How HR is like Engine Oil: Avoid HR Frustrations with Regular Maintenance.

Recently, a business owner asked us to review his harassment and discrimination policies in his employee handbook. He was concerned with all the stuff that we are reading in the news each day. He wanted to make sure his employees felt safe, and that his company was doing all it can to protect itself from problems. Additionally, money was a bit of an issue so he was reluctant to spend the money to get a new handbook printed and thought his money might be better spent on training employees and managers.

After reviewing his policies, the first thing we noticed was their age. The policies were written over 6 years ago. Clearly they were nearing the end of their life and were in need of some updating to keep up with the times.

To explain it I used engine oil as the analogy. I told him to think of each time he has the oil changed in his car. The oil is good for several thousand miles and then something happens. As the oil ages and wears out the engine oil light comes on. It tells you it is nearing time to change.

Now, we all know that we push the limit of how long we can reasonably go before we give in and get it changed. More importantly we know that if we go too long we can cause expensive, catastrophic damage. Our HR policies are the same. The have a lifespan and to avoid expensive and catastrophic damage, every once in a while, we have to stop to change and update. As a business owner, help your HR team and prevent HR frustrations by regularly reviewing and updating your policies. This not only helps keeps HR running smoothly, but it helps to prevent expensive and catastrophic problems from occurring later on. How long has it been since you've reviewed your policies and procedures? This is a regular type of "maintenance" that we can help with! If you'd like to learn more about our process, please check out our website, or give us a call.

Rick Maher

CEO

Turning Point HCM

Turningpointhcm.com