of the policy or sections of it. The spirit should be one of continuous improvement
rather than criticism.Therefore, to ensure that a policy meets the criteria described above, the draft policy
document has to be discussed by all key stakeholders including general workers, trade
unions, employers’ associations, and all levels of management. Stakeholder involve-
ment at this stage is a critical factor for not only improving the quality of the policy it-
self but also, and more importantly, for its smooth implementation as it will create a
sense of ownership for all the parties involved.
Policy implementation
The modality and pace of the implementation of the policy will depend upon many fac-
tors including the extent to which the need for the policy is established, strategies used
to involve different stakeholders during preparations and the technical quality of the
policy document. The most successful organisations implement policies after a series of
sensitisation seminars and workshops covering top, middle and lower level management
as well as employees and employees’ associations. This helps to create a common un-
derstanding and a sense of ownership for all key stakeholders. While policy implemen-
tation will mainly be the responsibility of line managers, the human resource depart-
ment will provide support and technical services.
Monitoring and evaluation
Policies are there to assist organisations and not vice versa. Continuous monitoring and
evaluation is necessary in order to remove rigidity that may match the emerging situa-
tion and needs. For example, a change in organisational vision, mission and objectives,
or a change of government policies and laws related to employment relationships or the
labour market may make it necessary to look back at human resource policies and see
how they may better assist both the organisation and the employees.
Specific human resource policies
Recruitment and selection policy
Recruitment and selection form part of the process of attracting and obtaining suitable
employees for the organisation. This is a crucial stage in staffing function because it
determines the quality of human resources that the organisation will have. It is usually a
long process that starts with advertising for vacant posts, receiving applications, short
listing the most qualified applicants, and selecting the best candidates by using various
selection techniques.
A clear policy on when and how recruitment and selection will be conducted is im-
portant for the management, staff and the applicants because of the potential dangers of
subjectivity.
Much can be achieved through clear policy statements on each aspect of recruitment
and selection process. Some of the gains are well described by Cole (1997), who says
that recruitment and selection policy helps the organisation to:
- Provide guidance on how and when jobs will be advertised.
- Provide guidance on how selection will be conducted.
- State priorities for consideration.
- Instruct on how disputes are to be handled.