First, there are practices that are legislated for and it is necessary to be aware of these and ensure all your people follow them. They normally relate to the provision of a safe and fair workplace and every employer has an obligation to take reasonable steps to provide this. These reasonable steps may include having policies and practices in place.
Then there are the policies that provide guidelines for your people on how to manage to reinforce the culture of your organization and attract, retain and develop your people. These can save a lot of time spent in making decisions, dealing with ad hoc issues and ensure that you use a consistent approach across the organization.
The policies to support the employment legislation should include Equal Employment Opportunity, Discrimination and Harassment, Bullying and OH & S along with the various types of leave and pay entitlements. Having these in a format that can be interpreted easily by your managers and staff will save them from having to access the legislation directly or breach it inadvertently.
Regularly communicating the key aspects of these policies to employees will lessen the chances of people breaking the law and, if they do, will provide you with a reasonable defence which could save you many thousands of dollars.
The other policies which can provide consistent guidelines for managers also give you an opportunity to promote a positive and professional image of your organization. Rather than rely on individual managers to workout out how to recruit, develop people, pay them, manage performance and determine what appropriate professional behaviour is, clear guidelines should be available for all.
Rather than try to distribute these policies in hard copy it is relatively easy these days to have them on an Intranet or at least in a shared folder on your server.
A summarised version of these can also be used in an employee handbook to establish understanding for all employees at the beginning of their service and help reinforce their decision to join your organization.
By having appropriate and effective HR policies and procedures in place, continually revising and communicating them, you free up time and resources to focus on delivering business results.
Writing policies and procedures is an art and takes skill and a person with a desire to "take charge" and do what's right to write, publish, and implement policies and procedures that are easy to read and apply. Few writers have made the realization that policy and procedure documents are easier to read when they are in an easy-to-read format, with logical sections that contain the "who, what, why, when, and how" of business processes.
Many writers don't have the passion it takes to be a good policy and procedures writers and simply take the easy route. For example, they might throw a few paragraphs together and call it a policy or procedure. Others will accept policy and procedure drafts from employees, glance at the content, publish them and be done with it. This is unacceptable behavior for effective policy and procedure writers.
Effective policy and procedure writers "take charge" and are passionate in their work. They want to do what is right and best for the readers. They know that when the policy or procedure is published that their job is just beginning. They know that they must assure the policies and procedures are being read and applied; they know that they need to be on the look out for improvements and revision opportunities.
There are eight characteristics that can assure success as a policy and procedures writer:
1. Well-rounded education and Minimum of 5 Years of Experience. A college degree in liberal arts or any major that offers a diversity of courses. Several English classes can help. A business degree is useful. A journalism degree is only suitable when it's coupled with a diversity of courses to give the person a well-rounded education.
2. Knowledge of core business processes. Understanding of the core business processes in your company's industry and the know-how and interviewing skills to identify and understand them. Examples of core processes in a manufacturing company include human resources, sales, payroll, assembly, quality control, accounting, engineering, administration, and information technology.
3. Flowcharting skills. Experience in drawing flowcharts based on information collected in interviews. This experience can be learned from programs like MS Visio, a flowcharting program by Microsoft.
4. Team facilitation and meeting skills. Experience in facilitation, team leadership and the deployment of team quality tools.
5. Writing ability. Writing and editing experience is a must. At a minimum, you should be able to write good paragraphs, spell correctly and understand the basic rules of grammar. A writing class can be helpful.
6. Familiarity with forms analysis/design. Nearly every procedure references and/or uses a combination of print, online, or web forms. For this reason, the policy and procedures writer should have basic forms design experience.
7. Strong drive to succeed and results oriented. A key trait for a policy and procedures writer is the drive to do well and to take pride in accomplishments. A "first-rate" policy and procedures writer has a strong drive to do things right.
8. Ability to say "no." The ability to say "no" to anyone including management is difficult for some writers. This is another key trait because the policy and procedures writer should be able to do what is right rather than being directed by someone who may not have all the facts or who may be driven by politics.
Successful (and effective) policy and procedures writers "take charge" and are not in the habit of entering into company politics. These writers take pride in their work and have the company at heart. They have the necessary skills and experience listed above and more. They are constantly striving to become better at their jobs. Make sure to consider the above eight personality characteristics when looking to hire a new policies and procedures writer, your company will thank you.
Both Paul Phillips & Casey Markee are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Paul Phillips has sinced written about articles on various topics from Diabetes Treatment, Property Investment and Internet Marketing. Paul Phillips is a Director of Horizon Management Group; a specialist human resource management consulting firm. He has over 30 years experience in HR and, while based in Australia, has worked in a number of overseas locations.. Paul Phillips's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.
Casey Markee has sinced written about articles on various topics from Recreation Vehicle RV, Credit Cards and Travel and Leisure. For the best assistance in writing your own look no further then provider CompanyManuals.com. Visit them online to browse book selections on. Casey Markee's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.