Q5 Write a brief note on workplace policies and practices?

ANS: Safe, dignified, and respectful work environment is not only

mandated by the law, but also increases motivation and productivity of
the employees. An example of review of business practices used to deal
with allegations of harassment safe working environments should be
considered especially for the females in the offices so as to make them
feel confident and concentrate on work is shown as under:
Review of business Practices used to deal with allegations of harassment
Method of review Area of Review
Walk through referring to the HR audit report: Are there posters visible
throughout the company especially prohibiting such behaviour
Review of new employee: does each employee receive a copy of the
policy upon package hire? Review of Hr files does the company
redistribute a copy of the policy with a cover memo from a senior
manager clearly stating the companys expecting of appropriate and
respectful behaviours? Does the memo contain information regarding to
whom/where to report violations of the policy?
Review of policy manual: Does the company have a clearly published
and posted employee handbook (both) non-retaliation policy
Review of HR files: is there documentation representing such
investigations with the results?
Review of HR files/ interviews: Are managers trained on how to
handle reports of harassment
Are employees advised of their rights and informed on how and where to
make a report of inappropriate behaviour
Do employees indicate a thorough understanding of the companys
beliefs regarding safe and respectful workplace behaviours
By Joan Curtice: Read the following example at the end to observe how
in practical world organisations pursue safe working environment for
their employees.
1. Ethical trading initiative: promoting conflict resolution in union
negotiations Cambodia (Source: http://www.ethicaltrade.org) In
November 2005 the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) was alerted to
allegations of serious interference in union rights in a Cambodian factory.
In response, the organisation brought member companies sourcing from

the Fortune Garments factory to meet with workers, intermediary

suppliers, factory management and International Textile, Garment and
Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) representatives, in order to seek a
solution to the conflict. After negotiations, in May 2006 an agreement was
reached by all parties resulting in: payment of compensation to unfairly
dismissed workers; entry of the Coalition of Cambodian Democratic
Apparel Workers Union into the factory; and acceptance of trade union
demands over pay and conditions.
2. Nike, Adidas, Umbro and more: working group with trade unions to
promote trade unionism Global (Source: http://www.ituc-csi.org) The
International Trade Union Confederation reported in the lead up to the
2008 Beijing Olympics that sporting apparel companies including Nike,
Adidas, New Balance, Umbro and Speedo had formed a joint working
group with trade unions and NGOs to explore, amongst other issues, how
to promote trade unionism and collective bargaining across the sector.
3. Agreement with UNI property services to ensure rights of
workers Global: (Source: http://www.g4s.com/) In 2008, G4S, one of
the worlds largest international security firms, signed a global agreement
with UNI Property Services, a global union, to ensure that all of G4Ss
570,000 employees (spread across more than 110 countries) have the
right to organise in a free and fair atmosphere. This is in addition to
complying with international standards and national law in its relations
with workers.
4. Training internal monitors on freedom of association
Global:(Source: http://www.gapinc.com) In 2006 Gap Inc. partnered
with the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation
(ITGLWF), the global union federation for the apparel and textiles sector,
to train its internal monitoring team on freedom of association and
collective bargaining issues. In the same year, the ITGLWF provided Gap
Inc. with a detailed briefing. Gap Inc. supplemented this training by
holding workshops on the Indian subcontinent and in south East Asia with
the ITGLWF and local trade union representatives.
These workshops aimed to strengthen engagement between Gap Inc.s
Vendor Compliance Officers (responsible for inspecting factories and
documenting violations) and key worker rights representatives at regional
and local levels.
5. General Electric: expanding supplier due diligence to include freedom
of association Global (Source: http://www.ge.com) In 2008, General
Electric (GE) expanded its supplier due diligence programme to cover
freedom of association, discrimination and harassment/retaliation. To do

this it engaged in benchmarking activities with other companies to

determine how they monitored and audited their suppliers in relation to
the ILO principles. In addition, it reviewed its on-site assessment
tools and guidance materials and developed new training materials. As a
result, over 150 suppliers were asked to change their policies with respect
to freedom of association. In addition, around 400 suppliers were asked
to adopt an employee dispute resolution process.
6. Mod-Style: offering worker empowerment and training to suppliers
China (Source: http://www.bsl.org.au) Mod-Style, a business sourcing
optical frames from Asia, has the majority of its factories in China, where
the only government-affiliated All-China Federation of Trade Unions is
recognised and trade union rights are severely restricted. In 2000, ModStyle joined with the Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL), an Australian
based charity, to implement business standards based on the conventions
of the ILO and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In the
absence of independent trade unions, BSL and Mod-Style have offered
worker empowerment training and capacity building in supplier factories
to ensure that workers rights can still be adequately voiced and heard.
Nonetheless, to date no factories have agreed to this training, with BSL
and Mod-Style instead focusing on developing long-term, direct and
stable relationships with factory owners and managers.
Workplace behaviours that support legal compliance: A safe,
dignified, and respectful work environment is not only mandated by the
law, but also increases motivation and productivity of the employees.
An example of review of business practices used to deal with allegations
of harassment safe working environments should be considered especially
for the females in the offices so as to make them feel confident and
concentrate on work.
Many smaller companies do not like writing certain aspects of ways of
conducting business. For such companies, it is mere formality and they do
not appreciate people-oriented culture. Though it should be avoided
because it is patently illegal because laws require that companies should
mention very clearly the policies about guaranteeing specific protections
to employees.
Safeguarding employee information: Employees personal information
should be safeguarded. Separate files should be maintained for personal
information as contrasted with employment related information. Main
objective behind it to ensure that while deciding the employees career
with the company his personal information should not be considered.
For example while deciding whether to promote employee or not, instead

of his personal information like his religion, his work experience and
capabilities should be considered.
The employment decision needs to be made on
work/performance-related information, not the personal information.
Relevant materials in the work file include information on the employees
education, related work experience, and performance evaluations in other
positions within the company. An audit can clarify what information must
be segregated and the laws that govern employees access to and
copying of their files. Other employee information that must be
safeguarded includes any materials that contain medical information.
Employee performance management: An audit can review companys
job descriptions for compliance (i.e., to determine whether the
descriptions list the essential functions of the job). Various legal issues
can arise due to performance related problems of employees. Audit will
help in following improvements and reviews:
A 90-day written standard performance evaluation form,
An annual written standard performance evaluation form,
A performance management/performance improvement plan,
A description of the companys policy for both voluntary resignation and
company-initiated termination,
Wage and salary administration program,
Bonus/stock option criteria.
Safe work environment: Audit practices may also help the companies
to know about factors that contribute to a safe work environment. A
company may choose to develop an audit sheet tailored to a particular
issue, such as the companys zero-tolerance policy for harassment. For
example, a company may wish to review and evaluate its practices of
dealing with inappropriate harassing behaviour in its workplace.
Q6 What are the areas to be concentrated on the HR audit? Prepare a
questionnaire for conducting an audit for manpower planning
ANS: Areas that should be audited include, but are not limited to:
1.Legal compliance (EEO, AA, ADA, FMLA, IRCA, etc.)
2. Record-keeping (personnel files, I-9s, applications, etc.)
3.Compensation/pay equity
4.Employee relations
5.Performance appraisal systems
6.Policies and procedures/employee handbook

7.Terminations
8.Health, safety and security (OSHA compliance, Drug-Free Workplace,
AIDS in the workplace, etc.)
Conducting a Human Resource Audit: A human resources audit
usually involves review of all HR policies, practices, and procedures,
whether or not they are formal. Audits are indispensable in various areas
of HR. For example, an organisations policies and procedures must
change with the employment laws which are constantly changing if it
hopes to avoid litigation and thrive in the market. A comprehensive policy
manual is one of the best ways to avoid lawsuits. However this is not
enough. You must regularly conduct an employment law/ human
resources audit to make sure that your policies reflect changes in
employment laws.
Methods used in the HR Audit process are:
Interviews: In order to ascertain what the top management thinks about
the future plans and opportunities available for the company, the auditors
conduct individual interviews with the members of the top management.
The top management can provide a perspective for a good HR audit. To
collect information about the effectiveness of the Human Resource
Development System, organisational culture, skills, styles, etc., auditors
conduct group interviews with different level of managers. Interviews help
the auditors in a number of ways. Some of the benefits are:
Observation: Observation method is often used by the auditors to
observe various aspects of the organisation. It helps them to evaluate the
work place and work atmosphere. It also helps them to judge the extent
to which a congenial and a supportive human welfare related climate
exists in the organisation. Auditors mainly observe the physical facilities
and living conditions, meetings, discussions and other transactions,
celebrations and other events related to organisational life and culture,
training and other HRD-related facilities including the classroom, library,
training centre, etc.
Group discussions: For companies having thousands of employees, it is
not always possible to meet each one individually to get feedback. In such
circumstances, group discussions and workshops act as an effective
mechanism to collect information about the effectiveness of the current
system. In order to evaluate various aspects of HRD and for a
participative diagnosis, various diagnostic workshops and group
discussions can be conducted in large organisations. It is preferable to
have cross-functional representation of employees in the same group or
each function separately to keep a homogenous group.

Workshops: These workshops give critical appraisal of policies and

programmes as also initiate the change process. Its a potential diagnostic
tool and can provide lots of information on HR processes and can help
plan further intervention as OD (Organisation Development) Process.
Questionnaires: Auditors use comprehensive questionnaires to garner
information about HRD systems, processes, styles, and competencies. It
helps in benchmarking of data.
Analysis of records and documents: In order to ascertain the
strengths and weaknesses of the human resource system of the
organisation, the auditors scrutinise the published literature of the
company like annual report, performance appraisal forms, training
documents, employees' records files maintained by the HR department,
in-house, journals and periodicals.
Analysis of secondary data: Analysis of secondary data can give a lot
of insight into the assets and liabilities of the company. The analysis may
relate to age profile of the workforce, stagnation in career progression
and analysis of training, etc.
HR audit report: HR audit as a diagnostic tool helps in improving the HR
functions, systems, competencies, culture, team, policies and practices.
HR audit report provides insights into the sources of the problem and
appropriate strategies can be taken. HR audit always keeps the business
goals in focus.