recruiting, selection, development, promotion, remuneration, motivation, and human resource integration.”

Objectives of Human Resource Policies

1) Providing Uniformity: HR policies that are well conveyed strive to provide consistency in communications and the administration of organisational policies.

Due to established employee discipline measures, it becomes simpler to handle two employees from different departments who arrive late on a regular basis or fail to fulfil performance criteria uniformly. This guarantees that all employees are treated fairly and protects the company in the event of complaints or litigation.

2) To Assist in Supervision: In big organisations, HR generalists or directors may not be available at all times to handle every event involving employee punishment or to reply to every enquiry about leave policies or other HR matters.

A supervisor who understands and has ready access to written organisational policies may efficiently respond to employee questions and concerns, as well as address minor disciplinary issues, without involving the human resource department.

If an employee questions a supervisor about how to handle a problem, the employee can be informed about the company’s regulations, allowing the supervisor to maintain control and an unbiased image.

3) Provide Information to Employees: Using online and offline policy and procedure manuals and handbooks, employees may readily find whatever information they need. Every employee must get a paper copy of the handbook and sign a statement admitting receipt of the policies and procedures.

Employees may look up solutions to inquiries about working hours, sexual harassment, vacation time, dress code, and other topics in the handbook on their own. Furthermore, having thorough policy information assists employees in obtaining information about the person who should be contacted for various concerns relating to their job.

4) To Assist in Policy Administration: If a work-standards policy, tardiness policy, discrimination policy, or any other employee issue is disputed, the HR policy document will serve as a framework for uniform and fair resolution of the issue. HR professionals utilise policies to respond to queries and instruct supervisors on how to properly document employee disciplinary issues.

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Factors Affecting Human Resource Policies

1) National Laws: HRM policies should be consistent with national laws, as numerous areas of personnel matters are governed by several national laws.

2) Social Customs and Values: When developing HRM policies, social customs and values should be taken into account, since they are the ground rules of every community.

3) Management Philosophy and Values: HRM policies should be based on the values and philosophy of the organization’s management, since without stated comprehensive values and philosophy, management will not work on matters concerning the organization’s employees for any length of time.

4) Development Phases: A variety of factors influence HRM policy adoption, including innovation, changes in financial structure, differences in labour force mix, operation scale, and authority decentralisation.

5) Financial Situation of the Organization: The formulation of HRM policies necessitates the expenditure of funds, which will have an impact on the product pricing. As a result, the HRM policies are constrained by the organization’s product pricing.

6) Trade Union Goals and Practices: Various elements linked to employee unions, such as the union’s strategies for pressuring management to meet their demands, their bargaining power, the style or degree of employee organisation, and so on, have an impact on HRM policies.

7) Workforce Type: A good HR department is responsible for assessing the labour force and determining what they accept. Executing an ineffective policy is almost useless.

Types of Human Resource Policies

1) Originated Policies: These policies are implemented by the organization’s top management on purpose in order to oversee executive thought at various levels.

2) Appealed Policies: These policies are drafted to address the needs of unique exceptional conditions that were not addressed by previously formulated policies. Employees who have been unable to cope with circumstances despite the supervision given by current policies are typically the ones that want this sort of regulation.

3) Imposed Policies: These policies are enacted as a result of outside pressure from organisations such as unions, the government, and trade groups.

4) General Policies: These policies demonstrate the top management’s essential principles and philosophy in developing the comprehensive strategy for establishing the organization’s growth chart.

5) Specific Policies: These policies should follow the basic outline established by the general policies. Bargaining, hiring, and rewarding are among the topics covered by these policies.

6) Implied Policies: Implied policies are those that are not formulated by a competent authority and have no formal sanction. These are deduced from the members’ actions, such as politeness with customers, dress code, and so on.

7) Written Policies: Written policies are clearly stated written expressions of the management’s aims. Management’s opinions are set down in the form of written policies, therefore there are relatively few opportunities for misinterpretation.

Formulation of Human Resource Policies

The design of HR policy is based on the everyday difficulties that arise in an organisation and their responses. The following are the many steps involved in the formation of HR policy:

1) Recognizing the Need: If the organisation does not have a proper HRM policy, the HR manager should be aware of the need for one.

The HR manager should persuade the organization’s Chief Executive of the need for the same. Compensation, training, IR, recruiting, and other aspects of human resource management necessitate HRM policies.

A first-line supervisor, a staff professional, a rank-and-file worker, or a union representative may urge the need to revise current HRM policy.

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2) Collecting Information: Once management has agreed to the policy’s demand, the second stage is to acquire crucial data for the policy’s creation. A professional or group may be assigned the task of gathering information from within and outside the organisation. The following sources can be used to get information:

In order to obtain relevant information, the personnel department should conduct an industry survey, review current records, and consult with community members, as well as interview employees.

Various aspects such as worker goals, upper-level management ideas and attitudes, labour laws, societal values, and conventions should all be carefully considered. Extensive debates and consultations at this stage are extremely valuable later on when the policy is implemented.

3) Evaluating Policy Options: The information acquired serves as the foundation for evaluating policy alternatives in terms of their contributions to the organization’s aims. It is critical that those workers who must utilise and accept these policies participate actively.

4) Putting the Policy in Writing: After the personnel department has completed the collecting of vital information and the analysis of objectives, the true work of putting the HR policy in writing may begin.

5) Obtaining Approval: The HR department sends the policy draught to upper-level management in order to obtain approval. Upper-level management has the last say on whether the policy sufficiently reflects the organization’s aims.

6) Policy Communication: After the policy has been approved by higher management, it should be conveyed to every employee of the company.

It’s important to think about how you’ll deal with a variety of personnel concerns. Employees should be taught the newly created policies through a genuine educational programme.

7) Policy Evaluation: Policy should be evaluated on a regular basis, taking into account the experiences of the employees who are affected by it and who use it. When an organisation does not get the results it expects, it is said to be in a state of flux.

The policies must be changed as a result of this. Any major issue should be brought to the attention of higher management, along with recommendations. Such information will assist management in determining if the policy needs to be reformulated or reinstated.

Importance of Human Resource Policies

1) Orientation: New workers are handed employee handbooks, which include the company’s regulations, on the first day of work. The manager, the owner, or an HR representative examine these policies at the orientation session to ensure that every new employee understands the acceptable and unacceptable code of behaviour in the workplace.

It is a vital stage in the transfer from one employer’s culture to another’s, and it gives the employee a chance to get familiar with all of his new role’s conventional procedures.

2) Accountability: Every new employee must sign a form of acknowledgement stating that they agree to follow all of these policies. Every employee will feel a sense of responsibility as a result of this, and the employer will be able to take disciplinary action, up to and including termination, if the employee knowingly and freely disobeys the company’s regulations.

3) Code of Conduct: Typically, HR rules include behaviour standards that include actions or conducts that are prohibited in the workplace, such as carrying weapons in the workplace or using inappropriate or threatening language, as well as the consequences of engaging in any of these activities.

Policies are typically linked to state government employment regulations or the company’s goal, vision, and culture in order to define organisational standards.

4) Onboarding: With the aid of HR policies, new workers of the organisation are supported in having a clear understanding of the office uniform, enrolling for benefit programmes, filling out tax forms and information correctly, other work regulations, and attendance.

5) Workplace Rules: A variety of organisations define workplace rules, which include attendance, uniform, harassment, smoking, and other acts. With the aid of HR rules, it is possible to avoid workplace disagreements and discord among employees, as well as reduce the number of court cases.

When an organisation has established HR policies, the chances of employees applying work regulations in a different way are minimised, allegations of preferential treatment are reduced, and ill-feeling among coworkers is reduced.

6) Chain of Command: In a small organisation with few departments and superiors, employees have a propensity to contact the superior they like if they have a problem or need assistance. As a result, HR regulations mandate the chain-of-command system to prevent employees from asking their chosen superior to leave a position they dislike.

7) Terminations: Unlawful termination of workers has been the subject of several court cases, and HR rules that govern employee dismissal can help organisations mitigate this risk.

Inclusive Growth and Affirmative Action

When it comes to both the rate and pattern of growth, it’s called inclusive growth. Because they are intertwined, they should be considered jointly. Such expansion is required to achieve the goal of equity or parity.

That is why inclusive growth is viewed as essential for long-term growth. To put it another way, it may be stated as “Equal Opportunity Growth (EEO).” Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a policy that requires firms to maintain a fair and transparent employment process.

In this context, equal opportunity involves treating everyone equally and fairly, regardless of race. Religion, caste, sex, and other factors all have a role.

Equal employment opportunity principles assist a company in properly valuing its human resources based on objective variables such as skills, expertise, and talents.

The organization’s equal employment policy must apply to all employees, permanent, temporary, or contract.

Affirmative action is a more advanced type of EEO. Affirmative action refers to all of an organization’s operations aimed at overcoming obstacles to equitable employment.

The basic goal of affirmative action is to find answers to previous wrongdoings. It’s worth noting that, while the goal of both EEO and affirmative action (encouraging progress of marginalized groups) is similar in many ways, the means employed to accomplish it are dissimilar.

EEO = Color Blind

EEO metrics are “color-blind,” whereas affirmative action measures are “color-conscious.” Affirmative action tries to compensate for losses caused by past wrongdoings, whereas EEO guarantees that discrimination does not occur in the future.

Affirmative action lays forth specific guidelines for hiring, retaining, and developing persons from underrepresented groups.

Affirmative Action = Color Conscious

As a result, the affirmative action program may effectively show a preference for a person of a specific race, caste, or gender. Employers will not normally offer people’s preferences based on their history to satisfy equal opportunity goals.

Affirmative Action Plans

All government agencies and enterprises that perform much work in the public sector must have an effective affirmative action strategy.

The three steps involved in developing an affirmative action strategy are as follows:

1) Conducting a Utilization Analysis: Conducting a utilisation analysis is the first stage in developing an affirmative action strategy.

The organization’s workforce is compared to the talented people available in the whole workforce in a utilisation study.

There are two stages to a utilisation analysis:

i) Segmenting all occupations into tiny groups to determine the demographic mix of the workforce.

For example, all management positions are grouped together, clerical and secretarial jobs are grouped together, and all marketing roles are grouped together, and so on.

The percentage of protected employees employed in these groupings is then calculated.

ii) Calculating the percentage of workers who are protected in the overall labour market. There are eight main sorts of information that the organisation must consider when collecting this data.

What percentage of overall managers are females, for example? How many African-American executives are there? What proportion of CEOs are Asian Americans?

2) Setting Goals and Timetables: The second stage is to set goals and timetables for addressing underutilization.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is in charge of enforcing laws and directives that apply to the federal government in the United States.

The OFCCP states unequivocally that no fixed quotas should be established. Instead, the employer should consider the extent of underutilization, the turnover ratio, and the rate of staff expansion or contraction.

Second, while defining goals and a timetable, the employer should evaluate the type of action he wants to take.

3) Determining Action Options: The final stage in developing an affirmative action strategy is choosing which positive actions the organisation will take.

Some parameters for deciding on an action plan are as follows:

 I) Hiring persons from protected classes,

 ii) Re-designing work so that under-represented groups of people may apply for positions,

 iii) Facilitating training programmes for under-prepared people, and

 iv) Removing any impediments to employment opportunities.

For example, an organisation may provide cab service to employees who do not have easy access to or suitability for public transportation, such as physically challenged persons.

Organization’s principal problem is determining how much favour they should provide to those who belong to a protected class.

Other Related Topics:

1. Human Resource Management
2. Human Resource Policies
3. Human Resource Audit
4. Human Resource Accounting
5. Socialization
6. Induction
7. Interview in Recruitment Process
8. Selection of Human Resource
9. Recruitment /Hiring of Human Resource
10. Human Resource Planning
11. Training of Human Resource in HRM
12. Training Needs Analysis (TNA)