Policies and PQQ Writing

Company policies provide employees with a standard set of behaviours and practise and procedures that must be adhered to within the workplace. Policy documents create work scenarios that promote greater consistency in service delivery fulfilling employee’s expectations; promoting an attitude of doing things right first time round. This attitude aims to reduce the impact on the business when situations arise that are linked with policies and procedures.

Legal compliance:
When constructing policy documents it is important to understand the legal requirements that are compulsory in order to make the document compliant within the PQQ process. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that employers of five or more people need to have in place a written Health and Safety Policy. This policy needs to be business specific setting out your policy and practises for managing the Health and Safety of your employees within the workplace.

The PQQ will also ask you how you communicate your policy. Therefore it is pivotal that all policies are communicated and brought to the attention of all staff members, and revised when appropriate, when changes in legislation occur AND that you can prove it. It is also important that these documents (your policies) are signed and reviewed annually to demonstrate your ability to maintain compliance and implement sustainable business practises.

Policy documents
There are a good number of commonalties across policy documents (See below.) but one size does not fit all so be careful to be make sure they are relevant to your organisation. The PQQ or tender evaluator will be able to spot them if they are not.

• Roles
Clearly identified roles of individuals within the business and who is responsible for the implementation of the policy

• Rules
The policy document will contain specific rules and boundaries to which employees must adhere to within the workplace. They also provide clear guidelines about behaviour which is acceptable and the corrective steps that will be taken to address any behavioural issues.

• Consequences
The procedures in place must manage the expectations of employees and clearly detail the company procedures for dealing with violations of policies and procedures. This includes dealing with improper behaviour within the workplace or non compliance to a policy or procedure
.
• Legal
Legal regulations and relevant acts ensure compliance with legislation. Your policies will be read within the PQQ and tender evaluation, make sure yours are compliant and up to date.

• Targets
An effective policy will contain the procedures required to reach targets, this can include H&S, Environmental, training or Quality.

• Review procedure
The policy needs to state when and who will be reviewing the document to ensure conformity with latest regulations.

Policy construction:
Policy construction is not something to be taken lightly; it is a complex process which encapsulates all business activity into a set of procedures that promotes business growth through working practises.
When constructing your policies you need to take into account;

Do’s

• Make them relevant to your business activities
• Ensure that the Policies comply with legal requirement e.g. written H&S policy
• Make sure they are signed and dated
• Annually reviewed to ensure compliance
• Standardised layout and format which displays the company logo
• The Policy needs to be communicated to all staff members, with refresher meetings planned when changes in policy occur

Don’t

• Copy generic policies off the internet; they will often not be suitable to your business and not legally compliant. Plus, the PQQ evaluator will have seen them before!
• Leave your policies unattended, they need to be reviewed annually to maintain compliance
• Use templates that have no relevance to your business

This article has focused on the importance of POLICIES and the impact that they can have on your PQQ and tender submission. Policies which are formatted correctly and contain the relevant information can provide GREAT additions to your PQQ and tender submissions as they demonstrate your ability to comply with regulations and that you have in place the correct procedures to deal with a variety of business issues. If you require any further information or support please do not hesitate to get in touch.

luke@executivecompass.co.uk