With the warm weather we’ve been having in Kansas – 65 degrees yesterday, when a year ago it was ice and snow – it’s really difficult to believe today is Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil prognosticated six more weeks of winter. I know I’m not the first one who has wondered why we need a groundhog to tell us something the calendar tells us every year.
But yes, it is February. Did you make any resolutions at the start of 2012? How are your business resolutions holding up? I read yesterday that about one third of all people who made a resolution have already dropped the ball and gone back to their old ways.
Regardless of your resolution results, today is a new day and can be a new start. Recently, I came across a blog at SHRM’s We Know Next, written by Jonathan Segal. He discussed EEO termination claims and the danger of inconsistent policy application.
We all know the importance of consistency when it comes to policies. There is no company that is perfect at consistently applying policy every single time – companies employ people, and people (despite what they may think about themselves) are not perfect. So, what can you do?
Start today with a documented commitment to apply policies consistently and fairly. Regardless of how things may have been handled in the past, effective today you will consistently apply policies. Aside from the benefit of being fair to your employees, you are reducing future legal risk that could be posed with unfair or inconsistent policies.
“This does not eliminate the legal risk. But it should minimize it materially. And the legal risk that remains must be balanced against the business risk of tolerating substandard conduct to avoid any legal risk.”
Here are a few other tips to keep in mind:
- Review policies and procedures on a regular basis – at least annually.
- Employment law is always changing – be sure your policies reflect the most current laws.
- Request feedback from managers regarding policy wording – Are policies concise and easy for them to understand?
- Conduct training for new managers (and reviews for other managers) to ensure they have an understanding of the basics of employment law and how it applies to their treatment of employees.
- Take your employee opinion survey results to heart – Do your employees believe managers fairly and consistently apply policies?




