The Foundation of any strong organization is its culture. And key to the success of your organization is to have your Day 1 recruit to your most tenured employee advocate the organization culture.
So, what is it that defines an organization’s culture? It is the Policies and Processes that are defined and followed.
Companies often come across various workplace situations and issues and are often in a fix as to how such situations are to be dealt with. Company policies give a direction to the entire organization on appropriate and acceptable behavior and actions. It not only gives the understanding to employees on what is expected from them but also a guidance to supervisors and managers on dealing with employees and situations fairly and equally. Policies ensure there is order within the organization and ensure there is transparency across the organization. Policies provide clear guidelines that ensure consistent practices and legal compliances. Policies are the documented guidelines which explains what the employer’s requirements are and how employees will be treated. Company policies shows the company’s commitment to a positive work environment. Policies are not only necessary to establish a non-discriminatory atmosphere but also serve as the basis for an effective guard against any employee grievance or legal issues.
HR Mithra will partner with you to define & implement the relevant & customized Policies, Processes & Procedures that are in line with your vision while ensuring the satisfaction of your people.
We will assess the current practices followed in your organization by reviewing the existing documentation, obtain the understanding of employees at all levels on the legal requirements, organization expectation and their expectations, discuss with management on the current processes followed in particular situations and draw an inference to check the alignment with the organization’s goals.
After the assessment is made, we will identify the required policies keeping in mind the current organization practices, management requirement, employee expectation, requirement for a consistent standard or rule, requirement to create consistency and fair treatment, requirement on guidelines for appropriate behavior and legal requirements. Care will be taken to ensure that no new policy will be brought in which is not matching the expectation of any or even one of the stakeholders. For existing policies/practices, we will work on the modifications required to ensure compliance to all stakeholder expectations.
The Policy content will be determined based on our discussions with the respective stakeholder and process owner to ensure it is not too rigid and there is adequate flexibility in understanding and applying the policies based on the conditions and situations involved.
The policy language will be clear and will not have any ambiguity for understanding any cadre of employees. The typical components of the policy will consist of:
Purpose – It is important for employees to understand why a particular policy is being implemented and that is what is explained in the ‘Purpose.
Scope – This section talks about the applicability of the policy, what section of the company a particular policy is applicable for. For example, there could be a certain policy which may not be applicable in a one of the sites due to the nature of the work.
Specification – The Policy as such is outlined in this section in specifics. Clearly outlining the expectations of the policy.
Effective Date – Effective date is essential as it indicates from when the policy is in force. When policies are revised, the revised effective date plays a vital role.
Glossary – This section is included to give an understanding of all specifics used in the policy to ensure there is clarity and there is no question of ambiguity.
Once the policy is written, it is important to communicate with stakeholders, managers and supervisors who are the ones who will be applying the policy and the success of implementation of any policy is purely dependant on them. The communication should illustrate why the particular policy is needed, what is the impact the policy will have on employees, managers and the organization as a whole. It is important to obtain concerns and suggestions that they may and check on the necessity for incorporating them in the policy before the final policy review.
Then comes the communication to the employees and organization at large. Employee should be give a background as to why a policy is being implemented. They should be given enough details but keep the communication process clear, short and simple.
We can decide on the best mode and approach to communicate the policy to employees based on the sensitivity and ease of understanding. Care must be taken to ensure these communications are distinguishable for other regular communications that could be overlooked.
We must ensure that communication method allows employees to ask questions and concerns about the policy.
This is the most crucial phase and all cadre of employees live by the policy and ensure very limited to no deviations in the policy unless absolutely necessary. Change management is to be taken care at this stage, where employees clearly understand the company’s standpoint and position in implementing the policy. An acknowledgment should be obtained by the employee indicating the clear receipt and understanding of the policy and its effective date by every employee. The policy should be included in all strategic locations such as the intranet, employee handbook, and new employee orientation program as appropriate.
It is important for policies to be regularly reviewed to ensure that they comply to the need of the organization and legal requirements. A review at least once a year should be taken up and necessary revisions and updations to be made to the policies and the same to be communicated to all employees.
HR MITHRA is a Human Resources Management Consultancy that provides you a comprehensive solution for your multidisciplinary HR function. We will partner with you to assess and identify the unique needs of your organization and chalk out the transformation journey of your people & processes guaranteeing progress, of both your manpower as well as the organization.
Copyright By@HR Mithra -2021