Dear All,
Greetings!
How to Write HR Policies and Procedures
Identify the Important Policy Issues for Your Organization
Working with the members of your organization responsible for policy development, make a list of the policy issues you need to address. Consider:
- Current laws
- Funder requirements
- Any collective agreements that affect your organization
- Issues that address important concerns and support what your organization represents
Ask Yourselves These Questions About Each Potential Policy
- How have we handled this issue in the past?
- Does the size of our workforce justify having a policy about this issue?
- Are we willing to invest the time it takes to keep the policy up to date?
- What do we hope to accomplish with this policy? What are the outcomes?
- Will this policy foster something our organization believes in? (For example, if an organization has a "family first" philosophy, it might want to have family-positive policies, such as flexible work hours)
Collect Information
Collect information on past practices in your organization. Research policy models in organizations similar to yours.
Draft the Policy
Write a first draft. Include the following content:
- Policy name
- Effective date of the policy and date of any revisions
- Approval status (At this stage, the status is "DRAFT.")
- References (List other policies and documents related to this policy.)
- Purpose of the policy (what it is intended to promote or achieve)
- Main policy statement
- Definitions of any key concepts or terms used in the policy
- Eligibility or scope (what groups of employees are covered by the policy)
- Positions in the organization responsible for implementing and monitoring the policy
- Procedures for carrying out the policy, written in numbered steps.
Include the following formatting to help the reader navigate:
- Section names and numbers
- Page numbers and total number of pages (Example: "Page 6 of 8.")
- Headers and footers.
Circulate and Revise the Policy
Give a copy of the draft to each key member of your organization involved in policy development.
Discuss and agree upon revisions. Prepare the final draft.
Get approvals needed to put the policy into effect.
If your Board is responsible for giving the final approval, it is often done with a formal, recorded motion. The motion can include a date in the future when the Board wishes to review the policy again.
Update the policy to show the Approval Date.
Regards,
John N
Greetings!
How to Write HR Policies and Procedures
Identify the Important Policy Issues for Your Organization
Working with the members of your organization responsible for policy development, make a list of the policy issues you need to address. Consider:
- Current laws
- Funder requirements
- Any collective agreements that affect your organization
- Issues that address important concerns and support what your organization represents
Ask Yourselves These Questions About Each Potential Policy
- How have we handled this issue in the past?
- Does the size of our workforce justify having a policy about this issue?
- Are we willing to invest the time it takes to keep the policy up to date?
- What do we hope to accomplish with this policy? What are the outcomes?
- Will this policy foster something our organization believes in? (For example, if an organization has a "family first" philosophy, it might want to have family-positive policies, such as flexible work hours)
Collect Information
Collect information on past practices in your organization. Research policy models in organizations similar to yours.
Draft the Policy
Write a first draft. Include the following content:
- Policy name
- Effective date of the policy and date of any revisions
- Approval status (At this stage, the status is "DRAFT.")
- References (List other policies and documents related to this policy.)
- Purpose of the policy (what it is intended to promote or achieve)
- Main policy statement
- Definitions of any key concepts or terms used in the policy
- Eligibility or scope (what groups of employees are covered by the policy)
- Positions in the organization responsible for implementing and monitoring the policy
- Procedures for carrying out the policy, written in numbered steps.
Include the following formatting to help the reader navigate:
- Section names and numbers
- Page numbers and total number of pages (Example: "Page 6 of 8.")
- Headers and footers.
Circulate and Revise the Policy
Give a copy of the draft to each key member of your organization involved in policy development.
Discuss and agree upon revisions. Prepare the final draft.
Get approvals needed to put the policy into effect.
If your Board is responsible for giving the final approval, it is often done with a formal, recorded motion. The motion can include a date in the future when the Board wishes to review the policy again.
Update the policy to show the Approval Date.
Regards,
John N