Open Door Policy Template

Purpose

We have this subject in your handbook so that every manager and employee knows that the metaphorical door to any office is always open! Not only does this maximize communication between everyone, but it also builds trust between you and your coworkers.

You are on the frontlines of your work — this means you’re often the first to see and fix problems. Feedback is key, but your managers can’t notice everything! See something good? Let them know.

Keeping an “open door” allows you to tackle problems/solutions head-on.

We expect all our managers and HR to have their doors open at all times — not quite literally. Still, everyone should be as open to communication as possible! While this is mainly important to supervisors and higher, we believe that any employee should feel comfortable communicating with anyone, so this policy applies to everyone.

Why the Open Door?

We already emphasized the importance of open communication when it comes to innovation and improvement of our company. More specifically, we hope that listening to employees will help us:

Listening to you will help us:

• Address employee concerns in time.
• Resolve disputes before tensions escalate.
• Help employees who were victimized or harassed.
• Seize opportunities to improve processes.
• Foster a culture of mutual trust and collaboration.

Our Open Door Policy

Managers should have their office door open so employees can approach them easily to:

• Ask for counsel or feedback.
• Ask questions about a subject.
• Express a complaint or concern.
• Raise awareness for a problem.
• Ask for a resolution to an inside dispute or conflict.
• Make suggestions for change.
• Discuss other personal topics.

Manager's Responsibilities

Part of your manager’s job is to listen to and help solve any issues at work. This includes feedback for our managers. Be open and willing to have tough but important conversations with supervisors (topics such as incidents of harassment or how to improve workflow).

It’s not enough, however, for them to just listen — they must also take action! This means addressing major problems right away and working together to find solutions. Feedback should not be seen as unfavorable but rather as a way to improve the workplace for everyone.

Keep in mind managers can’t promise everything but should work to find the best solution. Which may even mean going to their supervisor for help. Communication works both ways! They will let you know their concerns, and you keep them in the loop with how you’re trying to help.

If you have constructive feedback for your manager, keep in mind our strict no retaliation policy! Feedback should not be mean, but if you have a valid concern and your manager takes it the wrong way, they cannot punish you.

They can discuss their own concerns with HR.

Your Responsibilities

Trust is mutual! Your managers should be willing to listen to you anytime you need, but there are some boundaries to keep in mind.

Before you walk in unannounced, we ask you to do a few things first:

• Ask for an appointment in advance, whenever possible, if you want to talk about a significant or delicate matter.
• Communicate with your manager whenever possible instead of going to the more senior manager first. You can bypass your manager in some cases: for example, if they’re out of office, if they’re involved in a harassment claim or they’ve consistently and willfully violated our company open door policy (which you can report to HR).
• Try to resolve minor disputes with your colleagues before reaching out to your manager. Trust and communication should work horizontally as well as vertically in our company.

If you ever feel like you cannot communicate while at work, swing by HR, and discuss your concerns.

In general, speak up when you have an opinion about something. Also, inform us when you notice harassment, victimization or any violation of our code of conduct. We need all of you to ensure the workplace is safe and nice to work in for everyone.

Teamwork really does make the dream work!