The importance of human resource policies
As managers, before considering any human resource policy, it is important to pose a
number of questions which have to be answered by the managers themselves because
developing human resource policy to address specific areas of human resource man-
agement is an investment which, in principle should have positive returns in terms of
facilitating decision making and creating a motivating environment for the employee.
However, despite the fact that this topic is important for people management in organi-
sations, a cursory review of the coverage of human resource policies as a distinct topic
in the mainstream literature of human resource management studies show inadequacies
in terms of scope and content (Cuming 1985; Beach & Dale 1985; Armstrong 2006).
One of the reasons seems to be that policies, when defined as guidelines, are implicitly
covered in separate topics such as strategic human resource management, human re-
source plans, performance and reward management and so on. However, where human
resource policies are discussed, the best arguments for establishing human resource pol-
icies are:
First, human resource policies help managers to ensure that people management is in
line with corporate values. It is not an easy task to solicit employees’ commitment to the
organisation if what is contained in the corporate vision, mission, and values is not fur-
ther developed and put across in such a way that both managers and employees feel that
the organisation is not just paying lip service. Indeed, human resource policy is useful in
judging the extent to which the consistency between the declared philosophy in people
management at the strategic level and the day-to-day management of human resources
in terms of decisions and activities at operational level is sustained.
Second, is about ensuring that human resource management decisions are made con-
sistently. Managing employees is about decision-making and implementation of human
resource intents in the whole spectrum of the terms and conditions of employment Hu-
man resource policies provide a reference and guidance for avoiding inconsistent deci-
sion making by substantive managers or those who make decisions in similar matters
and thus affecting different employees over time. This builds confidence and trust be-
tween managers and staff.
Third, is to minimise inequality in the treatment of employees. Although the mere
presence of human resource policies cannot guarantee equality in the treatment of em-
ployees in various areas such as training, employment benefits or gender, lack of spe-
cific policies can create even more disparity between employees. It becomes difficult
for employees to demand equal treatment when there are anomalies and when there are
no clear definitions and criteria for judging equality.
Fourth, human resource policies facilitate decentralisation, delegation and local em-
powerment. Staffing decision making can be delegated to lower levels of management
without the risk of the wrong decisions being taken because the policy will provide
guidance on how certain issues or problems on staffing should be handled. The human
resource policy document becomes the source of power and authority for those en-
trusted with the execution of duties affecting employee’s work and welfare.
Formulating human resource policies
In an ideal situation, it is strongly recommended that an organisation formulates human
resource policies that will cover all human resource management functions. These in-
clude: recruitment, selection, performance management, training and development, pay,