What are some common problems when administering employee policies in an organization?

Question

What are the controversies surrounding employment-at-will? How effective are the employee relations programs in your organization? Why or why not?

Answer 1

The problem with at-will is not the policy itself, it's the fact that employers feel it covers them for all contingencies. I have an employee who made a complaint? Fire them under at-will....whoops, there's a lawsuit for retaliation. Fire someone who got hurt at work? Unleash a wrongful term suit.

Policies should be designed to integrate and support one another. Too often companies buy some off-the-shelf policy program and don't bother reviewing the policies to ensure they fit with the company's actual business practices, or they rely on policy manuals that are 15 years old and haven't been updated. another common mistake is companies that have multiple sites and are using different policies at every site, or companies that acquire other companies and don't conduct a review of policie and business practices upon acquisition. And of course it's essential to train employees, managers, and HR staff on the policy content and implementation practices.

Competent legal review of employee handbooks, policy manuals and the like is also essential in today's business environment. The laws are constantly changing. Policy documents should be a "living" reflection of the company's best business practices and a reference point for all those in charge of carrying out those policies.