Comments on: Pitch Your Policy Manuals

By: Frank Roche

Frank Roche — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:59:16 +0000

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.

By: Wally Bock

Wally Bock — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:57:12 +0000

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.

By: Eva Proctor-Laguerre

Eva Proctor-Laguerre — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:54:10 +0000

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.

By: Don Leow

Don Leow — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:18:38 +0000

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.

By: Sunday Management Roundup

Sunday Management Roundup — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:04:55 +0000

[...] Roche tells us to pitch our policy manuals. Here’s a snippet of Frank’s great advice: Throw away your policy manuals. Write some big [...]

By: Frank Roche

Frank Roche — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:55:50 +0000

Hi Meg, that’s one of my favorite phrases. Thanks much!

By: Meg Bear

Meg Bear — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:46:01 +0000

Frank. Thanks for this line, I plan to use this myself at some point “…free to achieve mediocrity elsewhere.” Wonderfuly said!

By: Chad Bordeaux

Chad Bordeaux — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:19:56 +0000

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?

By: HR World » Blog Archive » Wednesday Links: Tim Russert, ADEA

HR World » Blog Archive » Wednesday Links: Tim Russert, ADEA — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:16:04 +0000

[...] post just to see the hilarious sign that someone actually put in a window. Check it out here. All fields are required. Your E-mail will not be published. [...]

By: Frank Roche

Frank Roche — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:03:10 +0000

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).