Develop a polices and procedures manual stat

Hi Gladys, I've owned a landscaping business for 14 years. I make a decent living and consider myself to be successful. But, I fall short in handling employee situations. I usually don't address issues related to vacation, time off or worker's comp until something happens. And I often don't give a reason for terminating an employee. I know that this is no way to run a business and friends have said that I should have the rules and regulations written down and copies given to employees so that they know what's up. That just seems like a lot of highbrow foolishness for a small outfit like mine. What do you think? -- S. E.

I often meet folks who start a business and think that because it's a small operation it doesn't need to operate as a structured business. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are hiring people to work for you, both you and your workers should have something written to keep you both on the right track. This written document is called a policy and procedures employee manual.

You wrote, "seems like a lot of highbrow foolishness." Maybe it would be more palatable to you if you change how you think of a written polices manual. Instead of viewing it as a foolish intrusion, consider it as a way of expressing your vision and goals for your company and your employees. Also think of it as a tool that can help to keep you on track toward the growth of your company.

You can find books and templates to guide you in developing an employment policies manual. Here are a few things that come to my mind that can get you off to a good start:

Terminating an employee can be a tough situation and it is important to know what the law has to say about this.

As far as I know, employment in the United States is considered "at will." This means that either party is free to end the employment with or without notice, as long as there is no binding contract. Double check this with a lawyer and make sure that you and your workers fall under the "at will" rule in ! the state where you do business.

Worker's compensation, unemployment benefits (if you offer any), and termination polices on both parts should be spelled out in detail so that you are clear on the pros and cons of being an employee of your company.

I recall an entrepreneur called me one time to see how she could go about suing a former employee to prohibit him from collecting unemployment. During our conversation, I discovered that the woman had eliminated several positions due to a decrease in her business. She got upset with me when I told her that her former employee was entitled to unemployment comp.

In another case, I remember working with an entrepreneur who had a couple of employees who were working full time in his business and collecting unemployment at the same time. When I questioned the business owner, he seemed clueless as to how his employees could also be collecting unemployment. When I spoke with the employees in question, they said that several friends had told them that this was done all the time as a way of earning extra money. It seemed that both the entrepreneur and his employees were unaware of proper procedures, not to mention the law and possible penalties for violating it.

Get busy putting together your policies and procedures employee manual and you can make it easy by simply making of list of some of the things that you have had to address in the past. A short list could include sick time, vacations, worker's compensation, drug and alcohol use on the job and cellphone usage.

If the last two things sound strange to you, check out my last two stories.

I once had a client who owned a janitorial service. He had the contract to clean several retail clothing stores after hours. His contract was terminated because the three employees responsible for cleaning one of the stores would drink liquor while cleaning and once they got drunk they would start dancing with the mannequins. Once both the cleaning and the dancing was complete the workers! would le! ave the mannequins laying on the floor and in some cases with missing parts. A hidden camera disclosed these shenanigans.

I also remember being invited by a friend to one of her yoga classes. I was looking forward to a relaxing yoga session. But, just as the instructor of the class had moved us into the shoulder stand, her cellphone rang. I heard her say "Oops, I gotta grab this." And there we were, left with our toes pointing to the ceiling and balancing our body weight on our neck and shoulders while she answered her phone call.

Make life easier for yourself, your workers and your customers, not to mention the long-term benefits of making sure you comply with state and federal laws: Develop an employee manual ASAP.

Gladys Edmunds, founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh, is an author and coach/consultant in business development. E-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com.