Policies, But Make Them Human.
Hello ingagehr community,
Welcome to February, better known as Day 254 of January. Love is in the air and this girl loves policies.
If January is about fresh starts and intention-setting, February is where reality quietly taps us on the shoulder. The sparkle of new beginnings fades, routines and resolutions get tested, and the smaller details of day-to-day operations come into focus. It’s also the time of year when people start daydreaming about vacation and eyeing the first stat holiday of the year, Heritage (or Family) Day. That’s often when questions start bubbling up:
“How many stats do we offer?”
“Are we open or closed that day?”
“What’s our approach to vacation carry-forward?”
And before you know it, conversations start sounding like:
“Wait… what’s our policy on that? Do we have one?”
“I think we talked about this last year?”
“We need to figure this out. Now.”
I know. No one gets stoked to write a policy. And truthfully, by the time a leader sits down to write one, it’s often at a moment of frustration, which is exactly how policies end up feeling more punitive than supportive. And that’s why policies are so often avoided.
Poor policies. The unsung (and misunderstood) heroes of the workplace.
Policies aren’t meant to feel heavy, bureaucratic, or restrictive. When done well, they do the opposite. They create clarity, consistency, and psychological safety and they quietly shape your culture every single day.
Policies are culture, written down.
Whether you’ve documented them or not, your organization already has policies. They live in hallway conversations, Slack messages, past decisions, and “the way we’ve always done it.” The difference is simple: when policies aren’t written down, they’re applied inconsistently. When they are created thoughtfully, they become a shared understanding. Your policies communicate what you value:
how people are treated
what flexibility really looks like
how fairness is applied
what support means in practice
They reinforce culture, expectations, and trust. In other words, policies don’t create culture, they reflect it.
Clarity reduces friction (and awkward conversations).
Good policies answer questions before they become problems. They help leaders:
respond consistently
avoid making decisions under pressure
feel confident they’re being fair and compliant
eliminate the dreaded “all employees” email or answering the same question over and over (hello, time saver)
They also create a mutual benefit: clear, two-way expectations. The team knows what to expect from the business AND the business clearly outlines expectations of the team.
Language matters. A lot.
One of the most common mistakes we see is policies that are technically correct… but practically unreadable. Long gone are the days of the four-inch binder monolith collecting dust on a bookshelf. Effective policies today are digital, reviewed regularly, easy to read, and nimble. Yes, compliance matters, but compliance does not require Victorian legalese or IKEA-instruction-level confusion.
Effective policies should be:
comprehensive, but not intimidating
thorough, but approachable
written in plain language so people actually understand them
If someone needs a law degree to interpret your vacation policy, it’s not doing its job. Clear, human language improves comprehension and compliance, and makes policies feel like usable, referable resources, not warning signs.
Compliance is the foundation, but not the whole story.
Policies must meet required legal standards. Full stop. That includes alignment with:
Labour Standards Code
Human Rights legislation
Workers’ Compensation (WCB) requirements
Occupational Health & Safety obligations
But compliance alone doesn’t make a policy useful; it just makes (some) standard practices defensible. The real value comes when policies are customized to your workplace, your people, and the culture you want to build. Yes, there’s a core list every organization should have, but there are many more that protect both your business and your employees.
Inclusive policies reflect real humans.
Modern policies need to reflect the realities of a diverse workforce, because people experience work differently. Thoughtful policies consider:
gender diversity and identity
life phases (growing families, career succession, aging parents, menopause)
family structures that don’t fit a single mold
vacation expectations tied to work-life balance and retention
hybrid and flexible working realities
scaling business needs and agility
benefits and perks offered to employees
performance and career development
how less-than-stellar performance, or exits from the business are handled
your values, culture, and expectations
When people see themselves reflected in policies, they feel respected and included. That’s trust and retention 101.
Policies should be go-to guides, not dusty binders.
The best policies are the ones people actually use and reference often. That means:
the right level of detail (not vague, not overwhelming)
clear examples (where helpful)
consistency so policies don’t contradict each other
regular reviews and edits as your business grows or evolves
Think of policies as living documents; designed to grow with your organization, not slow it down.
A final thought.
Strong policies don’t make workplaces rigid. They make them calmer. They reduce uncertainty. They support fair and consistent decision-making. They protect both the organization and the people in it. Finally, they help leaders spend less time reacting and more time leading.
If you’re growing, or simply feeling like your current policies no longer match the culture you want to sustain, February is a surprisingly good time to pause and reset. Quiet, practical work now prevents much louder issues later. So yes, I really do love policies. If you need a policy audit, reboot, quick tweak, or full overhaul, we’re here for it.
Christine
ingagehr
