Employee review
You also could involve a team of employees in the review process. Ask your managers to select a group of workers that they feel could offer the best insight. Here are a few questions to ask the employee review panel:- Do you understand your responsibilities, as outlined in the manual?
- Do you find the wording to be clear and unbiased?
- Would you need any additional training or information in order to carry out your responsibilities, as outlined in the manual?
- Do you have any problems or concerns with any of the policies and procedures?
Legal review
As we detailed in Lessons 4 and 5, it is important that you have your attorney review your manual early on in the process.
It is a good idea to send a review copy to your attorney as part of this final review process. Your attorney should make sure that your manual complies with local, state, and federal employment standards. If unions represent your employees, your attorney will ensure your manual is consistent with any collective bargaining agreements. Other areas of the manual that have legal implications are those regarding employee benefits, IRS regulations, federal banking laws, equal opportunity, harassment, discrimination, employee privacy, and accessibility.
Hire an attorney who specializes in employment law to review and comment on your policies and procedures before they are finalized in the manual.
You may be wondering how much time you should give your reviewers to consider the manual. Two weeks is a standard period for most review processes. You may need to extend the deadline under certain circumstances, so be sure to allow some wiggle room with your dates.
If this is the first time your organization has had a policy and procedure manual, you might want to schedule a meeting with your review team. The purpose of this meeting would be to discuss and answer any concerns review team members have with the manual.
Since many of your review team members may have the same questions, a face-to-face meeting may save time in the long run.
Receiving constructive criticism
Whether you get your feedback in written form, or during an in-person encounter, it may be a bit overwhelming. You have spent weeks, maybe months, on this project. You have done the research and the interviews, and you have spent the time reading through similar manuals.How can you keep your cool when your colleagues offer their two cents? How can you avoid feeling as if you are facing a firing squad?
It is natural to feel a little defensive when you receive criticism. However, the important thing to keep in mind is that you have done your homework on this project. Also, this review process is a safeguard for you, as well as for the entire organization.
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