Your company spends valuable time, effort and resources to hire quality candidates; it should be a priority to keep your employees happy so they don't look elsewhere for a job. If your workplace is inundated with red tape, eliminate these dumb rules for your employees, and watch your company's retention rates rise.
Hiring Rules
If electronic keyword searches bog down your hiring process, you could be passing up quality candidates just because their resumes don't fit certain criteria. Look over resumes and cover letters personally to identify candidates who deserve interviews. Allow them the opportunity to sell themselves in person rather than relying on a piece of paper to tell their story.
Probationary Rules
Are your employees held to a six-month probationary period before you consider them full-fledged employees, offer them benefits or allow them to accept promotions? If a worker proves himself to be worthy within the first few months of work, it makes more sense to promote him within the organization if the opportunity arises rather than risk losing him to a competing firm.
Attendance Rules
If your company offers remote work, don't force your employees to show up to the office a minimum number of days per week. Each work day presents a different scenario, so give your workers the freedom to dictate whether their day is best spent on conference calls at home, at a client location or in the office.
Sick Leave Rules
Does your organization require workers to produce a doctor's excuse when returning to work after a few days of sick leave? This shows little trust in your employees. Allow them to take sick days or personal days when they need them, without having to provide documentation.
Internet Usage Rules
Don't set a policy that forbids all Internet use. Unreasonable Internet policies keep your employees from seeking information that may be valuable to their duties. Instead, focus restrictions on the types of websites or amount of time spent.
Cell Phone Usage Rules
Does your company forbid employees from using their cell phones during company time? Whether the issue lies in abuse of time or security of confidential information, place some trust in your employees. If you have to impose such a rule, then you shouldn't employ any worker who breaks it.
Travel Rules
If your organization keeps the frequent flyer miles earned by employees for company travel, rethink this decision. Think of these miles as a perk that employees earn for standing in airport lines, shuffling between flights and spending nights away from home.
When company culture is overwhelmed by dumb rules, your employees feel powerless and undervalued. This leads quality workers to lose passion, lack motivation and become less productive, which results in decreased profits for your organization.
Photo courtesy of Free Counselling Services at Flickr.com
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