Internet/Intranet Exposure

The final, and recently one of the most popular, way to supplement or add to existing policies is through facilities available on the Internet. Using search engines from the Internet, many policies can be identified and reviewed. Some can be used entirely or in part to provide useful ways of defining key organizational issues. These policies can then be offered for comment and final approval over an internal network or intranet.

For this and all policy supplements, each organization has a culture that works best in some environments and can be ineffective in others. Before spending time and effort looking to offer a supplement to written policies, each option should be selected carefully and thoughtfully.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTIONS

Effective policy development can take advantage of many of the leading trends in technology to become easier to use, more accurate and current, and generally more appealing to the intended audience or reader. Several of these new developments are discussed here, but creative policy writers can, and will, think of new and creative ways to develop, distribute, and communicate policies.

Context-Sensitive Policies

The advent of hypertext in the workplace makes it possible to place a “tag” next to key words and phrases that can be used to refer to other documents, pictures, or audio/visual objects. Use of corporate intranets can allow process descriptions and standard operating procedures to be developed with hypertext links to the related policy statements or phrases that apply to each element in the document. In some instances, a small text window can be displayed when the cursor or mouse pointer is at rest or “hovering” over the place where the policy may be applicable.

This current policy distribution method is not just a nifty high-tech text application, but it actually blends the organizational policy into the operational methods in a seamless and unobtrusive manner. Rather than going to the Human Resources department, or pulling a book off the shelf, staff members can access the latest copy of “official” policies real time, while work is being done. This results in less interruption, heightens productivity, and results in more awareness of policies. These factors can give management the confidence to know that policies have the best chance of being followed, and operations are more consistent and can lead to higher efficiency.

Shared Experiences Among Corporations

We are also operating in much more of a global workplace. The Internet, World Wide Web, widespread electronic text mail, news groups, voice mail, video conferencing, pagers, and distributed client/server applications give everyone a new sense of global awareness. With a few keystrokes, mouse clicks, or a phone speed dial, functions from many companies can be linked for a discussion and dialog on a variety of subjects. Often, policies and procedures are among those topics shared among corporations. The most popular computer security or other technical presentations deal with the development of working policies. The topic itself is popular, and within that topic the most sought-after document is the “sample policy” or working example of how others have said and done the same thing.

With certain limitations surrounding antitrust or trade secret issues, these policies are shared readily and frequently on a global basis. Personnel policies, password policies, data backup and recovery, application change procedures, and other similar structural issues are distilled to common elements and exchanged over and over between peers.

In this regard, the industry standards used for common business functions such as GAAP for accounting are extended to many areas of the organization, especially when dealing with the dependable, effective, and secure use of computing technology.

SUMMARY

In summary, the use of well-written, effectively communicated policies can greatly help an organization preparing for the twenty-first century and beyond cope effectively with the complex issues that pervade the work space. They can help bring organization out of chaos, efficiency out of waste, and clear direction out of confusion. The development of policies and procedures will continue, and those who develop them will play an ever-important role in the dependable operation of organizations from all industries and services, and in all sizes.