Business Policies and Procedures – Friend or Foe?
Are Your Business Policies and Procedures Helping or Hindering Your Company’s Growth? Very few people can actually say that they “like” rules (or at least
Are Your Business Policies and Procedures Helping or Hindering Your Company’s Growth? Very few people can actually say that they “like” rules (or at least
Policies decentralize decision-making so no one has the power to bend the rules. Policies also promote consistent operations, so the same procedures and protocols are used for all situations. And financial policies promote transparency and accountability.
Starting out with a common set of protocols makes the accounting process efficient and manageable for all concerned.
Effective procedure training is largely a matter of explain, refine and repeat – develop the step-by-step process, document it, test it, and refine it.
In developing the procedures that make policies a reality, remember that procedures, like systems, need to be well-documented in order to be transferrable, and adaptable.
A well-defined set of policies and procedures provide the roadmap your employees need to be independent and effective, so they understand their role in the organization and senior management doesn’t have to closely watch every process.
If you take a positive, proactive stance, you can demonstrate to your staff that you have a tough policy regarding employee theft and fraud, and you can outline some clearly defined consequences for those who break the rules.
Many entrepreneurs enter into their new venture without a clear human resources plan. Having a plan doesn’t just mean identifying key employees and decision-makers; that’s easy. It means having an HR strategy in place that is both compliant with the law, and is designed to attract and retain the talent you need to succeed.