Policies put your company’s mission, vision, values and culture into clearly written documents that are readily available for employees to read and follow. This allows you to avoid the cost and hassle of missteps or unintentional violations by putting everything in writing. Policies also help your organization stay compliant with regulations, address new challenges, and improve efficiency or employee satisfaction.
Policy changes involve adapting or amending a policy to reflect our continuously evolving society and address new needs. They can be small or large and involve changing a single policy or an entire system. The process of influencing policy change involves a number of stages: problem identification, agenda-setting, policy formulation, policy adoption and implementation, and policy evaluation.
Many policy changes require significant time and effort to achieve, but there are things you can do to increase your chances of success. Preparation includes thorough research, personal contact with policy makers and others involved in the issue, and keeping up to date on existing policies. Positivism, framing the issue in a positive light, and participation from those directly affected by the policy are also important.
When attempting to influence policy change, it is best to focus on the areas that impact people most directly. This may include issues like access to basic services, healthcare and housing. For example, a policy that reduces funding for public buses will negatively impact people who don’t have cars and can’t afford to pay for private transportation, making it more difficult for them to get to work, go grocery shopping, and visit the doctor.
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