People who have managed the documentation of policies and procedures know how big the task really is. The ever-changing employee pool coupled with a never-ending stream of changes to the industry means you must stay on your feet. But, there are some things that can be done to make this a more fulfilling activity for all of those involved and a rewarding one for the organisation.
1. Who is actively engaged?
There are a few way to decipher this. Historically, new employees would ‘sign’ a list of required reading as part of their onboarding process. This takes care of new employees. For existing employees, reporting on viewership/consumption during the year may help identify areas of your business that are less engaged.
When you identify who isn’t engaged, the next steps are to find any certain patterns that are contributing to this behaviour. E.g. For office-based staff, some posters displayed around the office may help boost engagement. For frontline staff on the road, an insert in the regular staff newsletter might do the trick.
2. Test employee knowledge
Auditors will actually ‘test’ employees as part of the auditing process. Testing them as part of normal process will help your organisation prepare for audits. Periodic knowledge testing is a really good way to ensure your employees understand the key concepts within policies and procedures.
3. Make it fun!
My personal challenge of ‘compliance is fun’ might be a pipedream but who said we had to make it drab and boring either? Let people know when there are changes and present it in engaging ways.
4. Reward compliance.
One of the tricks to successful deployment and engagement is to publicly recognise those who have been doing the right thing. Call them out, let them know that their adherence has meant that the organisation takes compliance seriously. This pattern of behaviour matching is something we’ve been taught since kindergarten (merit awards anyone?) and underutilised in the workplace.
