A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds – R.W. Emerson
I never did quite figure out what Mr. Emerson meant by this statement. * Was he for consistency or against it? Regardless, I do know that consistency is the Holy Grail when it comes to the HR world.
Employees are the same human beings inside the workplace as outside. They take great exception to explicit insults as well as perceived slights. Any hint of favoritism or bias is duly noted and filed away for future use. If, as an employer, you have a problem with an employee and must counsel or terminate them, count on the employee to drag up every instance of discrimination possible. For several reasons, but most importantly to mitigate employment risk, a company must have a thoughtfully designed, properly implemented and well documented HR process.
Defining the policy is the simple part of the task as most companies desire to be fair and impartial to their employees. The problem arises when trying to implement in a consistent manner. An overall framework must be established and then monitored by management or the owner to ensure compliance.
While the solution to this problem may seem daunting, it can be as simple as utilizing an HRIS. This software can be used to “gatekeep” and monitor many of your company’s HR processes. Oversight is available via the Internet and can be automated to some extent.
Even simpler is retaining the services of a Professional Employer Organization. PEOs are experts in dealing with HR issues and will customize their services to exactly meet your needs as they pertain to your company’s policies and procedures. In any event, resorting to “foolish” consistency is the bedrock of sound HR policy.
* Mr. Emerson’s explicit point is that “little” minds use foolish consistency as a bastion against making difficult choices. Instead, they resort to the tried and true even if it entails a less desirable result. By implication, he means that great minds are not constrained by the quotidian and, indeed, revel in the inconstant. This fact may serve artists and scientists very well but do not make this mistake in HR management.