Structuring a Successful Policy Implementation Plan in 5 Steps

What ultimately helps a company recognize and achieve its organizational goals? The hard work and dedication of an organization’s management and employees, for sure, but effectively implementing comprehensive policies is the most effective way for workers to see and understand an organization’s target objectives, and how to attain them. 

Occasionally, having clear, comprehensive policies hinges on the act of developing and enforcing new policies, or replacing or updating old ones. When this happens, it’s crucial that your organization have an effective policy implementation plan, allowing your business to review, update, and execute new guidelines and policies for its workforce. 

And what steps comprise this effective implementation plan? Look no further than these best practices for reviewing, creating and distributing policies to an organization’s workforce. 

Step 1: Initial Phase: Reviewing and Assessing Current Policies

The first step in any genuinely workable policy implementation plan is to take a look at the policies already in place in your business. Conduct a comprehensive review of existing policies, looking to identify any outdated procedures, unclear wording, or areas in need of more coverage or elaboration. 

This review may reveal company policies that are no longer effective or relevant to the operations of your business, highlighting the need for updates that will align with the goals of your organization as well as being compliant with any regulatory changes. During this process, it’s crucial that relevant department heads, management, and team leaders are involved. Feedback from company leadership will provide insight into the practical impact and relevance of current policies, elucidating on areas that may need improvement or revision.

Step 2: Development of New Policies and Revisions

Based on the findings of the initial assessment of the organization’s existing policies, the next step in your business’s policy implementation plan is to develop new policies or, if possible, to revise existing ones to address gaps or challenges identified in the initial phase. 

In developing these policies, make sure that they align with the existing strategic objectives of the organization, as well as evolving legal and industry standards. While in the development stage, collaborate closely with legal experts, compliance officers, and stakeholders from relevant positions or departments so that these policies will be not only comprehensive, but practical and enforceable for the company’s employees. 

Step 3: Effective Communication and Training for Policy Rollout

After developing a new policy, one of the most crucial steps in an organization’s policy implementation plan is rolling out that policy to employees. In order to ensure understanding and compliance, it’s vital that the new or revised policies are clearly and effectively communicated. 

For most effective policy distribution, it may be necessary to use multiple methods of communication. There are your standard in-person methods – staff meetings, department memos – but there’s also plenty of digital options as well, like emails and intranet announcements. This communication may also need to be tailored to meet the needs of different departments, but ultimately it’s vital that it always be relevant, comprehensive and easily understandable. 

After distributing the new policy, the next step in an airtight policy implementation plan should be to introduce targeted training programs to educate employees about their roles and responsibilities under the new policy. This training might include interactive workshops and seminars to engage employees and reinforce key points, or a quiz to check that employees have retained the most vital information about the new policy. After the initial training program, regular follow-up sessions may be necessary to help address any questions that may arise, and to continue to affirm thorough employee understanding. 

Step 4: Monitoring, Evaluation and Feedback Integration

While distributing the new policy to employees, establish a way to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of this new policy. Find ways to track employee compliance with the new guidelines, and evaluate the impact of the new policies on overall company efficiency, as well as compliance with industry laws and regulations.

Don’t zoom out too far, though! Make sure as well to regularly collect feedback from employees on how implementation is affecting them and the work they do for your organization. Implementation will be easier and compliance will be stronger if the organization works to understand the on-ground challenges and changes presented by the new policy implementation.

Step 5: Adjustments and Continuous Improvement

Your new policy may not be perfect at first, and it’s important to take the time and do the work necessary to get it there, for the sake of your employees and your organization. After rollout, be responsive to feedback and insights revealed by performance data, making any necessary adjustments to policies or their implementation as needed. 

Adapting to feedback quickly demonstrates a business’s commitment to employee engagement, as well as continuous company improvement. After making any adjustments, communicate these to employees as promptly as possible, to keep everyone informed and maintain transparency. 

ComplianceBridge Simplifies Implementation 

A healthy business is not static; it grows and changes with its employees, with its leadership, with its industry, and with any regulatory or legal changes that may occur as time passes. Because running your organization is a dynamic and continuous process, the perfect policy implementation plan should be just as flexible, requiring regular review and editing of company policies as needed. This may sound like a tall order, but it doesn’t have to be. 

ComplianceBridge’s software enables effective and efficient policy implementation, streamlining and centralizing the creation policy and procedure creation. All stakeholders work and review in a single document, with viewable version history, available templates for further standardization, and tailored review workflows. 

Once created, ComplianceBridge simplifies policy distribution and employee training. Our software lets you target the distribution of new procedures and policies, sending them to your entire workforce or just relevant employees or departments as necessary. You’re also able to send out follow-ups to make sure employees understand the new guidelines, track acknowledgements of the new policy in real-time, and set automatic reminders and notifications so nothing slips through the cracks. 

Effective policy implementation can be daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone. Contact ComplianceBridge today for a free demo and to learn more!