A Guide to Communicating Policy Changes to Employees

6 hours ago

3 min read

You’ve changed a company policy. Notified staff or contractors by email. Printed a poster. Put copies of it in the kitchen. Job done, right?

Wrong.

Communication isn’t just about what is said. It is about what is understood. This is especially true when communicating policy changes to employees, where clarity, reinforcement and proof matter.

The Fair Work Commission agrees. Last year, an employer who dismissed an employee for breach of policy was forced to reinstate them, not because the policy was invalid but because there was no evidence the employee saw and understood the policy change. Read Craig Hancock v Sydney International Container Terminals Pty Limited for full details and reasons behind the decision.

Best Practice for Communicating Policy Changes to Employees

Important news, particularly when communicating policy changes to employees, isn’t something you hit send on an email on and forget. The purpose of a policy is to regulate or change behaviour in critical areas such as safety, ethics and culture. Impactful communication of policies and other important news can’t achieve this aim if a team or individual doesn’t understand what is expected of them and how, in a practical sense, the policy applies to them.

To be effective, you must ensure and document that an employee has:

Received the information
Read and understood the information
Had the opportunity to ask questions
Acknowledged their obligations
Received proper training where necessary on how to implement the policy.

Doing this increases the likelihood that you’ll see the behaviour shift or compliance that you’re after. And if you end up in court, it strengthens your position.

Communicating policy changes to employees during a workplace meeting, with a manager explaining updates to a staff member.

Compliance comms don’t have to be dry

Due to their detailed, legalistic nature, policies are typically dry and uninteresting. However, communicating and educating on policies don’t have to be. In fact, they shouldn’t be at all if you intend for them to be read or remembered.

Compliance comms can actually be creative as long as it is not at the expense of clarity. Clarity must win each and every time.

Yes that’s right – we said creative. For the brave - they can even be funny – in the right channel at the right time. Why? Because creative or even humorous content captures attention for longer and can simplify complex information by bringing it to life – therefore making it easier to understand and recall.

Second City, the iconic improv theatre and school that calls Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert alumni, introduced Real Biz Shorts, humorous compliance training on demand through its corporate training arm. Over 350 Fortune 500 companies have used them and the videos have had over 2 million views.

Even highly regulated enterprises recognise that clarity and engagement are not mutually exclusive.

Building clear, engaging communication is what we do. And using humour in appropriate measures is always in our plans for those clients that are serious about building a safe, strong culture. Holding up in court is just an unwanted bonus.

Build Communication Systems That Stand Up to Scrutiny

Chasing Albert works with business owners and leadership teams to strengthen not just how communication is delivered, but how it is structured, reinforced and evidenced.

Particularly in areas that carry operational or legal risk: