As your small business grows, you’ll discover that the more employees you hire, the more help you need with personnel issues. By the time you’re ready to establish a position or department for managing human resources concerns, it’s past time to consider a human resources policy. The idea of “policies” make some small business owners cringe, but the hiring and management of individuals other than yourself will bring a wealth of unanticipated needs. Considering the development of such policies could sound daunting, as well, but once you put a plan into place, the process can be more streamlined. Your plan should include research, room for growth, and presentation. Start with these fundamentals and you’ll be well on your way.

One of the first pieces of research you’ll want to undertake should be to governmental resources. Local, state and national resources are available for business owners and because there are non-negotiable legal matters, you’ll want to address labor law compliance, immediately. Once you’re familiar with the laws for your type of business, your geographical region, and the number of employees, you can move on to other industry-related resources to provide guidance in developing additional policies.

Consider, too, the best way to package the contents leaving room for expansion. Let’s say you have a simple policy concerning employee attire. But you know better than to solidify that area; trends change, and ultimately you could be faced with work-appropriate dress code issues you never imagined. Has your policy been written with room for flexibility? Is there room to reword or even add additional outlined parts to your dress code? You may be glad later.

Having begun drafting, now consider how you’ll make that information available to your employees. Some companies create a manual which can grow as your policies shift and expand. Others put the policies together in a brochure or flyer that’s distributed to each new-hire. Still others publish their policies on their company websites. Of course there’s nothing that says you can’t use more than one of these methods of presentation.

From planning, drafting and production, your human resources policy manual, no matter the length, will help save time and money as your organization grows. Use the resources available to you, at governmental levels, and also through human resource management-related associations, websites and publications. Use a flexible, organized structure with plenty of wiggle room. Finally, make sure your finished product is output in an easy-to-read, easy-to-locate format. And, of course, remember to make each employee aware of its existence. The human resources policy manual may not seem related to the reason you started your business in the first place, but the development of such a document will ensure the more efficient likelihood that you’ll have more time to spend doing the things that drew you to the business in the first place. Think of it as a business investment. Maybe one of the best ones you’ll ever make.