Is Your Standards of Conduct Policy Consistent?

A company’s “standards of conduct” policy is about more than promoting appropriate behavior in the workplace. This document typically includes a roadmap for disciplinary action in the event of employee non-compliance. Because of this, it can come under intense scrutiny in the event of a wrongful termination suit. Any deviation from the policy can be used against an employer. Evidence that some employees are held to a stricter standard than others is especially problematic. The more locations your organization has, the greater the chances that these inconsistencies will occur.

Policy Basics

Properly developed standards of conduct can be applied equally to all employees regardless of their job description, seniority, or location. It should cover a code of ethics and work performance expectations that reflect the values of your organization. The policy should clearly state the procedures for corrective/disciplinary action along with any recourse options the employee has at each stage. A signed acknowledgement must be collected from each new hire showing that they have received and read a copy of the policy. Automated onboarding software that collects signatures electronically is the easiest and most effective solution to ensure this happens.

Top Problems Affecting Employers

Here are some of the problems companies with multiple locations often face when it comes to their standards of conduct:

• Corporate HR adds new rules without communicating them effectively to all sites; each location is using a different version of the policy since it keeps morphing over time
• Local HR administrators and managers react to issues within their local workforce by creating and implementing new rules at their own discretion
• Local site managers promote varying standards based on convenience or because they lack of adequate training
• Local site managers fail to enforce rules so employees won’t complain; or managers bypass rules in an attempt to meet unrealistic performance expectations from corporate headquarters

Achieving Greater Consistency                                                                                                              

The first step to correct these problems is to contact an expert HR advisement firm to review your current standards of conduct policy – and identify all the different versions that are floating around at various locations. A single, comprehensive standard will be developed to ensure your policy is both legal and enforceable. This updated version will be rolled out to all locations. The implementation strategy will need to include training for all HR personnel, managers, and supervisors to promote enforcement.

The Stonehaven Group has HR specialists on staff who advise corporations with many locations – including those with operations in multiple countries. Because of this, we are in a unique position to assist even the largest and most complex organizations in creating and implementing a consistent policy that will decrease the risk of employee litigation.