When Company Policies Go Wrong

Over at the site of one of my favorite bloggers, Evil HR Lady, a just-for-fun contest was started to find out which one of her readers endured the worst company policy. She invited readers to comment on the strangest, most poorly thought-out company policies they had been subjected to, and boy were they good!

For example, one worker said his company was saddled with a “no gossip” policy because a few big-mouth employees were sharing details on pay and were bullying other workers. How does one enforce a “no gossip” policy? Good question. It meant no two employees could be in the break room at the same time, in the bathroom at the same time, or anywhere on the premises having a conversation on any topic other than one that was work-related.

Another worker said her company required them to let their bosses know if they were looking for another job, because a two-week notice was unacceptable.

Another company refused to buy calendars of any kind for its employees because too many former workers took the calendars with them when they quit or were let go.

Another worker bemoaned the (very common) policy that an employee can never receive a 5-out-of-5 rating in a performance review because “there is always room for improvement” and because that particular worker was in a her three-month probationary period – which meant she could only receive, at most, 3 out of 5 stars.

While someone in a management position can empathize that a two-week notice isn’t enough time to prepare for an exiting employee, it’s policies like these that breed contempt among your workers. But there are always two sides to every story ... or policy. Does your salon have policies in place that might seem odd in another industry? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below.

–Lauren Vasquez, Associate Editor