Policies are Important

Like them or loathe them, policies are important. Many of us have ticked the boxes to have a WH&S Policy or a Bullying Policy in place. Don’t assume that they will be OK as many of the standard templates from 12 months ago don’t meet the current standards. The introduction of Psychological Safety and Right to Disconnect legislation means these may need to be standalone policies or your other policies may need to be updated.  

Once updated, make sure you share them with the team and keep records of how and who has been trained/receive communication about them. Without these records your compliance can still be challenged.  

When visiting client sites, I regularly ask the simple question “What does your Bullying Policy say?” – Guess the most common response:
A) I know it off by heart, go ahead and quiz me
B) Oh, I don’t know. Something like…
C) What? Do we have one of those? Where is it?
 

That’s right. C is the clear winner. 

Getting your team up to speed on your policies doesn’t have to be hard.  

There are so many ways to make them assessable to your team. 

1. Access Impact HR’s Policies, Communication and Training 
2. Write them in plain English,  
3. Use Pictographic policies,  
4. Share them with the team,  
5. Turn them into a quiz / competition with small prizes for people who answer them correctly,  
6. Put them up on your noticeboard,  
7. Go through them in team meetings, 
8. Buy training and schedule it for your team, 
9. If you can afford it buy online training. For some training you can speak to your insurance provider and see if they can provide it for free.  

All these options are simple ways to make sure your team know what the policies are and how to comply with them. 

Not doing this will limit your ability to performance manage poor behaviour or even terminate employment for non-compliance. Those outcomes can cost you more than providing training. 

But we know that writing policies and procedures can be boring and distract you from running your business. Don’t put it off or bury your head in the paperwork. If writing policies is not your top priority or dream job, let us know and we can help you put in place the right policies for your business.  

If you want help to ensure you have the right policies in place for your business, please reach out today. We can help you put in place the right policies and procedures for a compliant workplace. That way you will have the right employment elements for your team to create your dream business.  

Call us on +1 300 474 672, email us on info@impacthr.com.au or book a confidential and free policy review session today.