Your how-to: Introducing policy governance roles and responsibilities
Introducing policy governance roles and responsibilities refers to the definition, purpose, and implication of policy governance roles and responsibilities within an organisational setting. In simpler terms, policy governance is a distinctive and innovative approach to the role of a board, focusing primarily on organisational performance and strategic leadership.
A policy governance model identifies responsibilities for both the board and the management in a clear and concise manner. This model helps the board to maintain control while focusing on larger issues - strategic leadership, policy making, and governance. The management, on the other hand, concentrates on implementing these policies and managing the day-to-day operations of the business.
Introducing policy governance roles and responsibilities in your organisation means clearly defining who does what, where each role's boundaries are, and how performance will be measured. This generally includes roles such as the board, executive directors, non-executive directors, and key committees, if any.
The idea is to distribute power and decision-making across different tiers of an organisation so that no single authority retains omnibus control, leading to balanced and sustainable growth for the business. Consideration should also be given to the Work Health and Safety Act of Australia, and roles should be assigned responsibly, ensuring no adverse impact on the mental wellbeing of any employee.
Step by step instructions
Understand the Concept of Policy Governance: It's vital that you fully comprehend the idea of policy governance. Familiarise yourself with the model's purpose, implications, and the definitions of its various elements. Try to get a grasp of the broader sense of distributed decision making and control that is inherent to policy governance.
Understand the Legislative Framework: Understand the legal obligations and implications of your organisational roles, as dictated by the Work Health and Safety Act in Australia. This aspect is critical to ensure that your policy governance respects the rights of your workers and does not negatively affect their mental well-being.
Communicate New Roles and Responsibilities: A rollout plan is essential to ensure smooth implementation. You will need a comprehensive communications campaign to inform everyone in your organisation about the changes and the reasoning behind them. This will help ensure buy-in from all employees.
Pause to Evaluate Progress: Take regular pauses to evaluate the progress of the process. Use these moments to gather data on outcomes and solicit feedback from participants. Reflecting on metrics like engagement, satisfaction, and effectiveness will provide insights into what's working well and what might need adjustment.
Determine Roles and Performance Standards: Indentify the board, executive directors, non-executive directors, and key committees in your organisation. Clearly outline their roles and establish ways to measure their performance. This practice will help identify decision-making authority and control boundaries within your organisation.
Establish Reporting and Accountability Systems: Once roles are defined, create reporting lines that help keep track of performance and ensure that each individual or committee is accountable for their decisions. Reporting systems could include meetings, written reports, or digital dashboards.
Review and Iterate: Finally, remember that policy governance is not a one-time task. Continuous review of roles and responsibilities is necessary to ensure that the organisation is adjusting and improving over time. Get feedback from all levels of the organisation and be willing to make changes as necessary.
Reflect and Breathe: This step can be challenging, so it's important to take a moment to breathe and reflect. Pause to consider the progress made, the obstacles encountered, and the lessons learned. This reflection will not only help in gaining clarity but also in maintaining a balanced perspective, allowing for thoughtful and deliberate decision-making moving forward.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
Ensuring the clarity of roles and responsibilities in policy governance is crucial. Ambiguity can lead to overlap or gaps in the policy governance process, which might cause redundancy or ineffectiveness. When defining roles, be as comprehensive as possible and make sure everyone involved understands their responsibilities.
Changes in policy governance can be significant and challenging for employees to adapt to. Ignoring change management principles may result in resistance or failure to embed these changes within the organisation, leading to policy breaches or non-adherence.
There's a risk that once governance roles and responsibilities have been introduced, they're left unchecked. However, this could lead to outdated procedures or overlooked non-compliance issues. Regular reviews and updates should be a fundamental part of your policy governance approach.
One common oversight is neglecting to adequately train staff on their new roles and responsibilities. It’s necessary to provide sufficient education and training to ensure employees clearly understand the processes, standards, and legislation relevant to their job tasks. This could include Australian-specific governance and compliance legislation.
Transparency and communication can often be forgotten in the rush to implement new governance roles and responsibilities. Make sure all stakeholders understand why the changes are happening, what the changes entail, and the benefits to them personally and to the organisation as a whole.
When implementing policy governance changes, ignoring the views and concerns of employees can be detrimental. Employee pushback, disillusionment, or non-compliance might occur if their input isn’t considered. As part of your implementation process, incorporate avenues for staff to provide feedback.