Policies: Do the Employees Get It?

Earlier today I had a long-tenured employee ask “What are the procedures for documenting sick leave?”  “ .. . . I realize it is documented someplace but I’m not sure where and I thought you would know it off “the top of your head” saving me the trouble of finding it.”    I smiled.  This document in question is located in both the employee handbook as well as a standalone policy on the HR portal.

Companies devote substantial time and resources in developing policies.  Once policies are developed we roll them out in meetings, post them, put them on the company intranet, distribute them via email, and/or hard copy distribution.   We obtain the signed acknowledgement as proof that the employee received and is aware of the policy - thereby negating any future claims from the employee that s/he "didn't know."   But no matter how or how often policies are communicated, sometimes it seems the company falls short in the communication of the policy.  Are the policies then wasted?  No, but perhaps we need to better understand our audience.  How are our employees receiving the information we are communicating?  Words must always be carefully chosen; nuances must be considered. 

My recommendation, schedule assessments of your company policies at regular intervals. This will allow you to assess the employee understanding of the policies and to obtain feedback.

Yes, you will still have the rare employee who finds it easier to ask HR than look something up.  But, after all, that's why we're here!