Project case study:

Group policies refresh and relaunch

The challenge

We were asked by a client to support the redesign and roll-out of their suite of group policies. The client had recently emerged from a larger corporate conglomerate group, and so had the requirement and opportunity to deploy a new suite of policies appropriate to its own identity, values and desired culture. The client was also highly acquisitive, and felt it important to have its own policy framework in place to assist with the integration of newly acquired businesses into its group.

Our approach

We started with a workshop involving members of the client’s leadership team. This was to agree an approach, based on what was most important to them, and to develop the design principles. Although the quickest and simplest approach would have been to rebadge some or all of the previous group policies that had applied while part of the larger group, we were pleased that the client instead saw the benefits of adopting a ‘blank canvas’ first principles approach to developing a fit and appropriate bespoke policies framework.

Some key design principles were:

• Alignment to company values. The client had recently refreshed its company values, so we had an agreed set that the policies could be designed to link to, underpin and bring to life
• We wanted to avoid lengthy rules-based documents (the ‘lever-arch policies manual’) in favour of short, principles-based statements
• The policies needed to be written in plain language, with no jargon, making them clear and understandable for everyone, and supported by training modules
• The policies should have the same structure and similar depth of information as each other, making them familiar and easy to navigate
• Digital deployment. The policies should be developed for viewing on a screen, including mobile devices, not for printing and placing on a shelf.

We then developed a menu of group policy areas, drawing on key risk areas for the business and considering those typically addressed by peer companies. From this, we agreed with the client what should be covered. Part of this exercise was to distinguish group policies (those which should apply to all, or the vast majority, of the group’s people) from local policies (those which apply only to a smaller group of people e.g. specific to particular business units, environments or functions only).

Next, we presented some options in terms of format for the new group policies, in line with the design principles, and agreed an approach with the client. We also decided that it would be effective to use the client’s forthcoming new Code of Conduct as an over-arching ‘umbrella’ providing context between the company’s new values and its new group policies.

We then commissioned and directly supported the drafting of the new group policies. We provided best practice examples and applied our own first-hand experience of what worked well and resonated with colleagues. We acted as a central, independent review point to ensure alignment to the agreed design principles. We also worked on the new Code of Conduct alongside reviewing and editing inputs to produce a cohesive, consistent suite of policy documentation.

We helped the client team develop a plan for how the new Code of Conduct and group policies would be deployed across the organisation. We discussed with the client the need for some training modules with situational examples based on likely risk scenarios, to bring home the importance of being familiar with and following the policies. The client’s learning and development team were commissioned with compiling such training.

We also emphasised the importance of regular reinforcement after initial launch, e.g. through engaging communications and content such as sharing real stories, dilemma quizzes and publishing relevant statistics. We talked through some ‘heavy’ and ‘lighter’ approaches that could be taken with regard to requiring compliance and training certifications from colleagues. We also prompted the client to consider its ability (including systems requirements) and its appetite (including HR considerations) to monitor, report on and invoke consequences for policy breaches or for failure to complete training or certifications.

Finally, we reminded the client of the need to keep the group policies under scheduled review and to remain open to evolving these to reflect emerging best practice and appropriateness to the business’ activities.

The outcome

The suite of new group policies and Code of Conduct, alongside the proposed deployment plan, were presented to the client’s Executive leadership team and Board. After some fine-tuning, these were approved and adopted then launched across the client’s organisation through some thoughtfully drafted communications, Director videos and a manager cascade. The feedback was very positive in that the new policies were easy to find and follow, were relevant and much easier to digest than the previous large volume of rules. This bore testament to our continuing focus on the design principles and what works in practice, and we were pleased to have assisted the client in maturing this important component of its corporate identity.