Fixing ‘Broken’ Internal Policy - Unravelling Red Tape

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Fixing ‘Broken’ Internal Policy

Situation

The higher education institution had hundreds of policies, some of which contradicted one another.

My brief was to ‘fix’ the ‘broken’ policy system.

Solution

I encouraged the organisation to take a strategic approach to policy issues, linking policies to core values and the bigger picture.

We consulted with stakeholders to build a strategic, transparent policy system based on:

1. supporting staff

support policy writers and approvers

purpose-built training

user-friendly policies

2. strategic alignment

executive sponsorship

links to core values and strategic plan

annual policy prioritisation

3. fit-for-purpose policy

policy projects grouped by purpose

transparency and responsiveness

clear links to compliance and regulation

As a result, the institution became a sector leader.

The average time from policy concept to implementation reduced from 3-5 years to 6-9 months.

Staff were aligned with policies, could understand them and apply them, resulting in much improved regulatory compliance.