Policies and procedures play a crucial role in any business as guidelines for decision making within the organisation as well as helping the business operate effectively by building the desired culture and protecting the organisation from non-compliance.
Firstly, let us identify what a workplace policy is. It is a written document to outline a business’s
regulations and rules. A well-written policy should reflect the business culture, vision, mission,
standards, and values. Policies are agile documents and are ever-changing according to the needs of the business. For instance, although most businesses have their Health and Safety Policies, the need for a special policy rose due to COVID-19 with most businesses now holding their own COVID-19 policy.
A procedure is the manual, and pathway of how to practice the policy. A standalone Health and Safety Policy without a Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) on how to implement the policy will not help the organisation operate effectively. Both the policies (the why) and procedures (the how) should be written in conjunction with each other and in clear and easy to read language for the employee to understand.
Possessing effective workplace policies and procedures helps a business to achieve compliance objectives, uniformise the business to ensure fairness amongst employees, it holds employees accountable for their actions and behaviour at work, avoids unnecessary business disruptions such as personal grievances, court fines, business defamation, and of course, waste of the business resources. It also makes auditing easier, builds a strong business culture, encourages consistency in all divisions of the organisation and identifies anomalies within the organisation.
Finally, Policies and Procedures must adhere to different government regulations and Acts, they are not a one-size-fits-all document. Policies and procedures differ from one business to another, even if they operate in the same industry, and within the same geographical area. Moreover, a great policy and procedure needs an excellent implementation plan which, if done right, will give the business the confidence to operate effectively and have good internal relationships as well as a healthy brand reputation.
Thanks to Sam for providing this content
If you need help with your policies and procedures, please contact Sam Mattos at Business Dynamics Ltd, 022 188 3275, sam@businessdynamics.co.nz.