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Article Check - Policy & Procedure Manuals - Tools For Greater Productivity and Efficiency
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted. Feasibility Task feasibility is also a part of the motivation equation.If a task if feasible, then motivation increases. And if a task is out of reach, then motivation decreases. This is encompassed in the philosophy of incremental production and structure – large, complex and impossible tasks are split into smaller more manageable ones.But the above goes against the philosophy of competency expansion – if a task is too easy, then challenge is reduced and motivational effort is reduced. So making a task slightly out of reach optimises motivation.There have been situations where impossible tasks have created exception
The section on working conditions includes such things as store hours, employee scheduling, overtime policies, breaks, personal use of the telephone and causes for termination.
The wages section includes a statement or two about the wage and hour laws, payroll record keeping requirements, when employees are paid and how pay is computed.
The employee benefits section covers such items as holidays, vacations, sick leave, jury duty, employee discounts, insurance and pension plans.
The section on employee evaluation details what the evaluation will be based on, shows the printed forms used in the evaluation process and gives a schedule of when evaluations are made.
The section on employee termination tells the amount of advance notice required and outlines the options available regarding the employee's insurance, pension plan and settlement of his charge account.
The last secti
A limited liability corporation is a separate corporate business unit that has a separate legal structure. Although it incorporates many features of partnership and corporation, it cannot be considered similar to either. The unique set of advantages it offers due to its distinct corporate structure has endeared it to many people. The limited liability corporation has been a long-standing concept. However, in the United States it offers a relatively new category of business entity to entrepreneurs and investors. This model is a revised adaptation of the German GbmH model.It is possible to judge the advantages offered by this new business unit by understanding the business model of partnership and corporations. A corporation offers limited liability protection to the individual owners, investors and shareholders. Thus, the losses and debts of the corporate organization are not reflected upon on the individual owners. However, there are many complexities involved in corporations, regarding ownership, number of members, and distribution of profits, management control and functioning.A limited liability corporation provides limited liability to its members without the double taxation found in corporations. There is no intervening structure in a limited liability corporation. The profits, dividends, expenses and losses are reflected on the individual members, depending on investment and expenses. Hence
In working with independent retailers throughout the country we have found that the majority do not have written policies and procedures. When questions or problems arise concerning the store's policies or procedures the store owner/manager handles them on an individual basis. The problem with this approach is that it takes too much of management's time and can lead to inconsistency in dealing with company policy and procedures.
Employees respond well to an environment in which company policies are well defined and equitably and consistently enforced. Therefore, having a written Policy Manual and Procedure Manual can make a store a better employer and a stronger profit maker. The Policy Manual will give the employees the information they need concerning company regulations and policies and will support management in enforcing them. A Procedure Manual will give the employees instructions on HOW to do their job. It can be used both as a training manual and an on-going reference manual.
If your store does not have both a Policy Manual and a Procedure Manual, make a commitment to begin this important project immediately. If you do have these manuals, take some time to review them and verify that they are up-to-date and include all the information your employees need to be more productive and efficient.
POLICY MANUAL There is much information concerning the company that employees need to know and management is obligated to tell them. The best method for disseminating this information is by providing it to the employees in the form of a written Policy Manual.
A written store policy manual is also an important management tool. It details for your employees what you expect of them. Personnel problems are avoided because ideas of conduct, job performance and general store policy are spelled out in writing. The excuse "You didn't tell me" can not be used when employee problems arise.
A Policy Manual is needed for companies of all sizes. The manual should be expanded to cover any new situations that arise. A growing company especially needs a continuously updated policy manual to keep its employees fully informed of all the changes occurring in company philosophy as well as policy.
In writing the Policy Manual, keep in mind that it will be used by supervisors to resolve any disputes or initiate disciplinary action, and should, therefore, be written in such a way that it supports them in this endeavor.
A Policy Manual should answer some of the most important questions employees ask. For example, prohibitions against drinking and drug use on the job, performance review, holidays, vacations, benefits, leave of absence, work hours, personal hygiene grooming as well as dress codes and other critical policies that often affect morale. However, don't put anything down as policy if you are not going to enforce it as this just confuses employees and creates dissention. Also, a Policy Manual may be considered legally binding so it would be best to consult with your lawyer regarding local, state and federal statutes before you issue the Policy Manual to employees.
The company Policy Manual is usually divided into sections covering the following areas:
1. Introduction to the Company
2. Orientation
3. Working Conditions
4. Wages
5. Benefits
6. Evaluations
7. Employee's Termination
8. Store Services
The introduction gives a brief history of the store and welcomes the new employee.
The orientation section includes general information on what is expected of the employee, job descriptions, personal appearance and grooming guidelines, and how he is expected to handle the customer.
The section on working conditions includes such things as store hours, employee scheduling, overtime policies, breaks, personal use of the telephone and causes for termination.
The wages section includes a statement or two about the wage and hour laws, payroll record keeping requirements, when employees are paid and how pay is computed.
The employee benefits section covers such items as holidays, vacations, sick leave, jury duty, employee discounts, insurance and pension plans.
The section on employee evaluation details what the evaluation will be based on, shows the printed forms used in the evaluation process and gives a schedule of when evaluations are made.
The section on employee termination tells the amount of advance notice required and outlines the options available regarding the employee's insurance, pension plan and settlement of his charge account.
The last sectio
Why would an intelligent, hard-working, executive need a Coach? Unless you are in business for yourself, isn’t that what your superiors are for? It would seem logical to assume that everyone in the corporate world has someone to report to, hence replacing the need for a Coach. What many find, though, is that the bigger the company, the bigger the challenges and the less time he/she may have for you.So how do you know if you could benefit from having a Coach? You work hard and you are successful, yet deep inside you feel you could be challenging yourself even more. Unsure of how to get to the next level, you continue setting goals, but find that most days ultimately end the same as the day before. With a Business/Executive Coach, you would have the opportunity to bridge the gap between expectation and performance, so you don’t find yourself constantly creating new goals, yet ending with the same results.What you know and what you have done to be successful thus far, only goes as far as your own horizons, but with a Coach you can: Learn to work harder, but with less stress. Redefine what’s really important. Create the passion to overcome challenges. Refine and build upon your existing skills and talents.A Coach will focus on the strengths that already exist within you and help you to reach your full potential. A potential that you
If your store does not have both a Policy Manual and a Procedure Manual, make a commitment to begin this important project immediately. If you do have these manuals, take some time to review them and verify that they are up-to-date and include all the information your employees need to be more productive and efficient.
POLICY MANUAL There is much information concerning the company that employees need to know and management is obligated to tell them. The best method for disseminating this information is by providing it to the employees in the form of a written Policy Manual.
A written store policy manual is also an important management tool. It details for your employees what you expect of them. Personnel problems are avoided because ideas of conduct, job performance and general store policy are spelled out in writing. The excuse "You didn't tell me" can not be used when employee problems arise.
A Policy Manual is needed for companies of all sizes. The manual should be expanded to cover any new situations that arise. A growing company especially needs a continuously updated policy manual to keep its employees fully informed of all the changes occurring in company philosophy as well as policy.
In writing the Policy Manual, keep in mind that it will be used by supervisors to resolve any disputes or initiate disciplinary action, and should, therefore, be written in such a way that it supports them in this endeavor.
A Policy Manual should answer some of the most important questions employees ask. For example, prohibitions against drinking and drug use on the job, performance review, holidays, vacations, benefits, leave of absence, work hours, personal hygiene grooming as well as dress codes and other critical policies that often affect morale. However, don't put anything down as policy if you are not going to enforce it as this just confuses employees and creates dissention. Also, a Policy Manual may be considered legally binding so it would be best to consult with your lawyer regarding local, state and federal statutes before you issue the Policy Manual to employees.
The company Policy Manual is usually divided into sections covering the following areas:
1. Introduction to the Company
2. Orientation
3. Working Conditions
4. Wages
5. Benefits
6. Evaluations
7. Employee's Termination
8. Store Services
The introduction gives a brief history of the store and welcomes the new employee.
The orientation section includes general information on what is expected of the employee, job descriptions, personal appearance and grooming guidelines, and how he is expected to handle the customer.
The section on working conditions includes such things as store hours, employee scheduling, overtime policies, breaks, personal use of the telephone and causes for termination.
The wages section includes a statement or two about the wage and hour laws, payroll record keeping requirements, when employees are paid and how pay is computed.
The employee benefits section covers such items as holidays, vacations, sick leave, jury duty, employee discounts, insurance and pension plans.
The section on employee evaluation details what the evaluation will be based on, shows the printed forms used in the evaluation process and gives a schedule of when evaluations are made.
The section on employee termination tells the amount of advance notice required and outlines the options available regarding the employee's insurance, pension plan and settlement of his charge account.
The last secti
Probably the most misused and abused and disused management tool in history is the performance appraisal. It's the strangest thing. Ask managers or human resources staff whether they think performance appraisal is an important thing to do, and you'll find they usually agree. "Of course it is", is the common response. If you ask why it's important, they will tell you and tell you and tell you. But they don't tell you the right thing!The odd thing is that they often don't get done, and managers, supervisors and employees hate the darned things. Human resource professionals spend a lot of time whipping people into doing them, while managers look for a variety of reasons to delay and delay. Why is that?It's uncomfortable to do performance appraisals. But why is it uncomfortable? Because people undertake them for the wrong reasons and wrong perspective, which ends up putting the manager and the employee on different "sides". Appraisals are used for determining pay increases, who gets let go, and who gets promoted. Often they are used to focus on what people have done wrong.So what is the point of performance appraisals? Here's a starting point that actually works. The most important purpose or goal of the appraisal is to improve performance in the future...and not just for the employee. Managers can get valuable information from employees to help them make employee's jobs more productive. Work
A Policy Manual is needed for companies of all sizes. The manual should be expanded to cover any new situations that arise. A growing company especially needs a continuously updated policy manual to keep its employees fully informed of all the changes occurring in company philosophy as well as policy.
In writing the Policy Manual, keep in mind that it will be used by supervisors to resolve any disputes or initiate disciplinary action, and should, therefore, be written in such a way that it supports them in this endeavor.
A Policy Manual should answer some of the most important questions employees ask. For example, prohibitions against drinking and drug use on the job, performance review, holidays, vacations, benefits, leave of absence, work hours, personal hygiene grooming as well as dress codes and other critical policies that often affect morale. However, don't put anything down as policy if you are not going to enforce it as this just confuses employees and creates dissention. Also, a Policy Manual may be considered legally binding so it would be best to consult with your lawyer regarding local, state and federal statutes before you issue the Policy Manual to employees.
The company Policy Manual is usually divided into sections covering the following areas:
1. Introduction to the Company
2. Orientation
3. Working Conditions
4. Wages
5. Benefits
6. Evaluations
7. Employee's Termination
8. Store Services
The introduction gives a brief history of the store and welcomes the new employee.
The orientation section includes general information on what is expected of the employee, job descriptions, personal appearance and grooming guidelines, and how he is expected to handle the customer.
The section on working conditions includes such things as store hours, employee scheduling, overtime policies, breaks, personal use of the telephone and causes for termination.
The wages section includes a statement or two about the wage and hour laws, payroll record keeping requirements, when employees are paid and how pay is computed.
The employee benefits section covers such items as holidays, vacations, sick leave, jury duty, employee discounts, insurance and pension plans.
The section on employee evaluation details what the evaluation will be based on, shows the printed forms used in the evaluation process and gives a schedule of when evaluations are made.
The section on employee termination tells the amount of advance notice required and outlines the options available regarding the employee's insurance, pension plan and settlement of his charge account.
The last secti
You don't have to be rock-star famous before you are recognized as an authority in your field. You just have to begin to get the word out. Your goal is to be the person that people think of when your field is mentioned. At first, that may happen only locally, but take heart. Start where you are, with what you have, and you'll light a spark that could eventually become a firestorm of publicity.Maybe you offer a workshop at your office, church, or community center. Get it in the community calendars, from newspapers to cable television. Call up your local news stations, and offer yourself as the subject of an interview. One listing or call at a time, you'll begin to make a name for yourself.When you have an event coming up, call your local news stations and offer to interview on their early morning or noontime talk shows. Prepare for your interview by identifying two or three main points you want to make about your subject. Take a blank videocassette to record the show. Then, you can send the recording as an audition tape to a station with a wider audience.Contribute to public discussions. Write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines whenever they cover stories in your field. You may offer an alternate viewpoint or simply compliment them on a well-written article. The more people see your name in connection with your subject, the more they'll recognize you as an authority in your
The company Policy Manual is usually divided into sections covering the following areas:
1. Introduction to the Company
2. Orientation
3. Working Conditions
4. Wages
5. Benefits
6. Evaluations
7. Employee's Termination
8. Store Services
The introduction gives a brief history of the store and welcomes the new employee.
The orientation section includes general information on what is expected of the employee, job descriptions, personal appearance and grooming guidelines, and how he is expected to handle the customer.
The section on working conditions includes such things as store hours, employee scheduling, overtime policies, breaks, personal use of the telephone and causes for termination.
The wages section includes a statement or two about the wage and hour laws, payroll record keeping requirements, when employees are paid and how pay is computed.
The employee benefits section covers such items as holidays, vacations, sick leave, jury duty, employee discounts, insurance and pension plans.
The section on employee evaluation details what the evaluation will be based on, shows the printed forms used in the evaluation process and gives a schedule of when evaluations are made.
The section on employee termination tells the amount of advance notice required and outlines the options available regarding the employee's insurance, pension plan and settlement of his charge account.
The last secti
You can't sit in a boring meeting, in a boring boardroom, and expect to generate much beyond boring ideas! But we do that over coffee and boring bagels in almost every conference room and practice group all over America on any given day.We belong to groups all our lives: in our company, Little League, PTA, religious and civic organizations. We often serve on multiple committees concurrently!Yet when we consider the amount of time spent in meetings, we can see that making the most out of our time could be a valuable life skill. Improving our own meeting effectiveness is a win-win: we make our own time more productive and increase the effectiveness of the group. The effectiveness of all groups can be vastly increased when you increase the effectiveness of each individual.People do not naturally want to work in groups. Before you operate differently within a group, you have to think differently: you first have to think about the way you think! Among professionals the word "creativity" can derail conversation in one second flat. It's too touch-feely. It isn't about results. The word innovation implies too dramatic a change, the kind of change that threatens to leave people behind.In the year 2005 can we dare to think differently?In First Among Equals, McKenna and Maister submit that professional groups lack one thing. What is needed, they contend, is an
The section on working conditions includes such things as store hours, employee scheduling, overtime policies, breaks, personal use of the telephone and causes for termination.
The wages section includes a statement or two about the wage and hour laws, payroll record keeping requirements, when employees are paid and how pay is computed.
The employee benefits section covers such items as holidays, vacations, sick leave, jury duty, employee discounts, insurance and pension plans.
The section on employee evaluation details what the evaluation will be based on, shows the printed forms used in the evaluation process and gives a schedule of when evaluations are made.
The section on employee termination tells the amount of advance notice required and outlines the options available regarding the employee's insurance, pension plan and settlement of his charge account.
The last section, store services, gives a general overview of the services provided for customers such as charge accounts, layaways, gift certificates, alterations and delivery.
The Policy Manual is a good vehicle for a company to use to indoctrinate new employees and to keep all employees informed as to any changes in company policy and philosophy. It should tell employees all they NEED to know as well as what the company WANTS them to know. To be used effectively, the company's Policy Manual must be continuously updated, must be enforced at all times and must ALWAYS be supported by top management.
PROCEDURE MANUAL
For a retailer to survive and prosper in today's retail climate, he must be alert to any and every possible way to streamline his operation. The development of a Procedure Manual forces the retailer to take an in-depth look at the total operation and can, therefore, be very enlightening. It can help the retailer to identify:
* Recurring problem areas
* Areas where internal controls are weak or non-existent
* Where work is being duplicated
* Where unnecessary work is being done - so busy work can be eliminated
* How the organization can be improved so all areas of the business work together efficiently and economically toward the common goal of store profitability
A Procedure Manual provides detailed instructions for all the company's standard work routines. The manual should be written in an easy-to-read, detailed, step-by-step manner so all employees will be able to use it for guidance in handling new or unfamiliar transactions or procedures. The benefits of a Procedure Manual are many. For example:
* People know what to do and what is expected of them
* The company is no longer tied to an "indispensable" employee
* Minimizes dislocation and loss of time and energy due to personnel turnover
* Helps new employees quickly learn and achieve a productive status
* Reduces management time spent in training
* Facilitates growth of your business
* Can free the retailer from an in-depth involvement in all the details of daily operations
* Standardizes the way identical tasks are performed by different employees, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing errors
The Procedure Manual must be as detailed as possible so it can be used as a training manual for new employees as well as a resource manual for existing employees. A set of standard procedures should be developed for every activity in the store from alterations to store maintenance. All of these areas of activity can contribute to or detract from your store, either directly or indirectly. Some activities need step-by-step instructions. Examples of these would be activities involving record keeping and merchandise handling. Other activities by their nature will need only general guidelines within which to operate. One of these areas might be housekeeping, with guidelines for carpet care, lighting, window washing and pest extermination.
As an example of the level of detail needed for the Receiving/Checking/Marking department we have listed below a portion of the table of contents of a Procedure Manual we helped a client develop:
I. Purchase Orders
A. General Discussion
B. Purchase Order Maintenance
C. Use of the Purchase Order in Receiving
D. Filing Partially Complete, Completed and Canceled
Purchase Orders
II. Receiving
A. General Procedures
B. Source Documents & instructions for completion
C. Receiving Merchandise
D. Checking and Marking
E. Supervisor's Responsibilities
III. Refused Shipments
A. General Discussion
B. Source documents & instructions for completion
C. Checking for and Refusing Delivery of Late
Merchandise
D. Ret
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