The Importance of Obeying the Rules and Regulations in the Workplace
It can seem like a lot of work to create employee handbooks and policies. After all, shouldn't your employees know that they shouldn't discriminate against a co-worker or give a female subordinate a kiss on the cheek? The reality is most people want to do the right thing, but sometimes they don't have the knowledge or self-awareness to do so, until you create the rules. Obeying rules and regulations in the workplace creates an environment where employees feel safe and comfortable to do their job effectively.
Legal Regulations Needed
Without question, employees should follow the law. But workplace rules might go beyond basic legal requirements. The reason is that business owners and leaders don't want to leave anything to interpretation. If a man and a woman are friends at church, and the man greets her with a kiss on the cheek, there is nothing wrong or illegal with this. However, at work a rule to have no type of contact like this helps prevent unwanted sexual harassment lawsuits. Imagine if the man becomes the woman's boss or is in control of her promotion. Even the innocuous kiss on the cheek can be used against him and the company by a disgruntled employee who didn't get promoted.
Keeping consumer and employee information private is on the news almost daily with internet breaches happening at the world's biggest organizations. People want to work and do business with companies protecting their data. It is also important to protect the company proprietary data to remain competitive in the marketplace. Not securing computers or sharing passwords put company data at risk of stealing information, cyber hacks and malware. These issues cost companies millions each year. Simply following the security protocols can prevent the majority of problems.
Benefits of Rules and Regulations
In the most basic sense, the benefits of rules and regulations in business are that they protect the company. By protecting employees, you protect the company from lawsuits. Following rules and regulations help employees understand what is expected of them and what will happen if they violate the rules. It makes for a stable office environment where people feel safe to come to work, to be themselves and to go about their business. The result is less turnover, more teamwork and higher company morale.
For the company, bottom line is profit. It costs money to recruit and onboard new people. Lack of innovation or inefficiency results in slower production times, thus lower revenues. Company morale has a direct effect on employee performance, as well. Happier employees don't call in sick as frequently or come in late. People who feel safe at work will speak with co-workers to resolve problems faster and more effectively. So, by having everyone follow properly communicated rules and regulations, the team does better; thus, the company makes more money.
When employees follow rules and regulations, consumers also benefit. The first benefit is working with happier, less-stressed employees when conducting business with the company. The second benefit is that the employees feel comfortable that they are protected and safe when working with the company. Both of these lead to customer satisfaction, and ultimately, to customer loyalty. When customers are happy, there are fewer complaints to deal with, thereby creating greater company morale and fewer costs for servicing problems. It reduces product returns and increases profits, because returns, restocking and dealing with unhappy customers comes with a financial cost. Reducing and minimizing these costs helps increase the overall net profit.
It also allows customers to share positive experiences with friends and family. All of these things help the business grow efficiently, and with a positive reputation. People like to do business with companies they trust and like. If your team is following the rules and regulations, this is the first step toward building that bigger public image for success.
With more than 15 years of small business ownership including owning a State Farm agency in Southern California, Kimberlee understands the needs of business owners first hand. When not writing, Kimberlee enjoys chasing waterfalls with her son in Hawaii.