Your corporate policies and procedures are the rules you lay down for the daily operation of the company. The policies and procedures are based on what is best for the company and employees as well as the legal guidelines set forth by federal, local and state authorities. Policies and procedures are dynamic as they attempt to keep up with changing laws and a changing work environment. A strong policies and procedures program is essential to establishing the company rules.

Schedule a monthly meeting with all managers to discuss changes and updates to the policies and procedures. Do not rely on managers alone to relay policy changes to employees. Notify employees of policy and procedure changes with circulated memos and information available on the company website.

Integrate policy and procedures training into the new employee orientation classes. Make sure every new employee understands the company's policies and procedures, and that everyone has a copy of the employee manual with the policies and procedures at their desk. All employees should sign a statement acknowledging they have read and understood the manual and this document should be kept in the employee's file.

Designate one person per department to be responsible for assisting employees with policy issues. Those departmental policies and procedures representatives should be given a separate monthly training on any upcoming changes.

Circulate hard copies of policies and procedures changes to each employee at the beginning of every month. Let employees know that they should replace their old employee handbook pages with the new ones, and then study the policy changes so they understand them.

Enforce all policies and procedures every day with each employee. Employees learn to heed the company policies when they are forced to adhere to them on a regular basis. Resist the temptation to ignore small infractions as this behavior only confuses the staff and invites all employees to "bend the rules."

Tip

Have the human resources department develop an "open door" policy on policies and procedures questions. Encourage employees to ask questions when they do not understand something, and have extra copies of updated policies available in the human resources office as well.