Writing policies and procedures training day

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“The policies and procedures workshop
was very useful in helping our understanding
of how we can improve our governance
– and why we should.”

Developed at the request of a customer co-operative, we can now offer an introduction to writing new policies & procedures or reviewing existing documents. Every co-op is different in terms of its trade sector, market position, member requirements, management structure, overall purpose, strategic aims and the way it operates on a day-to-day basis (culture).

Your co-op’s policies and procedures should reflect your co-op, not an off-the-shelf template designed for a different management approach or system of production/service delivery. However, there are some good practice approaches that can be adopted and a framework that can assist a co-op to avoid leaving large holes in their processes. We use a combination of group exercises, handouts and work on flicpharts to explore relevant issues and promote good practice. No “death by powerpoint”!

Objectives

By the end of the session, co-op members should be able to

put policies in the context of the co-op’s mission/aims, Co-operative Principles and providing member benefit
identify the components of a good policy
establish a process to involve the wider membership in development: not just having a vote on the final draft
check that policies and procedures are compliant with relevant Rules, member agreements, other policies, or legislation

The full day variant also allows greater time to dig deeper into issues that arise. It also allows some time to work through which policies & procedures your co-op might need by adopting a storyboard approach to the “life” of a member from joining to leaving and customer’s journey through the co-op. This can help participants to establish which policies or processes may be missing, what may be duplicated or what requires cross referencing – ensuring that members are able to navigate the processes in their own co-op!

Whilst we recommend the full day to make the most of the learning opportunity, we also offer half day version for those co-ops with a limited budget or time constraints.