You are to assume the role of human resources director for Couch Games, an independent developer of multi-platform and mobile video games. The president of the company has asked you to recommend a workplace procedure regarding staff dating.
Couch Games prides itself on being named one of the top medium-sized companies to work for in the nation. With just over 200 employees, Couch Games’ headquarters office has a fun, playful atmosphere that encourages employees to play branded games during scheduled breaks. The company is relatively new, but in the last year doubled its number of employees due to its success.
During a one-on-one meeting with an employee, the president of Couch Games was made aware that a person on the marketing team was dating someone in the finance department. At first, the president thought it was simply gossip, but later realized that inter-office dating relationships needed to be addressed to the entire staff. Currently, there are no policies or procedures regarding staff dating in the employee handbook.
The 200 employees at Couch Games are divided into five different departments: executive, marketing, sales, finance and human resources. Within each department are directors, managers, specialists and administrative positions.
The president of Couch Games has asked you to create a statement/policy for employees of the company regarding intraoffice relationships. The president wants to ensure that both the procedures and the nature of the relationships are ethical. The procedure should include:
- A workplace statement on intraoffice relationships to include dating and other elements that might affect the workplace
- A timeline for employees to disclose an intraoffice relationship
- An explanation of how to enforce the policy affecting all levels of seniority within the company
- Action steps for employees if a relationship is terminated
- Procedures to maintain confidentiality
