Company Policy Implementation: 7 Types of Company Policies

Company policies are company rules that thoroughly and clearly outline behavioral and work standards as well as employee rights and benefits. They help foster positive and fair company culture, ensuring everyone receives equal treatment and equal opportunities to excel.

There are many types of company policies—for instance, disciplinary policies outline consequences for unethical behavior, absenteeism, and the like, while benefits policies spell out what employees can reliably expect from their employers in terms of perks like paid time off or health coverage.

Maintaining a thorough set of company policies in writing ensures fair treatment for employees and that employers run their companies in compliance with state and federal laws. So long as employers have a policy document like an employee handbook or procedures manual, they can prove they have internal processes for treating their workers fairly and according to legal standards. So long as these policies are in accordance with the law and employers carry them out faithfully, they will foster a safe, fair, and ethical work environment and stay in good standing with government authorities.

There are numerous company policies for covering different aspects of workplace life. Here are seven you can expect to see on the job:

1. 1. Attendance policy: Companies need to regulate what is acceptable in terms of attendance and absence with their workplace. This could mean implementing an overtime policy that incentivizes workers when they stay longer and an absentee policy that penalizes them for absences or excessive tardiness. A brief policy statement to encode common-sense stipulations might be all that’s necessary.
2. 2. Company security policy: Many businesses deal with sensitive information and must keep a tight leash on company property as a result. A company security policy ensures workers know what is and isn’t appropriate to do with their work computers or any confidential information to which they might be privy. This keeps the company name and reputation safe while discouraging workers from revealing sensitive data or creating a conflict of interest.
3. 3. Employee benefits policies: Companies must outline what their employees can expect in terms of paid leave for vacation, healthcare coverage, paternity/maternity leave, medical leave, and sick leave. Doing so enables employers and employees to keep each other accountable.
4. 4. Employee code of conduct policy: When companies clarify the sort of employee conduct they expect, employees find it easier to behave accordingly. To be fair, the same policies should also spell out precisely what sort of disciplinary action employees can expect if they step outside these boundaries.
5. 5. Employee health and safety policy: For this business policy, companies should consult the standards that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set as a baseline. Their workplace safety policies serve as the legal baseline for work conditions throughout the United States.
6. 6. Equal opportunity policy: When businesses adopt an anti-discrimination policy, they make it clear that no prejudice is acceptable in their workplace and eligibility is open to people of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender expressions, and other identity groupings. These policies also bring employers in line with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal civil rights enforcement agency.
7. 7. Sexual harassment policy: Employees have a right to expect a human resources policy, or HR policy, about workplace harassment. This makes a company’s anti-harassment stance known while also outlining the precise ways HR will take action after an employee makes a claim about harassment.

Employees want their employers to be consistent and sensible. Here are three tips to crafting effective policies for the workplace:

1. 1. Aim for common-sense practices. Employees are more likely to respond positively to a common-sense ethical code than a draconian one. For example, an employee might find a cell phone policy stating no personal calls or texts during work hours to be a nonstarter. In contrast, a work-appropriate dress code might engender far less pushback.
2. 2. Ask for feedback from employees. Make sure employees know how they can influence the decision-making process when it comes to crafting and implementing new policies. When both old and new hires feel included in creating these sorts of stipulations, they’re more likely to abide by any new rules.
3. 3. Be consistent when implementing policies. From onboarding onward, workers have a right to expect business owners and managers to be consistent when implementing and enforcing company employee policies. In any specific case, the purpose of the policy should be clear and equally applicable to all employees, as well as the owners and managers. Nondiscrimination and equity must be the order of the day.

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