Organisational policies and procedures

Firstly, let’s define policy and procedures.

A policy is a course of action or guidelines to be followed whereas a procedure is the ‘nitty gritty’ of the policy, outlining what has to be done to implement the policy. For example, a staff recruitment policy could involve the following procedures:

1. All vacant paid positions will be advertised in local and state-wide papers.
2. The advertisements will have details of duties, salary range, closing date and contact details.
3. All interested people will be mailed job descriptions and information about the organisation.

Activity

Community services policies and procedures

Most community service organisations will have in place policies and procedures that govern and regulate privacy and confidentiality of client information. This concept not only applies to what you can disclose about your clients or your organisations outside of work, but also what can be shared in network meetings. What information can be shared with other organisations, who shares it and how this information is given out should be clearly defined in any effective, professional service. It is often incorporated into a worker’s duty statement or job description.

All organisations should have written policy and procedures, and staff training in the following areas:

• a confidentiality policy
• a clearly defined process for identifying and regularly updating a Community Resource Index so that all workers are aware of what other services are available to refer to (the index contains basis contact details and information about what each service provides)
• processes for networking with other agencies, including attending relevant interagencies (meetings of local service providers)
• guidelines for case conferencing (this will be discussed in more detail a bit later)
• referral protocols, including how referrals should be made, the kind of information that can be shared with other services and any ongoing roles and responsibilities of each service with regard to the client
• a policy for how long client information is kept after clients are no longer involved with the service. For example, different government departments produce documents that outline legal requirements for their staff in relation to storing and maintaining information.

For instance, the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (providing accommodation support for homeless people) outlines its policy in the Case Management Resource Kit for SAAP Services, 1997. It states that all information regarding clients will be kept in the filing cabinet for up to 5 years before being archived. All information regarding clients will be destroyed 7 years after the client ceases to receive services.

Organisational guidelines

The agency is responsible for providing policy and procedural guidelines that support the practice of services. Policies and procedures must reflect legislation and ethical standards of the community services sector.

Quality of service delivery is dependent on the responsibility of both the organisation and the worker in following the policies that guide service delivery.

A list of such policy documents is:

• the organisation’s strategic plan
• policy documents, for example, providing services to cultural and linguistic diverse clients (CALD)
• job descriptions.

As well, there are legal documents which provide protocols for:

• ethics in practice
• duty of care guidelines which include confidentiality, and equity and access
• child protection policy
• occupational health and safety guidelines.

Where do policy and procedure come from?

CSI services are influenced by two sorts of policy:

• policy imposed from the outside by legislative (Acts of Parliament) or administrative bodies (such as DoCS as a funding body) which provides the broad policy context in which the organisation operates
• policy which originates within the organisation (generally developed by the management committee or manager of a service) and is influenced by the outside policy.

For example, the NSW Disability Services Act is broad government policy which impacts heavily on policy developed by organisations funded by the NSW Ageing, Disability and Home Care Department.

All funded services must comply with the Act in order to receive funding and there must be clear guidelines that organisations must follow such as having complaints procedures, assessing clients’ individually and ensuring that clients have an opportunity to make decisions about the service provided to them.

Another example is the Equal Opportunity Act, which would influence the development of a policy such as the staff recruitment policy discussed a bit earlier.

In this learning topic we are focussing on the second type of policy (organisational policy) but you still need to understand the impact of broader government policy on the development of organisational policy.

The other primary influences on policy are:

• Ideology—the values and beliefs that the organisation holds about the issue). This impacts on what the policy will focus on. For instance, a disability service believes that people with disabilities are in an unequal relationship with some members of the rest of the community who do not treat them as individuals and adults, so they may develop policies around providing people with disabilities with support and information to empower them to become more independent and to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. Ideology is also influenced by community attitudes.
• Incidents—sometimes policy is developed to address problems experienced by an organisation, such as an increasing number of incidents where people with disabilities are discriminated against in the workplace.

Policy and procedures manual

What are the areas covered in a policy and procedure manual? This can vary depending on the nature of the organisation, but may include:

• personnel practices (staff recruitment, training, holiday leave arrangements, promotions, performance appraisals, supervision)
• complaints and disputes procedures
• case management procedures (how the agency determines eligibility for the service, assesses client need and individual goal setting to address needs identified)
• occupational health and safety procedures
• conflict resolution processes
• communication
• delegations (who can make decisions about what, eg approval process for spending money)
• notification of child abuse procedures
• critical incidents procedures
• confidentiality
• referral
• duty of care
• coordination/networking with external agencies.

Forms are also a part of the policy and procedures manual

Example policy and procedures manual

Following is an example of a policy and procedures manual from the Carmen Poldis Community Centre. The contents page shows you everything detailed in the manual, while the extracts give you examples of

• policies about what is expected of service users (clients)
• the rights of the workers at the centre
• the responsibilities of the same workers.

Carmen Poldis Community Centre (.doc 29 kB)

If you get the opportunity through a CSI related job or vocational placement, ask to have a look at the policies and procedures manual for the organisation.

The written documents can vary dramatically depending on the:

• nature of the service
• skills and abilities of workers
• resources available for policy development
• resources provided by government funding bodies to assist with the policy development process.

Working within organisational policy and procedures is not as simple as reading policy and procedure manuals. Policy is not just the written word. A critical aspect of policy is the way in which it is interpreted by various people and the way it is implemented (‘the way things are done around here’). For example, the organisation may have a written policy that staff meetings occur every second Wednesday. However what you notice is that all staff members go to the staff room and an informal catch-up about recent events and team tasks occurs over lunch a couple of times a week instead of at a formal meeting. If you were to go out every day for lunch, you would miss this valuable networking time.

To ensure that you are always working within policy and procedures, you need to:

• network closely with colleagues and management
• attend staff and management committee meetings where possible
• informally network with other workers
• read emails and memos
• take opportunities to be involved in policy development.

Working within agency policies and procedures

The following activity explores the importance of working within organisational policy and procedures.

Activity

Julie is a disability worker in a respite care facility for young people with a disability. She has recently started her job. Julie has been busy since starting the job and hasn’t had a chance to learn about the organisation’s policy and procedures. One day, she is the only staff member on duty at the house when there is a very unpleasant altercation between two of the residents. Both of the young people involved have a significant intellectual disability and difficulty in communicating their feelings. Julie makes a mental note to mention it to her supervisor when she is next in.

Julie comes in the next day to find that the staff members on the next shift were not aware of the incident and organised for the two clients involved to move into the same room. Apparently one of the clients became very distressed and ran away, leave the night staff very perplexed.

Lack of adherence to policy and procedure can cause embarrassing blunders that damage your own professional reputation and even worse, cause harm and unnecessary angst for the clients.

Agency policies and procedures for accepting clients into the service

One of the most critical client-focussed policy and procedures is the policy outlining the process of how clients are accepted into a service. This is an important area to maintain consistency of approach between workers in a service and ensure that the client is given a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities if they do choose to become involved with the service. In other words, it is about ensuring that clients are accepted into the service on the basis of clear transparent eligibility criteria and that they have a clear understanding of what is involved in accessing the service.

Policy and procedures regarding this issue should contain guidelines about:

• who is eligible to use the service, for example, families with children 0-5 years living in the Seebreeze Community who are experiencing crisis or stress
• what happens if referred clients cannot be accepted, such as giving information and referral to appropriate services
• how promptly clients will receive a response to the referral
• what the assessment process will involve
• information that will be given to the client about the service, its aims and objectives, client rights and responsibilities and the time frame it will be given in. This may be a client handbook or pamphlet, containing information about the staff, the programme, expectations of clients and grievance procedures. Information needs to be provided in a way that is meaningful to the client. For example, translated into different languages or in pictorial form for people with a severe intellectual disability.
• a procedure for formalising an agreement between the service and the client if the client is accepted into the service, including obtaining written consent to share information with other relevant agencies or individuals and the nature of the service that will be offered. This may take the form of a contract.

Why is this policy is important?

The more transparent the process from the start, the more likely a service will attract appropriate referrals, prospective clients will be treated equally, clients will have realistic expectations and be empowered to seek the support they need. Remember, first impressions are always important! The more organised, systematic and thorough you are in the initial entry and assessment process, the less capacity for misunderstandings later on.

Organisational policies and procedures relating to conflict

There will be times (hopefully not often) when you are unsure about what is expected of you in the workplace. Sometimes, organisations are not well resourced in terms of staff and basic orientation for new workers is hurried and incomplete (called ‘being thrown in at the deep end’). You may have been given unclear instructions for a task from your supervisor, and you’re not sure how to go about it or whether it is your responsibility anyway. Sometimes colleagues might also ask you to do something that may not be your responsibility.

What to do?

This kind of confusion leads to conflict if it is not resolved. It’s important that you seek clarification with your manager or supervisor, to clearly define what is expected of you. Always use your job or position description (discussed earlier) as a point of reference. By clarifying confusion promptly, you may gain a better understanding of what your responsibilities are and how they relate to your colleagues’ responsibilities.

We feel much more comfortable in the workplace when we know what is expected of us!

Activity

You are working in a drug and alcohol community education service where you have been employed for a few weeks. One of the workers (who has been working in the service for a number of years) asks you to attend an interagency and promote a new education programme coming up. You haven’t been involved in developing the programme and have never attended the interagency meetings. You feel anxious and confused about whether this task is your responsibility and how to go about it.

Contribute to the review and development of policies and protocols as appropriate

Policies and procedures should be regularly reviewed in order to ensure they reflect current good practice and legal requirements. Policies should be reviewed:

• when there is a change within the legal requirements, eg new Act of Parliament (legislation) or regulations
• regularly as part of your service’s annual review and planning time
• for accreditation purposes
• as new information on good practice emerges
• when you notice that a policy or procedure contradicts a legal or ethical direction. For example, staff are increasingly working alone in a domestic violence service, despite occupational health and safety legislation contradicting this practice.
• when incidents are occurring that indicate the policy is not working eg an increasing number of stress related leave applications being placed by staff despite a stress reduction policy.

Your contribution

As previously stated, you are required to be familiar with the policies and procedures of your employer organisation and to act in accordance with these.

Most workplaces have committees made up of management representatives and workers to regularly review the policies and procedures of the service.

By being aware of your own professional code of ethics, your job description and your workplace requirements, you are in a good position to be aware of any policies or procedures that could be improved or need replacing. You may be able to be a part of a committee itself or you may ask to contribute to such development within your workplace. There may also be legislative requirements for you and other workers to acquire knowledge about.

As you update and improve your expertise you are gaining new knowledge and skills on good practice based on current service methods. This may lead you to make suggestions to your team or the person in charge, about new or modified policies so that the service is up to date with current issues.

For example, you may learn from reading that there is a better way to provide some aspect of service than your service is presently offering. You may want to bring this (or some other matter) to the attention of the other staff or even the person in charge. You may make a suggestion which is accepted and this could lead to a change of policy in this matter. This could result possibly in a change for the better for the clients.

How to contribute

How you contribute is very important. No service wants to hear something that is presented as a criticism.

If you have a suggestion about a changed or new policy idea, you should:

• Discuss it first with your supervisor.
• Ask if it could be discussed at a team meeting to see if others hold similar views or have further knowledge on the topic.

If the new information is seen as important to act on, make sure there is a ‘who’ and a ‘when’ next to it. That means someone is responsible for following it through and developing the policy or protocol, and that there is some time when they need to report back on it.

You can contribute by:

• identifying new knowledge
• being familiar with current policies and protocols
• being willing to make suggestions and contribute to discussions
• volunteering to follow things up if others are unable to.

Activity

How would you act in the following situation?

You have been reading about a recent new theory that affects the service where you work, and you feel that the service’s policies should change to reflect the current thinking.

Activity: Policy or procedures for monitoring, reviewing and evaluation

Many questions that workers might ask can be answered by organisational documentation. However, there will always be situations that arise where there is no clear documentation to guide actions. In which case, consultation is essential with your team leader, agency manager, service director or clinical supervisor, where applicable.