• Employers should communicate personnel policies to employees.

When a company has developed personnel policies, put those that affect employees in writing and give each employee a copy.

For the small business, this statement may consist of one or two typed pages. For larger operations, it forms the core of an employee handbook. It is very important to have written policies. These help to resolve minor issues quickly, and in more complicated matters, courts can rely on policies as authority. It is also important to note that the policies are not contractual and may and will be changed from time to time.

Because policies are communicating the way a company wants things done, it’s important the policies are clear and easy to read. Make policies readable through formatting and using simple language.

It’s also helpful to create all policies and procedures in the same general format. And, developing a numbering or lettering scheme can help quickly identify a particular policy or procedure.