Question

HR Policies that must be included in every organization’s Human Resources policy handbook:

1- EEO Policies/ Sexual Harassment and ADA: This policy is absolutely crucial and must be included in every handbook.

2- Employee Conduct Policies: Some topics that are must haves, include: A. Rules of Conduct B. Drug/Alcohol C. Confidentiality D. Disciplinary Policy E. Dress Codes F. Workplace Violence.

3- Payroll Oriented Policies: A. Timekeeping /Reporting B. Overtime C. Pay Periods D. Bonuses/Commissions E. Deductions – mandatory and voluntary F. Attendance and Punctuality G. Vacation H. Personal Days I. Sick Days J. Accommodations (Disability/Religious).

4-Payroll Oriented Policy: Hours of Work: A. Business Hours; • Regular hours • Special days/late nights • Inclement weather. B. Making Schedules/Changing Schedules; • How are schedules established? • Can they be altered by employee agreement (switching) or is manager approval needed? • Posted, circulated electronically.

5-Employee Benefits: A. Another disclaimer! B. Eligibility C. Right to make modifications D. General overview – STD & LTD E. Life Insurance F. 401k / Pension.

Termination of Employee-Employer Relationship: A. Final paychecks B. Exit interviews C. COBRA D. Employee references.

6-Protecting Trade Secrets: With employees having access to computers and company information, it is crucial that your business has a policy that all employees sign off on acknowledging that they must maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets. Preferably, you will also have a separate piece of paper that all employees sign annually or at time of hire acknowledging these obligations.

7-Workplace Technology Policies: A. No expectation of privacy B. E-mail C. Internet D. Social Media E. Blogging F. Mobile devices (cell phone, laptop, VPN).

Sugar Rush Company Human Resources policy:

Employment and Working Conditions; We are committed to providing our employees with good working conditions, a safe and healthy work environment, and flexible employment possibilities that support a better balance of private and professional life consistent with our ambition as a leading Company. As such, we provide flexible working conditions whenever possible and encourage our employees to have outside interests especially community involvement. Those with line management responsibilities are required to take personal ownership of safety and health within their area of responsibility and are encouraged to develop their capability in this area. Our commitment however goes beyond its own employees. We believe that it is essential to build a relationship based on trust and respect of employees at all levels. We do not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. Therefore, managers are committed to build and sustain, with their teams, an environment of mutual trust. HR ensures that a respectful dialogue is present and the voice of the employees is heard.

Employee Relations; Since its founding, Sugar Rush Inc. has built a culture based on values of trust, mutual respect and dialogue. Sugar Rush Inc. management and employees work daily to create and maintain positive individual and collective relationships, and are expected to do so as a core part of their job. Sugar Rush Inc. not only upholdsthe freedom of association of its employees and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, but also ensures that direct and frequent communication is established in the workplace. While dialogue with trade unions is essential, it does not replace the close relationship that our management maintains with all employees. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we encourage two‐way dialogue with our employees that go beyond the traditional aspects of collective bargaining in order to share knowledge and to jointly find opportunities.

Talent, Development and Performance Management; At Sugar Rush Inc., a high performance culture supported by differentiated rewards and development is key to the delivery of individual and business objectives. This is driven by the alignment of clear and challenging responsibilities and ensuring that employees are aware of how their work impacts Sugar Rush Inc. The line manager and employee work together to ensure that challenging objectives are set and effectively evaluated throughout the year. This further enables managers to acknowledge high performance and reward employees accordingly, while ensuring low performance is properly managed with integrity. Employees receive regular feedback on their performance and career aspirations through a variety of tools and processes such as the Performance Evaluation process (PE), the Progress and Development Guide (PDG) and 360° assessments. We aim to retain and motivate employees by offering attractive but realistic career moves allowing them to develop their skills in the long‐term. The Company undertakes an active and rigorous succession planning process at all levels of the organization to ensure that there is a strong pipeline of successors ready to meet future needs. We are committed to ensuring sustainable conditions for a gender balanced and diverse company. As such, Sugar Rush Inc. has focused on removing barriers to career progression for women and men by developing a more flexible work environment, initiating mentoring schemes, having flexible career paths and providing dual career support.  

A Flexible and Dynamic Organization; Sugar Rush Inc. is committed to continue the journey to establishing flat and flexible structures with minimal levels of management and broad spans of control, which enable people development, increase efficiency, and ease implementation of our “Sugar Rush Inc. Management and Leadership Principles”. Less hierarchical layers call for increased cooperation between colleagues. This is what will make the organization more flexible and more accountable. Indeed, it supports today’s and tomorrow’s business requirements for an agile and innovative company working with ever competitive intensity. These simple beliefs have inspired us to create an environment that puts the emphasis not just on individual responsibility and autonomy, but also on a strong willingness to support others, to work in multi‐skilled teams, and to cooperate rather than to compete internally. A dynamic organization creates a climate of innovation and allows people to think from different perspectives. We combine the scope and brand strength of a company with the creativity and knowledge of a local business.

Question; Review the Sugar Rush Policy and provide at least two (2) policies that are missing which would make a difference given the problems they are currently facing?

Answer 1

Answer:

The two policies that are being missed by Sugar Rush are as follows:

1. Protecting trade secrets:

Since, sugar rush follows a horizontal hierarchical model, most of the confidential information may be available with the employees of the company. Hence it is of utmost importance to get the contract of non disclosure agreement to be signed by the employees of the company so that they could not disseminate the crucial information of the company to any of the individual who is not associated with the company.

2. Workplace technology policies:

While Sugar Rush offers flexibility to their employees at their work and allows and asks them to maintain a healthy relationship with their community, it is very important to Sugar Rush that it should design the regulations associated with the usage of technology such as social media platform in association with the company so that they should not post any derogatory post of the company and on behalf of the company that may represent Sugar Rush in any way.