Developing appropriate strategies
Effective human resource polices will also depend on the ability to identify and use ap-
propriate strategies to establish the foundation for generating relevant human resource
policy documents. Such strategies include:
- Seeking top management opinion and support.
Human resource managers as partners in human resource functions have an obligation
to seek support from the top management in order to get the necessary resources and
commitment. For example, a policy on certain financial incentives will affect the budget
and the wage bill while the interest of the top management is to reduce costs. To win top
management support and commitment requires a well written proposal, strong and con-
vincing arguments and sometimes lobbying. Early management inputs to the policy will
reduce resistance at later stages. - Seeking middle level management opinion
Middle level managers are the implementers of policies. For instance, implementing a
particular component of health policy could lead to a higher workload for the remaining
staff; some kind of reward may be required in order to keep work performance at the
same level. Therefore, the implementation of one policy may affect another policy or
create room for the improvement of other policies. When such effects are noted early
enough, it becomes easier to foresee policy consequences and provide some policy
clauses to cover such possible policy overlaps or shortfalls. - Assessing awareness and the level of policy desirability
The introduction of any policy in an organisation will change the way employees see
their relationship with their employer. Some employees may feel that the policy is not
good enough because it does not sufficiently take care of their interests. Despite the fact
that this perception may be incorrect, it still affects the way the policy is received by
staff, as well as the ability of the policy to meet the intended objectives. Opinion sur-
veys can be used to assess employees’ awareness of policy gaps and the extent to which
a particular area of human resource functions require policy or policy instruments. - Assessing other factors
There are a number of other factors that may facilitate or hinder the adoption and effec-
tiveness of the day-to-day implementation of the expected policy. This will cover re-
sources, legal issues, trade unions and the working culture.
Drafting policy document
The above strategies will provide the necessary data and information for drafting the
policy document. Usually, the policy document will have a number of sections that
point to specific aspects of the policy. Such sections may include:
- Policy title
The title of the policy has to be clear, focused, short and without ambiguity. It has to
reflect the contents of the policy itself. - Definition of key terms
Any policy will have specific terms, concepts or acronyms that have to be clearly de-
fined so that all key stakeholders including management and staff will clearly under-
stand what it means. This will minimise conflicts that may arise out from misinterpreta-
tion and misunderstanding.