Friday, July 6, 2018

Tips 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.

Legal provisions must guide every stage of the development of such a plan. The law is usually very clear and cannot be over looked in the process of development. Failure to consider what the law says means that you will develop policies that contradict that law. Your employees, people affected and lobby groups will sue you for such omissions. The government will also be on your neck for such oversight.

Use samples to help you make a decision. The samples should be obtained from peers in the industry. This is important because those peers are facing the same challenges and legal framework as you. It means that their plans closely resemble what you should provide. Samples also give you a starting point other than having to work from a point of total ignorance.

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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