Educating staffs on company policy - it is difficult to take action against an employee

Dear all, Kindly share with me your expertise on how to educate employees on company policy. In my company’s culture, it is difficult to take action against an employee if he says he isn’t familiar with the policy. Appreciate your support on this.
Thanks

Dear Visham,

I am also one of those who are not familiar with my company's culture, including how they consider SL, CL, and PL; that is also not clear. HR decides on its own. Ridiculous.

Bharat Boricha.

Hi Visham,

There are a couple of ways to ensure that employees read, understand, and acknowledge the policies as an acceptance.

1. Create a PowerPoint (PPT) or Word circular of the main points of each policy and email it to all if you believe that everyone will read the condensed information rather than going through the entire booklet.

2. Print out the above and circulate it as a hard copy. Attach a list of employees to sign, acknowledging that they have read and accepted the policies. You can file this and use it whenever someone claims they are unaware of the policy. Those who do not sign can be questioned by you in front of their seniors or any authoritative person.

3. Another way is to create a questionnaire and conduct a quiz. Those who score above a certain benchmark are rewarded, and the rest are required to retake the test.

I am certain that the above (as per your organization's culture) will serve the purpose. I have implemented all three methods in my previous organization, and no one ever questioned the policies. We also ensure that new joiners go through this on their first day as part of their induction.

Hi Friend,

You may provide a handbook to all employees and conduct quizzes on company policy regularly during events. For newcomers, administer a test with a set of questionnaires.

Thanks,
Jana

Hi Visham,

Jhuma and Janarthanan have given good suggestions. Follow them. Conducting a quiz will be really effective, filled with fun, and they will learn things easily.

Some companies put them in core issues on the computer, and this is accessible to all employees of the company through a password. They may go to that site, read, understand, and digest it.

M.J. Subramanyam, Bangalore

Well, a few suggestions have been made. All are valid methods of training and orienting the employees towards company culture. But let me ask you one thing, are all staff permanent? If you hire people on a contract basis, then a structured Induction Programme, which includes orientation of all employees towards the organization's culture and ethics, will definitely pave your way to a secure and systematic future. Otherwise, as suggested, circulars for all employees to attend a few orientation programs and some exemplary cases of discipline will again be one of the methods to bring about change.

A change agent is one of the ideal strategies I think in your case. Maldives is a 'cool' country, and people are used to a very 'cool' kind of environment. But this will not help any organization grow. Some discipline has to be maintained. Some senior and sincere employees may be roped in to propagate the work ethics among the younger generation. And if required, a committee may be formed to decide on some actions on disciplinary grounds. One or two harsh examples can bring the system into place. However, harsh steps should be the last resort. As a manager, it is best to adopt a collaborative approach and proceed in a stepwise manner...

J S Murli, Male