How to Write a Business Policy
Just as any sport needs a rule book so that the players know what's needed to win the game, a business of any size needs to have a set of guidelines in place so that workers will know how to interact with one another and with the clients they serve. Business policies in general focus on interpersonal relationships and ethics as opposed to procedural instructions for performing tasks or operating equipment. Here's how to write a business policy to foster teamwork and accomplish core objectives.
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Instructions
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Identify an existing problem that needs to be fixed or a potential challenge that could arise as a result of significant changes in the company's structure. For the purposes of this article, the problem you're going to address will be that employees have been cluttering their work spaces with personal items (for example, stuffed animals, political posters, homemade crafts) that have nothing to do with the nature of the business (which is selling insurance) and/or are offensive to other employees (such as risque calendars).
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Assess whether the implementation of the policy should be preceded by an employee survey, organization of a study committee, or simply an office memo from management stating the new policy. At a minimum, you'll need to discuss the policy with an attorney and your human resources staff to ensure that the policy will not infringe on employee privacy rights or create an exclusion that could trigger a charge of discrimination.
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Explain the new rules and why they're necessaryin the opening paragraph of your business policy. In the case of decorating office cubicles with personal items, the argument could be made that the image of the office needs to be as professional as possible in order to attract and maintain client confidence. Another argument could be made that every employee is entitled to a comfortable working environment and that the display of certain items and imagery could be construed as degrading, threatening or disturbing.
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Delineate the new rules for personal items in the workplace. For example, it might be acceptable for employees to have a small plant and one to three family photos on their desks, but they cannot display their children's artwork, political campaign posters, risque calendars or Druid sculptures. Spell out the new policy in clear, straightforward language that your attorney and HR representative have reviewed.
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Explain the consequences of failure to follow the new policy. For something as minor as displaying four family photos instead of three or failing to remove a calendar from the wall, the course of action would be a warning reminder followed by letter(s) of reprimand in the the worker's personnel folder. For more serious offenses such as using company property for personal use, jeopardizing company security, or disobeying a policy regarding substance abuse, the consequences would be more harsh (such as demotion or termination).
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Identify when the new policy will take effect and who it will affect. Most business policies are enacted the same date as the memo announcing them and either pertain to all employees or to individuals who work within a specific division. For example, to say that "all employees are required to wear hard hats" wouldn't make sense for employees whose primary job duties are indoors and have nothing to do with the construction activities of the company.
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Conclude each policy document with a statement to the effect of "I have read and understand the new policy regarding _____________ and agree to adhere to it". Include a place for the worker to sign her name and date it. Distribute two copies to every employee--one for the employee to keep on file and the other to return to you as proof that the material has been received and acknowledged.
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Tips & Warnings
How you implement a new policy should be consistent and compatible with your past actions as an owner or manager. If, for example, you have always run a hands-on democracy in which employees participate in all policy decisions, it's going to throw them for a loop if you suddenly announce radical changes without inviting their input. Conversely, if your company has been run for the past decade as an autocracy and you suddenly start assigning committees to decide on every little change, you risk losing your workers' confidence in your abilities to lead them.
