Pitch Your Policy Manuals
Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 by Frank Roche
What do you think will happen when someone posts a sign that says, “PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE HERE…SO PLEASE DON’T BANG ON MY WINDOW!!!”? Do you think fewer people banged on the window in this house on 4th Street in Philadelphia? Hardly. Heck, I wanted to see the cat and almost knocked on the glass myself.
So what makes you think your policy manual is any more effective than that sign?
People know how to do workarounds. And for every policy, there is someone ahead of the curve figuring out how to game it. The Dutch introduced a workplace re-integration policy a few years ago to help employees get back to functional employment after an extended illness. The Poortwachter Law, as it’s called, was designed to get people back to work. You know what happened, right? At some point, over 9 percent of the Dutch population realized it was okay to be out of work for up to 2 years and they could get a job back. People took time off for hangnails and “job stress.” What was worse than low performance is what I used to call “Being Poortwachtered.”
Throw away your policy manuals. Write some big statements about what you value and what’s out of bounds. Let everyone know what’s expected and don’t tolerate what you won’t stand for. The rest of your policy manual is silly, the equivalent of saying, “Don’t bang on the window.” You just know they’re gonna. Whatcha gonna do about it?
NB: We don’t have a policy manual at our shop, but I can guarantee that everyone here knows what’s what. We’re unambiguous about customer service and creativity. People who don’t understand that are set free to achieve mediocrity elsewhere.
rick
Jun 25th, 2008
Unintended consequences baby. Gotta love ‘em.
I am frequently amazed that people running companies, or HR do not think through the next few steps of the logic. Maybe chess grand master instead of MBA should be a qualification for all leadership positions. (I think that there is a new best selling business book in that idea.)
Frank Roche
Jun 25th, 2008
Rick, that’s a brilliant take. And my advice to you: Listen to yourself. That is a huge idea and one that you might want to put a book proposal together. I’m not kidding. Write down a title. Pitch an idea. Get writing. That’s one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long while.
Michael Haberman, SPHR
Jun 25th, 2008
Frank, great idea and a noble thought. I wish the world worked like that. Like you, in our small shop, we don’t really have a working policy manual. However, the larger the company I think there needs to be some consensus on control. And there is the government that gets in the way. Some of the laws dictate you must have a written policy. And some parts of the government make you keep crappy employees because “you did not have a written policy.”
I do wish it were otherwise. I an do realize that people will find work arounds, but most will not and will appreciate the guidelines.
Michael Cortes
Jun 25th, 2008
I am curious… while I certainly value the theory, I have always been confused as the impact on litigation. Government regulation and case history shows that companies often lose court battles because “there was no policy prohibiting such behavior.”
How do you deal with that in the no-policy method?
Frank Roche
Jun 25th, 2008
I was speaking in the extreme, so I should qualify: There are necessary policies and then there are the dumb ones. Policies that have legal implication are necessary, I guess….but to a degree. I bet Enron had policies galore, but that didn’t keep out bad behavior. My point, and the point that Michael makes, is more around sensibility. And the larger the organization, the larger the requirements. What I think gets lost over time is the sniff test and questioning if a policy should be in place at all. It’s never a replacement for doing the right thing. I don’t need policies in my family because we all know what the right thing is (with minor interpretations by the teenagers from time to time).
Chad Bordeaux
Jun 26th, 2008
I agree that many policies should not need to be written, but I do not see any harm in writing them down – especially are the business grows. Everyone needs to protect themselves legally.
I see your comment that you were speaking “in the extreme.” Can you provide some examples of what you feel should be written and what you feel should not be?
For instance, should you have a written dress code? If not, what do you do when people come dressed inappropriately for work.
What about vacation and benefits policies?
Ultimately, where do you propose that people draw the line?
Meg Bear
Jun 26th, 2008
Frank. Thanks for this line, I plan to use this myself at some point “…free to achieve mediocrity elsewhere.” Wonderfuly said!
Frank Roche
Jun 26th, 2008
Hi Meg, that’s one of my favorite phrases. Thanks much!
Don Leow
Jun 30th, 2008
Hi Frank, I agree that some policy manuals should be thrown out. But given that my company is rather large, this may be a tad difficult since we need some detailed ground rules. But I definitely think that more targeted and simple manuals are the way to go. Some of the ones we have seemed to be written to confound people.
Eva Proctor-Laguerre
Jun 30th, 2008
Frank, I think you are really on to something. Michael Haberman,a larger shop may need to do a little more. In my experience, employees will ALWAYS push the envelope.
Wally Bock
Jun 30th, 2008
Wonderful post, Frank. Reminds me of the story of the legendary Rene McPherson who, when he took over the Dana corporation, threw out almost two feet of policy manual and replaced them with a single sheet of paper.
Frank Roche
Jun 30th, 2008
Hi Wally, I do love that story of Dana Corp. I just am not crazy about unenforceable rules….I’m not against all rules, just the silly ones.
Eva, thanks for your comments. Nice to see you here. You’re right, I do think people figure out rules workarounds…the prisons are filled with them.
Don, really I was speaking in hyperbole…yes, rules are necessary, but the silly ones get a life of their own.