How Can I Introduce a New HR Policy to Employees Used to No Rules?

How will I implement a new HR policy in front of a group of employees who have been working without any policy and control so far? The company is moving to level 2, but how can I manage employees' emotions in this process, especially with hierarchy fixing and all.

Thank you!

Communicating the Policy

The company has to notify the policy and preferably address a copy to each employee with acknowledgment, as well as put it on the notice board. The notification could be through email, but records have to be kept. One thing is for sure; the applicability of the policy is not dependent on acceptance by all employees. No one can oppose a company policy and remain there for long. Preferably, the policy could be announced the day before the weekly holiday. This will help in cooling tempers.

Overcoming Apprehensions

It appears you have apprehensions of trouble, but once the policy is formulated, there is no point in keeping it under wraps. There is no way out other than communication and more of it to overcome the issue. Keep your presentation ready. You should be prepared to explain the policy to anybody and everybody. You will have to make strong use of formal channels of communication, and informal channels have to be tapped. When we revised the Incentive Scheme, a team of our officials was continuously communicating with the employees for nearly 3-4 hours, and we had more than a dozen meetings in the next two to three days.

Handling Criticism

There will always be some employees who will find fault with anything and everything. It will not be possible to avoid them, but they have to be tackled and managed. You should be prepared for such situations and keep your Plan B and C ready for dealing with the crisis.

Dear Nithin, this is in addition to what the previous senior member has said. When rolling out HR policies, what you need is to obtain buy-in from the top leadership. Without their commitment, the introduction of policies will become a farce.

Introduction of HR Policies

Policies, whether related to people or otherwise, whether related to the HR Department or otherwise, are introduced as part of organizational development activities. The introduction of policies brings systems into the company. Policies are a means of delegation.

Overcoming Resistance to Policy Changes

People are attuned to a certain way of working. The introduction of policies would demand a change in their behavior or even mindset itself. There could be resistance, and to overcome this resistance, top leadership must be involved in the execution at least at the beginning. As part of this involvement, they may call all the employees and explain why the policies have been devised and what the logic is behind their introduction.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Initiative for HR Policies and Principles

The initiative for HR policies and principles requires the full backing and total commitment of top leadership. Assuming that this initiative is being taken on orders from the top bosses, the following actions will be helpful:

Importance of Information Flow

Keep the entire employee community on the same page through the flow of information. Sometimes the grapevine can create problems, so the advantage of clear, open HR policy needs to be stressed.

Benchmarking and Compliance

HR needs to look at similarly placed industries in the same field to understand their HR policies. Compliance with laws is a must for your HR policies. Information flow to employees should always be maintained to assuage any concerns or worries.

Employee Involvement

The views of employees, as long as they are compliant with company policy and laws, can be accommodated to the extent possible to give them a feeling of being interested participants. Sudden changes can create tension and worries, but if policies are open and fairly administered, things will quickly settle down. People will appreciate that guidelines are in place and not subject to the whims and fancies of HR personnel or bosses.

What I wanted to mention, my learned colleague and friend Mr. Dinesh has already articulated. If you go and announce, there won't be any buyers. If, as a policy matter, a circular comes from the desk of the CEO, MD, or Chairman—whosoever is your Numero Uno—people will fall in line. All you have to convey is that all organizations keep growing and undergo metamorphosis, changing for the better. If an organization does not grow or change, it will stay stagnant, and eventually, it will start declining like an old tree. Initially, there will be reluctance and resistance, but with patience, such people can be turned around. Best wishes

Accepting all the points mentioned above, while drafting a policy, the policy and procedure should be adaptable, and nobody should overlook the policy in view of their capacity/position. For example, when creating a policy that mandates all employees to undergo a check at the gate or use the provided gate, the top management, including the Managing Director, should be a role model for this process, without any exemptions.

Similarly, if there is a procedure requiring all payments to be supported by a bill/voucher, employees may attempt to create their own vouchers. I strongly believe that the systems and procedures we establish create loopholes that allow employees to find easy ways to adapt. For instance, an employee in the travel expense section could divert funds into their personal bank account due to a failure in the system and procedures, providing an opportunity for intelligent financial gain.

In the case of reimbursing employees for on-duty travel using their vehicles based on petrol receipts, some individuals may exploit this by presenting inflated bills. It would be more effective to implement a procedure based on kilometers traveled or fixed charges to prevent such misuse. Involving lower-level employees in drafting adaptable procedures is always beneficial.

Another example is when an Executive is tasked with creating a procedure for an entire department in a factory as part of ISO compliance, but in practice, some departments may follow their own practices that do not align with the established procedures, resulting in non-compliance and serious issues. If the concerned department had been involved in drafting and agreeing to the procedures, they would likely take ownership of adapting the procedures more willingly.

It is essential to note that any instances of non-compliance, failure, refusal, or circumvention of procedures for employees' advantage or misappropriation, as well as most accidents on the shop floor, are ultimately the responsibility of the management, despite the established procedures.

Implementing New HR Policies

See that you do not bring in drastic changes with your HR policies overnight. Try to mold what is existing with what is required to be done so that the employees will be willing to accept and adapt, though it may not be immediate.

It is not very easy for those who are comfortable with the existing way of working [implied policies] to change as and when asked to do so. However, when they see that the management is following it and makes it a point to adhere to the new policies, it will make your life much easier and better.

Communicating the Need for Policies

It is always better to talk and try to convince them of the need for having policies in place as it will be good for the growth of the company, which in turn helps the staff too. The employees will appreciate it when they see it working to their advantage without having to check every time an issue arises with their managers or other seniors.

Educating and Convincing Employees

Try to educate those who try to run it down by talking about the advantages, and leave the result to its logical conclusion.