The halfway point of the year is the best time to evaluate your DOT policies and procedures. That way you can evaluate what’s working, what’s now, and making adjustments for the second half of the year.
Merriam-Webster defines a policy as “a set of guidelines or rules that determine a course of action.” Sounds important, and it is. Without policies, there can be no structure. Without structure, no accountability. And with no accountability, no profitability. Let’s face it, profitability is the main objective in business. Everything works hand in hand to ensure the profitability of a company. This includes policies, because they help set the standard of the company.
You may ask yourself why reviewing your company’s policy each year is so important? Glad you asked! Below are the top 3 reasons.
- First, it ensures that you’re keeping current with required regulation changes. This may include the addition of a new regulation or the change of an existing one. If our policies do not follow the required regulations, it’s impossible to have the proper/correct standards in place. These standards are vital to achieving compliance because they make sure you’re consistent with the requirements.
- Secondly, reviewing your policy helps keep you current with company changes. Oftentimes companies need to make adjustments to adapt to market trends, employee needs, or other business requirements that affect the ebb and flow of direction. Also, there may be changes in areas of responsibility. A common example of this would be the change of the person(s) responsible as the Designated Employee Representative (DER) regarding the required DOT Drug & Alcohol Policy. Perhaps this responsibility has been changed to a different department or teammate. Current, up-to-date policies reflect these changes appropriately.
- Lastly, it provides the opportunity to inform employees of any changes to existing policy, or that there’s a new policy being established. Policy is the guiding source for employees to follow a set standard that ensures structure, compliance, and accountability. Informed employees and effective policies are not only the main driving forces of any successful and profitable company, they are absolute requirements! Ensure that your employees are aware of these updates/changes and that you have their signed acknowledgment.
Policies ensure compliance, standards and accountability. These are vital tenants to the success of any company. Not conducting policy reviews each year puts your company at risk of not reaching its potential. So, in between performance reviews, goals and objective setting, budgets and yearly teammate kickoff meetings, be sure to set time aside to complete a thorough, annual review of any existing policies or the need for additional.
The success of your company depends on it!
Review your policies and procedures with the help of our FREE DOT Policies & Procedures checklists!
