• HR departments may have separate, specific policies.

In addition to policies that may govern the entire employee population, many human resources (HR) departments have policies that are geared toward the department’s own activities. These may include the following:

• Compensation. The bulk of employees’ earnings should come from a base salary competitive with that offered by other local firms. It may be possible to supplement the base salary with an incentive such as a small commission or quota bonus plan. Try to relate the incentive both to company goals and to the goals of employees. Whatever plan is chosen, be sure each employee understands it completely.
• Orientation. Many organizations prefer to have an orientation period of 60 to 90 days to make certain the employee is a good fit for its operation. Problems can be identified and corrected. Orientation also is useful for correcting serious performance problems that develop during the course of employment.