Analysis of Existing Policies for Drafting

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Hello friends.

Come, now let’s talk about the first element which is “Identifying the organization’s needs”.

Now, when you implement your action plan, the first thing you need to do is to identify and prioritize what should be included in your manual of policies and procedures. This step can be quite difficult because you need to consider all the factors both externally and internally as both the environments have a great impact on your organization.

There are many policies that you need to consider to determine what should be included in your recruitment manual of policies and procedures.

What are they? Well, the first one is “Legal requirements”. Then, which policies are necessary for your company’s operations? And what policies can support the organization’s change?

Now, let’s have a look at all the 3 factors one by one.

First of all, “policies that are legally required”.

Well, these policies are definitely influenced by external sources like the government or the law machinery of any country. Then, the “Statutory regulations will mandate many of your policies and procedures. Like working hours, retirals and how should the working environment be like? so on and so forth. All this is included in statutory regulation.

Now, it is not necessary that the policies are applicable to the company’s employees alone. We need some policies that are applicable to the vendors, consultants, and financial restrictions as well so that everything is balanced well. So, these things also matter a lot.

Now, if we fail to develop and distribute effective policies, then we start making a lot of procedural mistakes while implementing the policies. Ultimately, this becomes very risky for the organization financially and reputation-wise as well. Because you might have to pay a fine or you might have to face severe lawsuits and in the worst-case scenario you might lose your contracts and licenses as well.

Therefore, while creating a policy, we must consider the law of the land.

Now, we will talk about such policies that are necessary for the day-to-day operations of the company. We need to identify these policies because if we don’t have these policies, then generally the employees will remain confused about how to behave and operate within the organization. (Understood?)

Then, “clarification is needed when complying with the legal requirements to protect the company from legal actions”.

Then, guidance is needed the most to identify the right actions in the most difficult situations. Also, through these policy documents, we understand the need for consistent work rules and standards.

Lastly, how will the organization behave with the employees, and in return how will the employees act and behave within the organization? So, all these things need to be included in the policies gradually including the code of conduct for the employees and the organization’s culture from the organization’s point of view. (Got it?)

Then, comes “Policies and procedures that support the organization change”.

While it is very important that your manual of policies and procedures stay updated and compliant, it is also important to know what should be done when an organization changes?

Therefore, it is very essential that you identify your company’s goals for the next 3 to 5 years so that the policies and procedures you develop remain applicable for a longer period.

Now, if you want to ascertain your organization’s future, then you need to consider the following aspects;

– First of all, the “operational changes”. Is any new equipment coming? Are the business hours changing? Is any new technology being introduced? so on and so forth.

– Then, what are the new plans to open or close locations with a different classification of employees? You also need to understand, what type of infrastructure investment and people investment will be there in the future.

– Then, you also need to understand how will the staffing levels change? And when the employees' exit, what is their response, and why they are leaving the organization. With this, you can get key insights from which you can improvise the overall culture or environment of the organization. (Clear?)

– And then, “by anticipating upcoming changes, you can be very proactive in developing policies and procedures which will not conflict with the organization’s future plans”. Because when you have anticipated everything, and something happens in the future, that would be because of the unknown factors that are a margin of factor that we need to give in any decision. (I hope this much is clear)

Moving on, let’s talk about the second element which is “Identifying sources of information”.

So, when you are developing your MaPP, it becomes mandatory to gather all the information, and it’s not necessary that you will get the inputs from a single source alone. You need to approach multiple sources both internally and externally and before you begin collecting the data, you have to create a standard format in which you will capture all the information.

This will help you in keeping the information that you have collected consistent and the format will be similar so that when you refer it back in the future, it will be quite convenient for you. Okay.

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Now, the sources of information can be;

– “Existing policy and procedures”

– There can be a scenario where no policies and procedures exist.

– “Conditions of employment”.

– “Internal records and resources”

– “Experts and consultants”. And,

– Of course, “other organizations” if they are ready to support you. Okay.

So, now our first source of information is “existing policies and procedures”. The ones that are already available in our organization.

So, “A review of existing manuals, bulletin board notices, employee newsletters, and other material that were distributed to the employees can be a great starting point for gathering the information”. This is the secondary source.

For the primary source, you can interview and talk with your managers and supervisors that are working in the organization for a long period and you can identify what are the current practices, how well they are working, and whether they are implemented differently between locations or departments? 

This will help you identify if there are any inconsistencies, complaints or how were the past misunderstandings resolved, and did we include them in our policy or not? (Are you getting it?)

Here are some questions that you can ask your managers and supervisors while interviewing them;

– “Are you aware of our recruitment policy?”

– “Do you think this policy is supporting the goals of both the organization and the employees?”

– “Do you understand the policy well enough to explain it to your employees?”

– “What kind of misunderstandings were there?” and how did you resolve them?

– And, “If you could revise the policy, what kind of revision would you make?”

Well, when you gather all this information, you can start working on the next steps.

Mow, sometimes it happens that there are no policies and procedures on some specific subjects in the organization. There is no documentation at all.

In this scenario too, the senior managers, managers, and supervisors can provide you with an initial list of policies and procedures to consider.

This list will work as a reference point for you so that you can generate thoughts and discussions about the essential components of the recruitment manual of policies and procedures. Well, this will be very critical to your productivity in this work and the success of the project. (Understood?)

Now, we will talk about “conditions of employment”.

The internal subjects of your recruitment manual of policies and procedures can vary from other organizations. Now, these variations reflect the differences in the size and type of your company, the industry in which you operate, any organizational changes you are undergoing or already have undergone in the recent past, the purpose of the manual as well as the managers or supervisors who will receive and use this manual. Okay.

Now, when you understand these variations and develop a policy based on that, you will easily know what changes are required and where. (Got it?)

Now, moving on to “Internal records and resources”.

You can get various kinds of information from the internal record manual of your organization like the employee grievances, disciplinary actions taken in the past, the results of the exit interviews, sources of misunderstanding, employee opinion surveys etcetera.

Now, you need to find patterns in conditions of employment and when you identify and link those patterns with the internal resources, you start getting a lot of insights.

Also, when you connect with the managers and supervisors, you get a lot of information. What kind of questions you can ask them?

– Firstly, “What kind of complaints or misunderstandings arise in the past?”

– How did they resolve those misunderstandings? What decisions were taken at that time?

– “Were the decisions effective in resolving the issue?” “If not, what could have been differently?”

– And, “What kinds of questions have the employees been asking about their employment?”

All these data will help you a lot in creating a very comprehensive manual of policies and procedures. Okay.

Thank you.

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