Which of the following statements most closely matches the state of play in your business?

• We have a full suite of HR policies and procedures and they are regularly reviewed and updated;
  
  
• We’ve drafted our HR policies as and when we’ve needed them so we’re reasonably well covered;
  
  
• We don’t really have any HR policies and procedures, but we know it’s something we need to attend to; or
  
  
• Do we really need HR policies and procedures?  We treat our staff fairly and everyone has a contract

My guess is that most businesses will be in in the second category.  In other words you have a range of HR policies and procedures which have grown organically in response to need, but that the issue is not regarded as one of strategic importance to your business.  The aim of this piece is to convince you otherwise.


What is the Difference Between a Policy and Procedure?

A policy is a statement of principles and commitments, whereas a procedure sets out the processes you will follow in order to comply with those principles and commitments.



Why Does My Business Need HR Policies and Procedures?

In essence, if you employ people in your business, you can’t manage without HR policies and procedures.  A business with a comprehensive set of these documents will:

• Make clear the behaviours that are expected from managers and staff; so that everyone knows where they stand
  
• Make sure that decision-making is consistent, transparent and fair
  
• Ensure your business complies with employment legislation and, just as importantly, provide evidence that you are doing so
• Provide the business with a valuable tool for training and developing managers
• Document best practice and make a public statement of your values

What are the Key Policies and Procedures My Business Needs?

At the very least a company should have the following:

• Disciplinary Policy and Procedure
  
  
• Grievance Policy and Procedure
  
  
• Health & Safety policy and Procedure
  
  
• Equal Opportunities Policy and Procedure
  
  
• Absence Management Policy and Procedure
  
  

Others may be developed according to local need; a policy on internet usage if your staff regularly use IT, for instance.

 
Introducing New HR Policies and Procedures

It is important you are systematic in your approach.  Key processes when introducing HR Policies and Procedures include:

• Appoint the right person to draft the procedure.  In a small firm this will probably be the owner or one of the partners.  In a larger firm you will need to identify someone with the necessary skills
  
  
• You will need to consult.  Policies and procedures should not just appear from above; speak to your managers and staff to gauge their views
  
  
• Ensure your policies and procedures are compliant with current legislation and best practice.  ACAS and several employers’ organisations provide useful templates
  
  
• Communicate each new policy or procedure to your staff to ensure they understand what it means for them
  

 

Working With your Policies and Procedures

Your HR policies and procedures should be living, working documents and part of your everyday processes for managing people.  You will need to:

• Review and, if necessary, update your policies and procedures on a regular basis.  As a rule of thumb this should be at least every two years, more often if legislation or best practice changes
  
  
• Any revised policies or procedures should be signed-off by the senior decision-maker in the business
  
  
• All managers should be trained in how to operate the business’s policies and procedures
  
  
• Similarly, the policies and procedures should be covered as part of your induction training for new staff
  
  
• You may wish to consider including your HR policies and procedures in a handbook to be issued to all staff
  
  
• Keep adequate records to demonstrate that your decision-making processes comply with your own policies and procedures

Further Information

Acas, CIPD and EEF are all good sources of information.  We at Write Centre are always happy to advise too.






 

It was my friend Jenny who first told me about morning pages.  I was wondering how she found the energy to be a creative writer whilst also being a full-time carer and studying for a Master's in psychology.  She pointed me in the direction of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and, in particular, the section on morning pages.

Julia Cameron is the author of The Artist's Way, The Right to Write and a host of other books, plays and scripts.  She is also an award-winning journalist.  Cameron believes that we all carry an inner well of creativity that, for most of us, has been thwarted by self-doubt, uncertainty and the pressure to conform.  She urges her readers to adopt a rigorous programme of 'recovery' to rediscover one's inner creativity.  To do so, she argues, we need to connect with the higher power that lies behind the universe.  Now I have to say I found all of this a bit off-putting with its resonances of Californian new-age spirituality; as a concept it all felt a bit 'woo'.   But I pressed on with the practical exercises.

At the heart of Cameron's programme to stimulate one's creativity is a practice she calls her morning pages.  Put simply, the morning page exercise requires your attention every morning as soon as possible after you get up and definitely before you start work.  It requires you to write three sides of A4 in longhand each day.  What you write is of no consequence at all, the important thing is the process, which is basically stream-of-consciousness writing.  Cameron argues that this process is a kind of meditation that frees up one's creative urges.  Looking at it in scientific in terms, it accords with psychological concept of flow.

Cameron insists that your morning pages should never be published nor shown to anyone else.  In fact, you should never look back over your own pages once you've completed the day's exercise; again it's this emphasis on process and not content.

So, although I've never really kept up any of the other exercises recommended in The Artists Way, I've been keeping a morning pages journal on a more or less daily basis for some nine months now.  That's an awful lot of words, so what do I write about?  I write about what I'm thinking, what I'm feeling, note down memories and draft my plans for the day.  I use the journal to kick around ideas, make plans and rough drafts of things I want to work on.  This last point is where I depart from Julia Cameron; I definitely go back into my previous journal entries, some of my best ideas are in there!

Have I noticed any changes since I started keeping my morning pages?  Well, I won't say it's been a life-changing experience, but I do feel a discernible improvement in my focus and creativity; the exercise seems to get the creative juices flowing each morning.  I'm doing a lot of creative writing, on top of my daily copywriting projects, and I've started writing poetry again after a lay-off of a couple of years.

You can take the whole thing on board, if that's what appeals, or you can select the bits that you find useful, like me with the morning pages.  Either way, if you're interested in writing or any other creative endeavour, it's definitely worth having a look at The Artist's Way.

Professionals know how to write.  Don’t they?  Managers are constantly required to produce reports and strategies and most professionals spend a huge proportion of their day sitting in front of a screen.  So why are so many people completely thrown when asked by the boss to come up with an article for the company newsletter or website?  Here are my top eight tips for producing the kind of article that people will want you to read:

 

1. Have something to say
We all have something to say, things we know about and care about that we want to share with others.  There are all sorts of reasons for deciding to write a particular article: to entertain, to inform, to stimulate debate or to make a call to action.  But, whatever your aim,  you should always write about something that you find interesting and exciting, that way your enthusiasm will be conveyed to the reader and you will be able to engage their attention.

2. Think about who you are writing for
It is vital to know who you are writing for.  Is the piece you’ve been asked to produce for an audience of like-minded specialists, or for a general readership?  Pitch your article accordingly; keep it fairly basic for a general audience and explain your concepts and terminology.  If fellow-professionals will also be reading your piece you can always provide links to further in-depth reading. 

3. Break it up
For any article longer than a few paragraphs, consider using headings to make your piece easier to read.  Help the reader by providing a structure: an introductory paragraph to establish your subject, the main body of your piece to cover your key points and then a conclusion to draw everything together.  Most readers want to read your article at one sitting; if it is too long you risk losing the reader’s attention.  Take a tip from the American poet Lorine Niedecker who said the writer’s job was to condense words down from the rambling to the concise.

4. Give it a good title
Try to come up with a catchy, informative title that gives the reader an idea of what the article is about and makes him or her want to read on.  

5. Avoid jargon
You may know what a feedback loop is or what SEO stands for, but that doesn’t mean everyone who reads your piece will.  There is a danger people will end up feeling excluded by those they perceive to be ‘in the know’.  Think twice before using jargon and make sure you explain all but the most common initials and acronyms.
 
6. Take a break
Once you’ve written your first draft, save your article and put it away until later.  Come back to it with a fresh mind and read it through to see how it comes over.  Editing really is the key stage of any kind of writing: try to cut out any ‘padding’ to make it more readable, rewrite any ‘woolly’ sections to provide greater clarity and remove any clichés or received phrases.  Finally, check your spelling and grammar; and don’t just rely on your computer’s spell-checker, this can often give you the false assurance of the right spelling for the wrong word!
 
7. Get your facts right
The internet is a wonderful tool for checking up on that fact or statistic you seem to remember.  If in doubt, make sure you use a reliable site to double-check.  Also, if you add any quotes to your piece, ensure you give full details of your source.

8. Ask for feedback, and be prepared to listen
Before submitting your article, you may wish to show it to someone to see what they think.  But choose someone who will give you honest feedback, and not just easy praise.  But remember, if you’re asking for feedback, be prepared to listen to it!

The call to action is the crucial tipping point in any piece of marketing copy whether it’s on your company’s website or part of a direct mail campaign.  It is the point where you move from merely giving a description of your product or service to explaining what’s in it for the customer and urging them to do something about it.  The reader can then decide whether or not he or she is going to do business with you.

But people are cautious. In fact, too often we are weighed down by our innate, comfortable inertia.  A sales conversation is about working towards tipping your customer over from agreeing you have a good product to actually wanting to do something about it.  There should be a similar tipping point in any written communication.  Too many of us, however, fail to give our marketing copy a clear, strong call to action.

So here are my top tips for making your call to action:

What

Make sure you actually include a call to action; don’t just assume a careful exposition of features and benefits will lead to orders.  Be clear and direct and tell people what they need to do.  In fact, tell them at several points in your document as many people will only skim read your carefully formulated text.  Once you’ve told people what to do make sure you tell them what will happen next.  And, if you really believe in your product, offer a satisfaction guarantee to reassure them the transaction is free from risk.

Why

Explain why your service or product is so much better than anyone else’s and what your customer will gain by placing an order.  Be clear in your own mind of your company’s unique selling point; once you can do that you will find it easier to communicate it to your customer.

How

Explain how to get in touch for more information or to place an order; make it easy to contact you and give a range of options for doing so.  At the very least offer a phone number, contact form and email address.  But keep the message for what to do next very simple – all they need to do is get in touch.  Placing some kind of time limit helps overcome people’s natural ‘I’ll think about it’ lethargy, so offer a bonus or a special price for people who get in touch early.