Written company policies are meant to guide the organization’s daily operations through all identifiable circumstances and provide structure for times when extraordinary circumstances arise.
Many policies are written to guide specific departments but affect all employees. Policies can be behavior related, performance related, operations related or address many other thoughts and practices that are important to management. Some policies are required by law and others are meant to direct employees as best practices for the company.
Whatever the policies address, they should be reviewed and updated annually. OSHA requires many safety policies and procedures to be reviewed or inspected and “certified” annually. Utilize your key employees to review and update your policies and procedures annually. New ideas will probably surface and will need to be considered, and unpredicted events can come quickly.
The ability to prepare for events is the best it has ever been. Conduct tabletop exercises to prepare for how things are to happen when an event occurs. Revise the review dates to be in compliance and to prevent confusion among staff members.