As a business owner, COVID-19 has been nothing short of frustrating. It keeps spiking and causing changes in policy and procedure, especially when the CDC and doctors aren't always in agreement over what they're saying. This has led us to think about policy, procedure, and practice and whether they should always be stringent or have exceptions.

Small business owners can't put the blame on someone above them when it comes to enforcing policy and procedure, and that sometimes means having to feel like the bad guy. We talk about how to enforce policy and procedure, if and when it's ever acceptable to make exceptions, the importance of making sure that you're legally allowed to enforce certain policies, whether or not you should base your policies on your values, thinking forward about unintended consequences, why you need to be consistent with policies, and so much more!

To sum up, we encourage you to make sure that you have simple policies that you keep updated and easy to read and that you stick to them! We hope that this conversation is helpful, and we appreciate you tuning in again and encourage you to reach out to us via the email address provided in the show notes if you have anything that you would like to share with us. We hope that you will tune in again next time!

Time Stamps

[0:36] – Michele opens by talking about COVID and how it has been wreaking havoc on policy and procedure.

[1:20] – Karamel offers a definition of policy vs. a definition of procedure.

[3:01] – Karamel reflects on a time when she had to be stringent about a policy.

[5:52] – Michele argues that sometimes compromise is needed.

[8:17] – Michele recommends getting an HR partner in small business.

[9:30] – Karamel adds that policies and procedures need to be in place even if you don't have employees.

[10:40] – We learn how and why Karamel has never lost a case.

[13:35] – Karamel emphasizes that exceptions need to be one time things.

[15:39] – Michele reminds us that we need to understand competitors' policies.

[17:58] – Michele offers an example of a scenario when biases came into play.

[19:40] – Modify policies that align with your values, Michele asserts.

[21:03] – Michele and Karamel make the case that we need to think about unintended consequences.

[23:53] – Michele argues that we should articulate the reasons for policies.

[25:53] – Michele explains why consistency is important.

[28:04] – We are encouraged to keep policy simple and updated.

Resources

CEO Chronicles – Website

Email us: [email protected]