How to Write Policies and Procedures for Your Business

A well-written employee manual lets your employees know what's expected of them and what they can expect of you.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Printers
• Binders
• Bonded Paper
• Computers
• Word-processing Software

1. Involve front-line managers in putting together a policy and procedure manual, as they will be administering the policies.

2. Include statements that show your commitment to applicable state and federal laws in areas such as new hire reporting, equal employment opportunity, exempt and non-exempt employees, harassment, wages, and antidiscrimination.

3. Discuss mandated benefits such as social security; worker's compensation; unemployment; military, jury and family leave; and school visitation rights.

4. Outline company policies, such as time-keeping; pay schedule; confidential information; use of mail, phone and e-mail privileges; probation period; performance reviews; and standards of conduct.

5. Offer information on benefits, such as holidays, vacation, retirement plans, insurance, leaves of absence and stock options.

6. Replace don'ts with dos. Use positive statements to describe company policies - instead of telling employees what they can't do, emphasize what they're expected to do.

7. Write clearly and keep the list of dos and don'ts reasonably short. Too much legal jargon will confuse your employees.

8. Have an employment law attorney review your manual before you issue it. This can save you thousands of dollars by protecting you from lawsuits down the road.

Tips & Warnings

• Have employees read your policy manual from cover-to-cover and have them sign a statement saying they have done so to avoid later confusion.
• Be careful in your use of language; you don't want to inadvertently create a legally binding contract. Avoid using words like "always." Use "generally" and "usually" instead. Leave room for the exceptions to the rule.

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[amyc3364]

on 3/24/2008 Hello Out There!
I need to write a policy and procedures manual for a company that owns, builds and manages multiple hotels, any suggestions on the best software for this purpose?
Thanks!

on 8/8/2006 When writing a policy always include:
- What the context/purpose of the policy is.
- Who it applies to/does not apply to.
- Effective date.
- Policy owner's name (the person who takes final decisions about the application of the policy).
- Contact person's name and details.

on 6/30/2006 When writing a policy always include:
What the context/purpose of the policy is.
Who it applies to/does not apply to.
Effective date.
Policy owner's name (the person who takes final decisions about the application of the policy).
Contact person's name and details.

on 11/22/2005 Along with, and after, your lawyer vets your manual, have several regular folk read it. Do they understand it? Does it give clear information, and does it give that information in a way that agrees with your corporate culture?

I would also recommend following the standard procedure of page numbering in your looseleaf manual: Section 1, page 3, etc., so that you can easily and efficiently replace pages as needed, without renumbering and reprinting.

on 11/22/2005 Only include those rules that you are going to enforce, then enforce them across the board. If you make exceptions for the employees you "like," then discipline the ones you don't, you end up with a poor place at which to work.