If you do not have clear rules and
procedures, then it can be very frustrating for everyone. Take holidays for
example. If everyone knows what the rules are then they can abide by them. However,
the rules tend to change depending on who is in charge, who you ask or even who
you are - then the system becomes unfair. Unfortunately, this is what often happens.
Defining clear guidelines which will work for everyone in every possible
scenario is incredibly difficult to set up.
So how do you ensure that your system will
be fair to everyone?
Step 1: Understand what you need. This is
the hardest thing to define. Yet if you know what you need then you can use
that as the basis for your rules. So if you need a minimum of two people in the
office at all times, say that.
Step 2: Fair rules. Write up a set of rules
that are applicable to everyone.
Step 3: Testing and Evaluation. Look at the
rules and see how they would have worked had you had them in place last year.
Step 4: Exceptions. There will always be
exceptions to the rules, because you can’t think of everything, so have a “At
manager’s discretion” clause.
Step 5: There are two sides to rules and
procedures, checking to see that they work for the organisation, and checking
that they work for the employee. When it comes to creating rules about
holidays, think about ensuring that all of your employees can take all of their
holidays in the year.
Step 6: Enforcement. When it comes to
holidays, in practice, there are only two people who can manage and enforce the
rules. You either have the ‘boss’ or the ‘temp’ do the administration. The ‘boss’
has to have the authority to implement any decisions they make. The ‘temp’ has
no authority, so can only follow the rules. In this way everyone is treated
equally and fairly.
If you are having trouble with holidays, then
why not attend our course on holiday management. Alternatively, we also run courses
on change management, annualised hours, absence and shift planning.
