Friday, July 6, 2018

How To Develop A Solid Company Affirmative Action Plan

By Diane Cooper


It is the duty of all organizations to ensure that different interest groups are catered for. It could be race, religion, gender, persons with disabilities or such interest groups. This is best done by developing a Company Affirmative Action Plan. This is a highlight of areas that require attention, the people involved and a formal policy on what must be done. Here are tips to enable you get the best plan.

Consider provisions of the law and be guided when developing your policy. There are aspects about special interest groups that are expressly captured in the law. All plans by organizations should borrow from what the law provides. By imitating legal provisions, you will avoid legal challenges by employees or lobby groups as well as government bodies.

Get tips from samples of other plans that are already in use in the industry. This is similar to getting a referral on how to develop your plan. There are peer companies in your sector that are already implementing affirmative action. Borrow from them and mirror their work. While at it, you must consider the unique situation you are dealing with as an organization. This uniqueness dictates the special provisions to be made.

All persons in the organization should be involved in formulation of such a policy. They are the people who will be affected by its roll out. It means that if a particular part will hurt, they will be the first to suffer. Without involving them, you stand the risk of resistance during implementation. It will appear as though you are imposing issues that are not agreed upon at all levels. This becomes a weak point that will drive you to fail.

Look at the long term other than developing a policy because of the people who are presently in the organization. Workforce in organizations changes from time to time. If laws are made for the people present, it will be difficult to implement them in future when situations change. This is why you should compare what other organizations are doing to avoid bias.

Engage experienced development consultants to help in designing the plan. Experienced consultants do not rely on trial and error. Rather, they draw on lessons learnt from other industries and peers to develop the best and most updated blend. It enables you to conform to the law and develop a progressive policy that does not require frequent modification. Experienced consultants are a worthy investment for your company.

Leave room for your policy to be reviewed on regular basis in future. Such reviews help you to accommodate changes that happen in the sector and your organization. The reviews also assist in improving conditions since composition of workforce changes over time. Without room for review, you will be assuming that your organization is perfect.

Implementation must involve all stakeholders in the organization. This reduces the possibility of resistance when the policy is being implemented. You will also not be imposing rules on people who do not understand them. Clauses that are unfavorable to some people will be understood. Those that are favorable will also be understood.




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