Reflect and Review: Now is the Time to Assess Performance and Improve Workplace Policies

October 15, 2024 Employment Law

With 2025 just around the corner, now is the time for companies to assess the performance of their workplace policies and implement improvements as necessary. Workplace policies should improve productivity while also enhancing employee satisfaction and morale, and they should allow for these outcomes to be both tracked and measured. If a workplace policy comes up short in any of these respects, there is room for improvement, and improving before the start of the new year will give companies the opportunity to collect a full year’s worth of data—and see better outcomes—in 2025.

Assessing the Performance of Workplace Policies

Assessing the performance of a company’s workplace policies starts with identifying relevant metrics. While each company’s assessment will need to be tailored to its specific policies and workforce, broadly speaking, relevant metrics will include things like:

  • Employee Productivity – From onboarding and training policies to policies regarding working from home, a company’s workplace policies should help to maximize employee productivity.  
  • Employee Satisfaction and Morale – A company’s workplace policies should also enhance employee satisfaction and morale. If a company’s policies have the opposite effect, this can lead to other negative outcomes as well.
  • Employee Retention – Employee retention is a key metric for assessing a company’s workplace policies. If workers are satisfied with both their current employment and their future career prospects, they are more likely to stick around.
  • Employee Complaints – Examining employee complaints over the past year can provide valuable insight into the efficacy of companies’ workplace policies as well. This includes their harassment and discrimination policies, among others.
  • Complaint Resolutions – How a company responds to its workers’ complaints is also critical. Complaint resolutions should reflect a thorough investigation (guided by appropriate policies) and a fair outcome followed by the implementation of any lessons learned.

Again, these are just examples. As noted above, assessing the performance of your company’s workplace policies will involve applying metrics that are well-suited to your company’s specific policies and workforce—and the data that are currently available. A custom-tailored approach is key, as you need to assess your company’s policies in light of your company’s operations over the past year.

Improving Workplace Policies (if Necessary)

Let’s say an assessment of the performance of your company’s workplace policies reveals that there is work to be done. What can (and should) your company do to improve? Here too, a custom-tailored approach is key. Far too often, companies’ workplace policies fail to serve their intended purpose because they fail to reflect the company’s specific organizational structure and operational needs. By focusing on what is best for your company—rather than focusing strictly on trends or industry standards—your company should be able to make improvements that lead to measurable positive outcomes.

Speak with a Human Resources Consultant at AR Group

Do you have questions about assessing the performance of your company’s workplace policies in 2024 or improving your company’s workplace policies for 2025? If so, we invite you to get in touch. Please call 720-452-3300 or contact us online to schedule a call today.