PD SPOTLIGHT DEBBIE DAWSON
Love your policies and procedures Debbie Dawson, course facilitator of the HR Foundations professional development programme, takes a closer look at a recent HRNZ survey on policies, and shares her insights into the importance of getting policies right.
put down to my love of rules. If I were writing a policy on ‘policy’, I would highlight one principle: ‘keep it simple’. The purpose of a policy is to capture our intent, which means that strategic plans, budgets and even flow charts can be policies. They all share one thing in common: to express the principles we hold dear and why these are important.
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One of the best things about policies is that they are usually written, and this requires us to thoroughly think things through to ensure they make sense to others. Once we start writing, it is typical for other tentacles to emerge, which helps to ensure we consider other perspectives and to plan for potentially unwanted consequences.
recent HRNZ survey of members asked what they spend their time doing and what tasks they would like to remove. I was surprised to see that HR policies featured in the list of things HR practitioners prefer to avoid. Fortunately, though, when asked if there were any specific policies they would throw out, none were identified, although there was a ‘good level’ of support for making them more ‘succinct, more logical and cohesive’. I couldn’t agree more.
Policies that are clearly written and easily understood by both line managers and employees often make a call or email to HR unnecessary.
Purpose of policies
I have always valued policies, which I put down to my love of clarity and language and that my family would 46
HUMAN RESOURCES
SUMMER 2021
One HRNZ survey respondent described the role of policy as to “balance business and personal needs in an equitable way”. When writing policy, I have found it useful to consider first how the policy will help the organisation, then the client or customer and then the staff, and to do this in that order. I believe that the organisation comes first. It is not that the staff or the customers are unimportant, but without the organisation, there is no service for the customer and no employment for the staff.
Online access to policies is now a real bonus for ensuring consistency and managing version control, although success here depends on good technology and easy access by employees.
Aligned to purpose
Policies essentially describe expected behaviours throughout a business or organisation, and written ‘codes of conduct’ are policies about how employees will behave in the workplace. This is why HR policies should be checked for alignment with the organisation’s overall purpose and values. For instance, an espoused value of ‘innovation’ may be inconsistent with a workplace policy that requires excessive approvals and ‘red tape’. One of the topics we cover in the HR Foundations three-day programme is HR measurement and policy development. When policies are done well, they have the potential to save HR people from repetitive work. Policies that are clearly written and easily understood by both line managers and employees often make a call or email to HR unnecessary. It endorses the concept of line managers taking responsibility
