Have You Checked Your Employee Handbook Lately?
I am a strong advocate of the "Put it in writing" perspective. Written communication helps to clarify issues and insure a clearer understanding by both parties in the communication process. An employee handbook, for example, is one of those tools that have proven useful in communicating an organization's policies and benefits to employees.
But, have you checked your employee handbook lately? We live in a changing world where the one constant is change. As a result, some of the employment policies of just a few years ago may be out of date. And, nearly every workplace has been revolutionized by the use of new high tech telecommunications devices.
Take a look around your workplace. In the past three years, you have probably introduced one or more of the following telecommunications tools: Cell telephones, wireless "palm pilot" type organizers or communicators, lap top computers, E-mail, Voice mail, and internet access. Even if you haven't employed these tools in your work environment, your employees are bringing their high-tech "toys" from home and using them in the workplace on company time.
Have your firm's policies or employee handbook been updated to address these new high tech issues? Here's a brief check list of some topics and issues to consider.
In some business circles, E-mail systems are supplanting the telephone as a primary medium of communication between employees. But, E-mail is also a popular medium for sexual harassment. Protect your firm with guidelines.
The Internet brings the world into your workplace. And with it, your business may experience a whole host of potential problems as many employees engage non-job related web searches - a practice I like to call cyber-slacking.
I see cell phones everywhere, dangling from ladies purses, clipped to men's belts, and growing out of drivers ears! Has your business provided this valuable communications tool to field employees? Do office or plant employees receive or make personal cell calls while on the job? And this driving thing sure points to the need for safety guidelines.
Many field workers now find that lap top computers or the electronic hand-held organizers are essential tools for maintaining client, customer or order data, and for communicating to the main office. But, the issue care, and return of these expensive devices now requires more specific instructions than the issuance or return of work garments given to plant workers of a generation ago.
The new high tech tools now permit many employees to be just as productive at home as in the office, prompting some employees to request telecommuting or other similar work-at-home arrangements. Fearful of abuse of this practice, many employers want to define specific guidelines for such arrangements.
Also, recent court decisions dealing with sexual harassment identify the importance in clearly defining a prohibition against offensive sexually oriented conduct, communicating the policy to employees and providing a mechanism for resolution of complaints. The employee handbook is an excellent medium for conveying this information.
Further, leading court decisions in Illinois emphasize the importance of having a prominent statement in your handbook which asserts the at-will nature of the employment relationship while avoiding promises of employment tenure or pre-discharge procedures that could be viewed a contractually binding.
These are just a few the current hot topics to consider when updating your firm's employee handbook.
William S. Hubbartt is president of Hubbartt & Associates, a St. Charles, IL consulting firm specializing in employee compensation, employee handbooks, personnel policies and supervisory training. (www.Hubbartt.com) Mr. Hubbartt is author of The New Battle Over Workplace Privacy, published by AMACOM Books.
