Module 3: Review Implementation of Workplace When you think of an employee policy manual, you probably

Sustainability Policies think of a dusty 3-ring binder that hasn't been opened since
the day it was put on the most out-of-the-way part of your
In this module, we will discuss how an early childhood service bookshelf.
reviews the implementation of its sustainability policy, The people who made those binders, and the people who
including having the ability to analyse and modify the received them, tend to think of policies and procedures as
strategies depending on the outcomes and needs of the being inflexible and unchanging. Once they were created,
service. they're carved in stone and are in place for good.
But this is the wrong way to view your organization's policy
By the end of this module, you should be able to: manual. Effective policy and procedure management takes
Document outcomes and provide feedback to key personnel more than just writing a set-it-and-forget-it binder to sit in an
and stakeholders. unused section of a bookshelf. They're not sacred and
Identify trends requiring remedial action to promote unchangeable, they're not something that can withstand the
continuous improvement of performance. test of time.
Modify sustainability policies to incorporate improvements. Effective policies and procedures, including the manual as a
whole, are living documents that must grow and adapt with a
Review Implementation of Workplace Sustainability Policies company. While the core elements and the intent of a policy
As part of the organisation’s continuous improvement will likely remain the same — keeping people, equipment,
process, all policies and associated workplace procedures assets, and information safe, for example — the details of
including the sustainability policy must regularly be reviewed, how to make it happen need to adapt to the changes in the
with the outcomes of each review documented. This will industry and the organization.
allow you to identify any potential improvements that may Regular policy review and revision are an important part of
be required to the policy or associated procedures and every policy and procedure management plan, and it's
practices. Reviewing can highlight any changes that are something your company should put time, energy, and
needed and this may include changes to legislation resources into.
requirements. It can also benefit individuals in the Why do you need a policy review process?
organisation as it may be an opportunity to improve business Outdated policies can leave your organization at risk. Old
processes and increase productivity. When reviewing policies may fail to comply with new laws and regulations.
outcomes for the implementation of the sustainability policy, They may not address new systems or technology, which can
ensure that you check that any Australian and international result in inconsistent practices. Can you imagine a policy that
standards relating to corporate sustainability are still addresses whether you can bring in floppy disks from
incorporated into the sustainability policy. home or discusses the proper use of fax machines? Yet there
Early childhood services will commonly review policies every are probably policy manuals out there that still have this
12 months. This process includes the following steps: information in them.
If you're not sure whether you need to review your policies
and procedures, consider these statistics:
69% of executives are not confident that their current
policies are enough to meet future needs.
Only 27% of CCOs believe the compliance function has a
change management process in place to identify changes in
laws and regulations and to incorporate those changes into
their policies.
63% of organizations say their policy management program
helps reduce legal costs and resolution time of regulatory
issues and fines.
Bottom line, regularly reviewing your policies and procedures
Why it is important to review policies and procedures keeps your organization up to date with the latest regulations
and technology, as well as consistent with the industry's best
Outdated policies can leave your organization at risk. Old practices. Your policies are more consistent and effective,
policies may fail to comply with new laws and regulations. and they help protect the organization, the employees, and
They may not address new systems or technology, which can the people you serve.
result in inconsistent practices. Can you imagine a policy that And if you're in a high-risk or highly-regulated industry, such
still addresses whether you can bring in floppy disks from as healthcare, public safety, banking, or financial technology,
home or discusses the proper use of fax machines? you should be conducting regular policy reviews anyway.
Article highlights However, it's a smart idea for every organization, regardless
Why you need a policy review process of how regulated you are.
When to review policies and procedures
How to identify the policies that should be reviewed
What are some of the policy review best practices

How to update policies

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 Incorporate these pending changes into your policies as soon
as possible to help your organization adjust to the new
regulations and follow them right away. If you build the
regulations into your policies early on, the transition will be
much smoother once the new laws go into effect.
An incident or policy violation
As we said before, you shouldn't wait until an incident occurs
to start reviewing policies and procedures. But things happen
even when you don't expect them or want them to. An
incident of policy violation can still indicate the need for a
change.
When to review policies and procedures After any kind of incident, it's a good idea to debrief and
With everything you have to do in the normal course of the make sure the policy had the intended effect, even if the
workday, it's easy for the policy review process to fall violation still occurred. Examine the details of the incident to
through the cracks. Even your executives and administrators see if employees followed procedures properly, and whether
know it's important to review policies and procedures, but there were any gaps in training or problems with employee
everything else still manages to steal their attention and understanding of the policy.
energy. This will help you decide whether you should revise the policy
But policy review is most effective when it's done regularly in question, make small changes and updates, or just let it
and proactively, not in reaction to an event (more on that in a stand.
minute). Don't wait for a problem or violation to decide to Of course, not every violation should result in sweeping
review your company policies. If you had an ongoing review changes. Sometimes, it's an isolated incident that calls for
process, you could confidently address any issues or events additional training or remediation for the employees
that you face, and head off a lot of potential problems. involved. Sometimes, an employee just made a bad decision,
Regular policy and procedure review even though the policy is sound, and they should be dealt
The best way to proactively review your policies and with accordingly.
procedures is just to schedule time into the corporate But if you find repeated violations, especially in the same
calendar. area or of the same type, then the issue may be that the
As a general rule, you should review every policy between policy is outdated, confusing, or requires more training.
one and three years. But most policy management Identifying Policies and Procedures That Need to Be Updated
experts recommend that you review all your policies every Policy review doesn’t always have to result in policy revision.
year. Sometimes, you may need major changes and revisions,
That's also more easily managed with policy management other times, you may just need to make a few small tweaks.
software than a 3-ring binder. Good policy management And sometimes, the policy is just fine as it is, and no revisions
software will let you set up workflows in order to collaborate are needed at all.
with your policy review committee, gather feedback, and You're not going to actually change or rewrite your policy
track approvals. It can even automatically remind people to manual every year, because that would be overkill. So how
read and review policies, send out signature reminders, and do you know which policies need to be updated?
integrate with your training management program.
Here are a few times you should conduct an additional policy
and procedure review.
Organizational changes
When your organization undergoes large-scale changes, such
as change in ownership or executive leadership, it's a good
idea to review your relevant policies. Your policies should
align with your organization's mission, vision, and values, as
well as those of your senior leadership.
So any time you have a change in strategic direction, new
leadership, a merger, or your company is purchased by
another, you should review your policies and procedures. Here are a few questions to ask during your policy review
Of course, these kinds of changes won't affect every policy. process.
For example, a new strategic direction probably shouldn't Is the policy being implemented as intended?
affect your vacation policy. But it may change other day-to- You don't need a major incident or high-profile issue to know
day policies and procedures. whether employees are complying with a particular policy or
Changes to laws or regulations procedure. If they're not, you need to determine why.
On the other hand, laws and governmental regulations Is the policy outdated? Are the procedures difficult to follow?
change constantly, which will affect certain procedures. Your Have you introduced a new technology or process that your
compliance team needs to be aware of these changes and policy doesn’t address? Or is it a training issue?
know which policies they affect. Get feedback from your front-line employees, or anyone else
If there is a big regulatory change on the horizon, you should affected by the policy, for some ideas on how you can
gather your policy review committee for a special meeting, improve it.
rather than waiting until your annual review period. Is the policy having the desired effect?
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Every policy should have a clear goal or objective. Over time, your policy language meets the accreditation standards the
this will help you measure whether the policy is effective. But organization has to follow.
there can be times where employees are following your Document all comments and changes to the policy
policies and procedures perfectly, but they're not having the As the policy writing team does their work, make sure to
desired effect. document all comments, notes, and input from every team
For example, you implemented a policy to improve employee member. This kind of information is important if there are
safety. The employees are following it but accidents are still ever legal issues surrounding a later policy violation or its
happening at the same rate. Clearly, the policy is not doing enforcement.
what it's supposed to and it's not having the desired effect. It's often helpful to appoint one policy owner to gather all the
That means you need to look at where the policy is failing, feedback and information (as well as the comments, notes,
ask the people who are covered by the policy about what and input) and make the final edits.
they would do differently, and make sure you have But you don't want any essential feedback to slip through the
procedures and tools in place to allow you to measure cracks.
everything. Maybe it's a training issue, or it's confusing and This is where policy management software like
incomplete, or maybe it's a completely different problem. PowerDMS gives you full version control and a full audit trail
Are the policies and procedures current and relevant? for each document. You can keep all the information,
You want to make sure your policies and procedures align comments, notes, and any other input in a centralized
with the way your current systems and structures actually location. You can create workflows, see who has made
operate. If your policies and procedures refer back to old changes, and what they are, and even track whether all
structures or technology — remember what we said about appropriate managers have signed off, and whether all
floppy disks and fax machines? — employees are more likely employees have reviewed the policies.
to ignore them because they think they don't matter. If you would like to learn more about PowerDMS policy
For example, let's say your company has adopted flexible management software, you can contact us to schedule a
remote and work-from-home arrangements, or flex demo. Or if you're wondering what is a policy versus a
scheduling. But your attendance and tardiness policies still procedure, you can read about it on our blog.
revolve around the old standard schedule. You need to
update that policy to reflect your new work system, and [Link]
make those new expectations clear. is-important-to-review-policies-and-procedures
How to Update Policies
You've established a regular schedule for reviewing policies How do you document the review?
and procedures, and you've identified the policies that need There are numerous ways that you can document the
to be updated. How do you actually update them? Are there outcomes of your review of the sustainability policy.
any best practices?
Of course there are! Documenting the review may consist of:
Here are a few of them for you to consider. Formal audit reports
Determine who is involved with this policy Report to management and stakeholders
Your policy review and writing team will be different, Completed desktop review
depending on the policy. You don't need the same people Completed review checklists and answers to questions
dealing with every policy for every department. For example, Consultation and recorded interviews
you don't want the sales department dictating accounting External audit report
policy, or the finance department creating IT policies.
So pick team members based on the work they do and the Providing feedback to key personnel and stakeholders
policies you're reviewing. Your team could (and should) Once your review has been completed and documented, you
include supervisors who oversee the procedures, managers, will need to consider how you will provide feedback to key
HR directors, or executives. But don't count out the frontline personnel and stakeholders. You may be required to conduct
employees who actually do the work the policies cover. a presentation or send a report to your stakeholders. Your
For example, an executive is not the ideal person to create written presentation must include your review findings, an
safety policies in a manufacturing operation; the people who outline of any identified and required changes to the policy,
are working on the floor and operating the machines are the along with recommendations.
best ones for that. An HR director is not the best person to
decide on the cybersecurity policy for the organization, you
need a network administrator handling that.
Once you’ve decided on your team, explain why the changes
are needed, and what needs to happen.
If you're making small changes, it may be as simple as just
making some edits and rewrites to the policy language. In
other cases, especially as it relates to laws and governmental
regulations, it's going to be a more involved process. You'll
need subject matter experts and even your organization's
legal counsel to get involved.
And if your organization is accredited or licensed, be sure to
include the accreditation manager so they can make sure
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Your written document should be well written, using formats
and languages that are appropriate to the context, meet
organisational requirements, and are suitable for your
audience. When presenting the information, use
presentation skills including active listening, and adopt
language that is appropriate.
Your feedback to key personnel and stakeholders can
include:

Identify Trends Requiring Remedial Action and Modify

Sustainability Policies

In this lesson, we will identify trends requiring remedial

action to promote continuous improvement of performance
and modify sustainability policies to incorporate
improvements.

If your service has not developed a review calendar for your

policies and procedures, it would be a great idea to introduce
one. Services follow a quality process in which their policies
have review dates that are usually at the bottom of the policy
documents. There may be other situations when you will
need to review the policy more regularly depending on the
type and size of the service and its operations. Each policy
should be reviewed every 12 months. However, newly
implemented policies should be reviewed at the three and
six-month mark.

You may start to see trends appearing as part of your review

process and some of these trends may require remedial
action, such as when policies and procedures are not meeting
compliance or legal requirements. By monitoring records and
documents, you may avoid potential violations of your
services legislative requirements. Your remedial action
should ensure that you make the required changes to the
sustainability policy and document and communicate these
changes.

Enriching social and economic aspects in sustainability

assessments of remediation strategies - Methods and
implementation

Demonstration of a broad sustainability assessment of

remediation alternatives. * Social and economic data were
enriched by a questionnaire study of residents. * Residents
preferred alternatives with a high degree of removal of
contaminants. * The sustainability assessment contributed to
the formulation of new alternatives.

[Link]
S0048969719360176

When modifying the sustainability policies to incorporate

improvements, you must clearly outline the changes
required.

Some sustainability policies may only require slight changes

while others may need considerable changes depending on
the complexity of the policy requirements.