Resource Origin: Lewis Kinard
“Over my career, I have worked with a number of organizations. The ones that were the most effective, had highest employee morale and fewest compliance failures had one thing in common: they valued written policies and procedures highly. The organizations and departments that were the most troubled did not. They saw written procedures as inconvenient, unimportant, unnecessary and an annoyance.
If your organization or business receives federal money through grants or contracts, you most likely have a duty regarding effective policies and procedures that carries serious penalties for noncompliance. Even if you do not have the express or implied obligation, there are plenty of examples of situations where the lack of such procedures cost a business, agency or organization.
A Few Examples
The lack of written procedures is frequently named as a primary or contributing cause in product recalls, medical testing failures, allegations of unfair federal regulations, inadequate training programs and government program audits. It is also often determinative in court decisions in favor of employees who file grievances and lawsuits.
These examples show how expensive and embarrassing it can be for the organizations. The cost in lost productivity and distractions from each organization’s primary mission are at least as high as the costs of outside counsel, internal investigations and preparation of an appropriate defense against the accusations. In some cases, the failures held the potential to cost lives. In others, they mean wasted efforts and untold hours by people who most likely wanted to deliver good results…”
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Original Source: http://lewiskinard.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-written-policies-and-procedures.html
Contributors: Open SourceCategories: Industry Articles, SIG U Resource
SRC Type: Sourcing Management