We all have them, though their volume may change from location to location. They are designed to produce a uniform outcome and to protect the firm, its staff and the community served.
    But without accountability and follow through, policies and procedures are useless and may even be detrimental. Many policies are implemented to protect the firm from litigation, but if only some employees follow the policy then large opportunities of preventable risk exist.
    Policies and procedures may be communicated verbally, from notes given at a staff meeting or in written form in a manual. But without a form of permanent record, new employees may not see them, current employees may not review them, employers may not easily enforce them, and they cannot be reviewed and modified as the business environment changes.
    In fact, reviewing policies and procedures is an excellent topic for staff training meetings, and all businesses need staff training. But just presenting the material is not enough.
    For example, some things must be done to satisfy government requirements, such as OSHA and FTC provisions. By not following these requirements, firms can receive large fines or placement into required programs. That’s something many firms might review at a staff meeting.
    But the next question is: Who is ensuring that employees are following the correct policies and procedures? Some firms have found that just the day after a staff training reviewing proper PPE in numerous sections for OSHA, staff was not using the correct PPE covered in training.
    Training alone isn’t enough for various reasons: Whether someone missed the meeting, didn’t hear or understand a particular point made, forgot or is resistant to change, daily business must be monitored to ensure that implementation of policies and procedures is uniform and constant.
    This need extends beyond safety & health regulations. Other policies and procedures govern operations to protect the business side of the firm. These may involve collections, handling money from receiving until deposit, and releasing cremated human remains.
    They don’t require complexity. A policy and procedure for handling money from receiving until deposit can be as simple as the following:

• Only one receipt book with hand-written sheets should be issued.
• Payments should be entered into the computer the same day as payment.
• The deposited bank slip should be compared with the receipt book for consistency. Copies of checks and cash should be made before depositing such items.
• The money should be taken to the bank in a timely fashion

    Another kind of policy is one that makes sure families are serviced as intended. These policies may be designed to meet standards for consumer care or to ensure all areas are covered during arrangements. For example, one policy may be to give every consumer every option to plan a personalized service.
    Firms can write as many policies and procedures as they have time; but without accountability to ensure the policies are followed, both from supervising management and peer pressure to maintain standards, they don’t work.