Organisational Requirements

Every organisation has its own standards and values. As a leader in your workplace, you must be able to identify them before you can exhibit them. To identify them, you must first understand what they are. The following sections will explain organisational standards, values, and ethics and how to locate them in your workplace.

Methods to Locate Organisational Standards and Values

Every organisation has standards and values when they conduct business. They can either be stated (explicit) or implied. Stated means that the value has been clearly and fully communicated. For example, an organisation that values employee well-being may have a statement in their code of conduct saying, ‘We have a zero-tolerance approach to bullying’. This communicates the organisation's position on bullying very clearly.

Organisational standards are the instructions and specifications that determine if activities and behaviours in the workplace meet the expectations of an organisation. Organisational values are the core principles in terms of behaviour, which the organisation will follow by conducting business according to these principles. This guides how people working in the organisation behave and interact with others.

The stated standards and values are usually found in an organisation’s mission statement and further explained in certain documents and procedures.

Organisational standards and values are stated in the following:

• The Organisation’s Mission Statement
• The Organisational Code of Ethics or Organisational Code of Conduct
• The Organisational Handbook or Staff Manual

They may also be communicated verbally through organisational meetings such as:

• Inductions
• Meetings
• Training

These standards and values also make up the organisation’s culture. Organisational culture dictates how people in your organisation behave in the workplace. An organisation's values and standards can be implied in the way workers do their day-to-day tasks. For example, an organisational value can be privacy. This can be shown in keeping private information confidential. Keeping confidential information includes actions preventing the disclosure of personal, legal, and proprietary information in the workplace. For example:

Securing physical documents, e.g.

• Using locked file cabinets
• Folders
• Proper labelling of documents

Securing digital documents, e.g.

• File encryption
• Limiting access to specific employees, e.g. employees in a managerial position

Proper disposal of documents, e.g.

• Shredding
• Deletion of data

You will see that those values become refined in how the organisation conducts its business through the policies and procedures.

You can also get an idea of the organisation’s values and standards based on the opinions of those that it serves and interacts with. This includes the organisation’s clients, customers, and other organisations that it may be involved with. The organisation’s values and standards affect how an organisation performs and, in turn, affects how people see an organisation.

Organisational standards and values are implied in the following:

• The organisation's culture.
• How the workers in the organisation conduct business.
• How clients, customers, and people outside of the organisation perceive it.

Observation is a good way to identify the expectations of an organisation.

Observing your peers and supervisor	Observing people who have been in the organisation longer than you will help you to understand organisational expectations.
Observing how people outside the organisation (clients, customers, suppliers) perceive the organisation	By observing people who regularly interact with the organisation, you can gauge the standards that they usually expect and receive from the organisation.
Observing the culture	If the workplace values teamwork, it will probably be friendly and helpful.

To locate your organisation’s standards and values, you must observe and examine all sources wherein they are stated and implied. Be sure to know those standards and values by working through the documents and procedures that state and explain them. Observe your work team and how the values and standards are present in their work. To assess them, you must first understand what standards and values are. After locating them, the next step is to assess them so that you may uphold those values and standards as a leader.

It is possible that you will identify a standard or value that can be improved in the process of assessing them. Your organisation should have a process for raising questions about its standards and values, which is normally found in its code of ethics. If you find that a standard needs improvement or a value is unfair, you should get in touch with your organisation’s HR department and discuss your findings with them.

Organisational Ethics

The organisational code of ethics refers to a set of moral standards that dictate how its employees/workers interact with outside factors that affect their operations. These ethics ensure that the organisation’s employees are treated fairly and that transactions with clients are done fairly and honestly. It encompasses everything you need to know to become what your organisation needs.

The code of ethics is chosen and presented by an organisation’s management to help its members identify right from wrong in their business practices. Thus, it must be communicated explicitly to everyone in the organisation. If anyone were to be uninformed of an organisation’s code of ethics, they might be unable to meet the organisation’s standards.

The way that you behave as a leader can directly affect the operation of your organisation. Organisational ethics are organisational values in action. As a leader, you need to strive for high ethical behaviour, transparent decision-making, good health, safety performance, and sustainable environmental decision-making.

As a leader, if you do little on any of these points, you will quickly find that your organisation suffers issues regarding how people perceive it, and your fundamental performance measures may fall quickly.

Organisational Values

Every organisation has a set of principles that it will follow. Organisational values are important in developing the workplace culture and the organisation’s reputation to those outside of it.

An organisation’s values are based on what kind of organisation it is. For example, an international university would have academic excellence and diversity values, while a construction company would prefer safety and professionalism. It is important for you to know and understand your organisation’s values because it will guide you towards the performance that truly represents it.

Organisational values are usually subject to change because as a company changes, so do its values. The values will always reflect what an organisation strives to present in all its procedures, projects, and outputs.

Organisational Goals

Organisational goals are strategic objectives that state what the organisation wishes to achieve. They are based on the organisation’s purpose and values. The organisation’s collective efforts, from all levels, come together to complete organisational goals. They are usually long-term but subject to change, depending on how the organisation functions. Just like the organisational code of ethics, they are a reference point. Organisational goals are made up of smaller goals that form different parts of the organisation.

Understanding your organisation's goals will guide you in leading your team towards achieving those goals in the most efficient way possible. You must ensure that the organisational goals serve as a blueprint for your strategies to complete any workplace task.

Organisational Standards

The use of organisational standards in the workplace is a sure-fire way of improving the organisation's long-term sustainability. They allow you to ensure that you have improved business performance and competitiveness compared to the competition and a higher reputation level among your consumers.

However, it must be noted that competitiveness and reputation are something that a business must earn, and any problems can cause these to be diminished very quickly. A good reputation for you as a leader and for your organisation comes about through solid management, effective public relations, good marketing, and communication with your internal and external customers.

Long-term business success is linked to the standards and practices of the organisation. Those with high standards tend to thrive, while business leaders who are not standards-based tend to falter. The following sections will discuss some of the actions that you, as a leader, can take to improve this level of performance.

Meeting Organisational Standards

Examine your values

All organisations that are worth their salt have a values statement. This document is not something that is written and filed away. It is a living document that needs to be formed carefully, executed continually, and enforced by the management. Values come from above but need to be continually examined and changed as needs arise.

Look to your stakeholders

The development of values and standards of acceptable practice affects both internal and external stakeholders. Therefore, you need to look at your stakeholders for ideas on improving practices and standards.

Keep it real

Standards and practices are not just done to make a feel-good commercial. They are there for action and to be used daily within the business. To this end, ensure that the standards are genuine, authentic, and truly reflect your vision as a leader.

Ensure that you work with your senior management in improving practices

You can get them involved by including them in the discussions that you have with your work team about improving performance. You can make use of consultation procedures to gather insights and ideas from senior management as well. As the seniors in your organisation, they will also provide you with the resources you need to meet the organisation’s standards. Make sure that you obtain their approval when making decisions to improve your performance as a leader.

Performance as a Leader

As a leader, you are continually looking to improve the performance of your organisation. This may come about by improving productivity, ensuring the organisation is more efficient, or even making the organisation a more desirable one for your team to work for.

You must take steps to show that you are improving your own personal levels of performance. If you can do this, it is a short step up to improving the entire organisation. Leading by example is an admirable thing for an effective leader to do.

Leading by Example

Prioritise

Look at the list of things you hope to accomplish and slowly work your way through these tasks based on how you feel they should be prioritised. Prioritising tasks can be done on a number of bases, the most common being when they need to be completed and according to the relative importance and value to the organisation over a period of time. Look at how each of the tasks you have to do will impact organisational performance and use this to target those things that need doing within the organisation.

Avoid Procrastination

Procrastination is the thief of time and needs to be avoided at all costs. As a leader, you have 1000 competing priorities on your time; the last thing you need is not knowing what to do and when. Finding ways to resolve procrastination is a surefire way of improving your performance as a leader. Discover ways to identify those tasks that you avoid and tackle them as soon as possible. Examine how you undertake them and look for ways to reduce procrastination in your everyday working life.

Understand your Motivations

Know yourself, your skills, weaknesses, and the speed with which you can complete projects. It might help to record your daily activities to get a sense of how you use your time. Put to use your creativity and originality through clarity of mind and imagination. This will increase your efficiency, working speed, enjoyment, and work quality.

Be Motivated

Be positive and concentrate on what you are doing well rather than dwelling on anything you have trouble with. Maintain your motivation through positive thinking, knowing what you are good at and working on areas where you could improve.

Use Your Work Team

You will find that as much as you would like to try and do everything, you simply cannot. Do not be a hero. Try to delegate if you feel you will not be able to accomplish everything in a given time frame. Delegation also helps build teams and make them stronger.

 

Activity

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader? Using the leadership qualities outlined, think about your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader in your workplace and post a comment in the forum. Don’t forget to check out and like what your classmates have done!

 

Building Integrity and Credibility Through Trust

This section will look at trust and how this can be sought in the workplace. Trust is all about building solid relationships, and one of the best ways of doing this is to stop trust from being destroyed in the first place. If you can do this, you do not need to rebuild trust in yourself.

This means that as a leader, you need to establish ways of showing your integrity and your commitment to your team. Integrity refers to being honest, trustworthy, and reliable by acting in accordance with your words. It includes being accountable for your own mistakes in the workplace instead of hiding them, making excuses, or blaming others. Credibility refers to the state of trust between you and others in the workplace. This is established when you provide information or opinions based on sound logic and facts while also demonstrating consistent actions.

The key methods for building integrity and credibility include:

• participating in open and honest communication
• making decisions that are transparent and logical
• providing information on your decisions
• being clear about what you want to achieve and ensuring all staff are aware of this

Gaining Trust and Respect

• Always listen to everything that your team members have to say.
• Treat your work team well. They should be partners in your organisation.
• Be polite.
• When a team member does something well, recognise it.
• Allow your team members to provide input into how things are done.
• Allow your team members to feel empowered in their work by giving them more responsibility.
• Treat them fairly and equally.
• When making decisions, always be firm.
• Admit mistakes, and never hide from them.
• Give credit where credit is due.
• Be concerned about problems.
• Always keep team members informed about what is going on.

What Not to Do!

• Never treat your team as inferior.
• Never lie to your team.
• Be honest; do not build false hopes.
• Never take their ideas as your own.
• Never swear.
• Never be wishy-washy in your decision-making.
• Do not treat your work team like they are children.
• Do not be intimidated by your work team.

You may also find that you can build trust in your work team by simply being professional. Sometimes, you may be asked to deal with quite difficult or personal issues. This can bring about a number of issues and problems, including - some team members may feel you are playing favourites, leading to resentment within your team.

Team members may feel like you are harassing them if you get too close. If you develop a strong personal relationship or friendship with a team member, it is very easy to feel like you cannot make decisions that may harm them.

Getting too close can allow your integrity to be damaged.

If you have team members who are your friends, you may find yourself in a position of telling them things that you should never have told them.

As a leader, you must show concern and care about your team members. Still, there is a boundary between being professional and unprofessional that you must be careful not to cross. Sensitively deal with your team, but do not cross the line and become too personally involved, as this can lead to you becoming a weaker leader. This means:

• Show interest in matters that your team members bring to your attention.
• Always try to have meaningful and productive discussions about these issues with your team.
• Find out as much about an issue as you can before you make a judgement on what is being done.
• Try to identify any issues in your team that they are not telling you about.
• Look at the root causes of the way your team is feeling.
• Everyone is different, so recognise that you must treat different team members in different, more appropriate ways.

Becoming A Role Model

Role modelling is a process used by leaders to influence others to learn desirable actions or behaviours through demonstration or ‘modelling’ of the desired actions and behaviours themselves. Role models are imitated, emulated, or looked to for guidance. You may perceive certain people in your organisation as role models, namely:

• Board members
• Business or government contacts
• Funding bodies
• Unions or staff member groups and representatives

There are different kinds of role models. Good role models inspire greatness in others. Bad role models, who can be called 'bad influences,' do the opposite. There are even anti-role models whom the media peg as 'bad girls' or 'bad boys.' However, the bad role models and the anti-role models are good examples of what not to do if you want to be successful and respected. In the workplace, these bad role models are those employees who go against the rules and regulations set in the organisation (e.g. those who are consistently tardy or absent, those who ignore dress codes). They ought to be avoided and not emulated.

Anyone can be a good role model for others. To become a positive influence on others, you must:

Model Positive Choice-Making

Eyes are watching, and ears listening. To be a good role model, you must be aware that the choices you make do not only affect you; they affect your whole team, too. One day, your team will be in the same predicament you are in and think to themselves, 'What did they do when they were in a similar situation?' It is not enough to tell your team to make good choices. You must walk the talk and make good choices, too.

Think Aloud

Whenever you have difficult choices to make, allow the team to see how you handle the situation. Show them how you work through the issues, weigh the pros and cons, and then make decisions. Making good decisions is a skill, and a good role model shows the team both the best decision and how they arrived at that conclusion. That way, they will be able to follow the reasoning when they are in the same situation.

Apologise and Admit Mistakes

Nobody is perfect, not even role models. When you make a bad decision, allow those who watch and learn from you to know that you made a mistake and show them how you plan to resolve it. This will help them understand that:

• Everybody makes mistakes.
• It is not the end of the world when you do.
• You can make it right.
• You need to take care of and be directly responsible for your actions.

You will demonstrate the important but often overlooked role model by apologising, admitting your mistakes, and fixing the damage.

Follow Through

Everyone needs to meet their commitments and follow through with their promises. However, it can sometimes be difficult to demonstrate when you are busy, distracted, tired, or overwhelmed. To be a good role model, you must stay on track, keep your word, finish what you have started, and keep going even when it is difficult.

When role models can follow through with their goals, it teaches others that it is possible. This will help them adopt the 'If they can do it, so can I' attitude.

Show Respect

No matter how driven, successful, and intelligent you are, it is your decision to show the respect that determines if you have the attitude it takes to make it in life. As the saying goes, 'Treat others as we would be treated.' Ask yourself, are you stepping on someone else so you can get ahead? Are you taking people for granted? Do you display gratitude towards others? Usually, the little things make the biggest difference in how the team perceives success in business and relationships.

Keep Growing

Though you do not want to spread yourself too thin, it is important to show the team that you can continuously better yourself and expand both your knowledge and skill set. When the team sees that their role models can be many things, they will learn that they do not need to limit themselves to be successful. Keep growing and improving yourself because you can also inspire others to keep working on themselves when you do.

Demonstrate Confidence in Yourself

Be proud of who you have become and what you choose to do with your life. This may be a long and tiring road, but a role model's responsibility is to commemorate the lesson, gather strength, and show character development. Indeed, you can always improve. Your teams need to see that their role models do not suspend their confidence until they reach 'a victory over' or 'lose five kilograms more.' While it seems like a lot of pressure to be positive role models, no one expects you to be superhuman.

Part of being an effective leader in the workplace is the ability to solve problems. It is not unnatural for there to be problems and conflicts, so you must prepare to resolve them. As a leader, it is your responsibility to know what problems and issues your work team and organisation can face. Identifying issues is not an easy feat and requires diligence and critical thinking skills. The following sections will discuss how you can efficiently identify issues in your workplace.

How to Identify the Right Issue

When entering the problem-solving process, many organisations make the mistake of trying to solve the wrong problem. They often get as far as developing an action plan and even start executing it when they realise that what they are trying to solve is not even a problem. This leads not only to a waste of time but also of valuable resources.

Your job is to ensure that you can identify issues that need to be resolved based on your organisation’s values. Evaluate what your organisation aims to achieve by reviewing its values and standards. As you go through the process of identifying the issues that need to be resolved, your organisation’s values will continue to serve as your guidelines.

This section will discuss the Problem Definition Process.

As a leader, it can also assist you in aligning your behaviour with your organisation’s values. The steps are as follows:

Determine the Problem’s Needs

The first step is to illustrate the problem in a basic statement form. The statement should look something like this:

‘We need this (resources for solution) in order to achieve this (desired state) as measured by this (organisational requirements and KPIs).’

Stating the problem this way allows you to communicate it clearly. It also makes it easier for the relevant stakeholders to understand what resources you need to address it. This statement format answers three important questions:

What is the root of the problem?

The focus must be on the problem rather than the possible solutions. Again, you are focusing on identifying the problem first.

What will solving the problem achieve?

You must determine what you want to happen in solving the problem. The desired outcome is not simply what the organisation wants. It takes into consideration the wants and needs of your clients, beneficiaries, and relevant stakeholders. You must address this as holistically as possible. Avoid preferring any solution and instead base it on what would be best for your organisation and its clients.

Who will benefit from solving this problem?

Answering this question means identifying who you would be solving the problem for. Knowing who benefits from the solution affects how you approach the issue.

Evaluate the Benefits of Solving the Problem

The second step is to explain why you need to address the problem or issue you have identified. This is what will convince the relevant workers and stakeholders in your organisation to take action. As a leader, you should be able to convince your team that they need to contribute to solving the issues in your workplace. Justifying the need for a solution means answering these questions:

• Will implementing the solution contribute to the achievement of the organisation’s goals?
• How will the effectiveness of the solution be measured?
• How does implementing the solution affect the profitability of the organisation?
• How does implementing the solution affect the productivity of the workers?

Conduct Research on the Problem

The third step is all about research. If the problem has been addressed before, then you can study the past solutions that were applied. Ideally, you would be able to find an already existing solution that will work. If the past efforts ultimately did not solve the issue, you must take the information and learn from it. What methods have other members of your organisation tried to address the problem? What have you identified as limits to your capability to create a solution?

Contextualising the problem also helps you understand it on a deeper level. Examining your organisation’s past issues and solutions allows you to act as a more effective leader.

Develop the Problem Statement

The final step is putting everything together. The problem statement must cover everything you learned in the previous steps. It contains everything there is to know about the problem. It is a clear description of the problem and allows you and the organisation to choose a solution that would address it.

The problem statement must be formed in an understandable way to those inside and outside of your organisation. Your responsibility is to clearly communicate any issues you have identified to your team because they will help you achieve the appropriate solution. You must also make the information clear to those not within the organisation since external experts on the issue may provide the solution.

Disruptive Workplace Behaviours

Every workplace faces the possibility of its workers exhibiting disruptive behaviours. Disruptive behaviour refers to behaviour that negatively affects performance and efficiency in the workplace. These behaviours can cause problems not only for the people directly involved but the organisation itself. These behaviours can also lead to conflicts between your work team members, so you must identify them early on and resolve them before it is too late.

Below are some examples of common disruptive behaviours that can occur in your organisation and their effects:

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOURS	EXAMPLES	EFFECTS
Gossip	Spreading rumours about other worker's personal lives, talking about people behind their backs.	It can cause lower morale in those being gossiped about and a negative impact on team relationships.
Bullying	Manipulating, intimidating, and isolating specific persons to belittle them.	The victims are likely to quit, leading to more frequent turnovers in the organisation.
Rude Behaviour	Being angry when interacting with others, talking back and using foul language, and damaging objects in the work area.	It can hinder a team's ability to freely communicate with each other and lower their productivity and cooperation.
Insubordination	Disobeying reasonable directions and disrespecting supervisors in the organisation.	Workers who refuse to cooperate can cause lower productivity and discredit the authority of superiors in the organisation.

Performance Issues

Sometimes, workers can show performance issues in the workplace. This can be damaging to an organisation because it directly indicates how effectively the organisation is being led. Performance issues are actions or behavioural patterns that hinder an employee from achieving the basic requirements of a job.

Below are some examples of common indicators of performance issues:

EXAMPLE OF PERFORMANCE ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE	HOW THE EXAMPLE AFFECTS PERFORMANCE IN THE WORKPLACE
ABSENTEEISM	Reduced productivity, increased costs
FREQUENT MISTAKES	Rework, increased costs, loss of reputation
NOT FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS	Possible mistakes, potential legal issues
NOT COMPLETING WORK ON TIME	Organisation/team may not meet targets, loss of business/reputation
LACK OF COMMITMENT	Reduced performance, poor team morale
NOT MEETING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS	Reduced productivity, loss of reputation

It is important to identify these indicators because that is the first step to resolving them. There are a number of factors that can cause poor performance in the workplace. If you identify any of these indicators in your work team’s members, you can begin a discussion with them and work together to develop an appropriate response. As a leader, it is part of your role to guide your team members toward better performance.

 

Activity 

Have you encountered examples in your workplace where co-workers showed disruptive behaviours? Tell us in a post (briefly and without naming names!) and explain what (if anything) was done about it. What were the consequences? When you are done, post it in the forum.  Don’t forget to check out and like what your classmates have done!
 

Once you have identified the issues in your workplace, the next step is to address them. However, before resolving an issue, you must first gather and organise all the information you need. This is a part of the decision-making process because any intelligent decision is made with relevant information in mind. The following sections will discuss different methods that you can use to gather this information and apply it to the decisions you make.

Observation

The simplest way to gather the information you will need to resolve issues in your workplace is to observe what is happening around you. You can observe how your team members interact with each other and identify important information that you might not have had access to before.

When conducting observation, be sure to do it mindfully. Keep in mind the issues under consideration and focus on the work activities that affect or are affected by them. For example, if an issue involves a conflict between two of your team members, you observe the dynamics of your work team as they perform their tasks. Whatever you are observing, remember to document your observations and the information you gather from them.

Although observation is easy to conduct, it can also be limiting. It can be time-consuming and take away time that you can use to complete other tasks. It can also provide you with inaccurate information, especially if your workers know that they are being observed.

Surveys and Questionnaires

Using a survey or questionnaire is a more formal and organised way for you to gather information about the issues that you are considering. You can use them to gather the insights and opinions of your workers on the issues in your workplace. You can use a printed survey and organise the information yourself or use an online digital survey to organise the information.

Developing a survey that will collect the information you need involves knowing how to ask the right questions. When conducting a survey, you must make sure that the questions you ask are:

• Relevant to the issues
• Objective
• Easy to understand
• Open-ended and lead to further discussion

Surveys are a sure way to gather information from anyone in and out of your organisation. They are flexible, accessible, and relatively easy to prepare. If you choose to conduct a survey, be sure to dedicate enough time to prepare it. Before rolling out the official survey, try to create a draft survey first and test it. This will help you determine if the survey can collect the information you are looking for.

Interviews

An interview is a process of talking to the people in your organisation and asking them questions about the issues under consideration. This method is useful because it allows your workers to express their insights and experiences to you directly. Some may better express themselves in conversation or orally compared to writing it down in a survey or questionnaire.

When conducting an interview, remember to allow the person or group you are interviewing to have enough time to voice all their ideas and opinions about the issue under consideration. Remember that you must also choose the right people to interview. Ideally, you should interview everyone involved in the issue. If that is not reasonable, you must at least interview a part of that group.

Like in conducting a survey, you must prepare the questions you will ask. They must allow for a natural flow of the interview. If you are recording the interview, remember to inform the interviewee and ask for their consent to be recorded. They should know what the interview is about beforehand and have an idea of what to expect when it begins.

The information that you gather from the interview must be organised, recorded, and communicated to those involved in the interview. This will ensure that it is accurate and factual.

Meetings

Most meetings will likely last only an hour or two in length. Therefore, you need to ensure that the meeting is as productive as possible. Meeting participants are unlikely to want to stay in the meeting beyond its set time frame; therefore, you need to ensure that you stay focused on the problem at hand. Again, the approach outlined above is vitally important in achieving this aim. It keeps you focused on certain topics and provides guidelines for what you should be discussing and what you should not be discussing. As the group leader, it is your job to keep the meeting on track. Gently guide the discussion without exerting too much pressure on the participants (you want to encourage, not discourage participation).

Guidelines for Conducting an Effective Team Meeting

• Begin and end on time
• Restate key points
• Bring the meeting to a close
• Encourage participation by all
• Take notes

Meetings Minutes

Recording of the meeting is also vitally important. When you assemble for subsequent meetings, it is important to review what was achieved during previous meetings. It is also useful to have any recommendations or conclusions reached written down for all participants to refer to.

For this reason, somebody should be appointed to take minutes of the meeting. Here are some useful tips for taking the minutes:

To take effective minutes for a meeting, you need to be sure that you note first:

• Meeting type
• Date and time
• Chairperson and person taking minutes
• Topics
• Time meeting began and ended

Ensure that you have an agenda sheet prepared ahead of time, with the main topics listed and space for you to write keynotes. This will ensure that you can quickly move down the minute sheet as you take the minutes.

Either use an attendance sheet or write down the names of all staff that attend the meeting and note any absences in advance.

Be sure you know who all the people in attendance are.

Be careful about what you note down. Too much information can mean that you cannot get down everything that is said. Better to note down the main points first and flesh them out later. Remember, minutes are about what happened and not what was said.

Filing Systems

Your organisation should have its own filing system. Filing systems are how information from an organisation’s business activities are stored and accessed. They should make it easy to store and retrieve important information. You should be familiar with your organisation’s filing system and your responsibilities in maintaining records that contain information from your tasks and relevant activities.

Workplace filing systems are primarily for:

• financial management
• technical information
• work health and safety records

There are different types of filing systems that your organisation can use. When using your organisation’s filing system, be sure to know which type it is so that you can use it properly. You can also review your organisation’s policies and procedures to guide you to store and access information from business activities properly. The types of filing systems include:

• Alphabetical
• Numerical
• Subject
• Geographical
• Chronological

Understanding the type of filing system your organisation uses will make it easier to organise and access the information later. You may use any of the types mentioned above as long as that is the filing system your organisation uses.

Key Points

Your organisation should have a series of standards, values, and ethics used when conducting any form of business. These are used to assist leaders and team members in making decisions that uphold the organisation's image.

An organisation’s code of ethics dictates the organisation’s principles, values, and ethics.

Methods for gathering information include observation, surveys and questionnaires, interviews, and meetings.

The Problem Definition Process helps organisations identify all possible issues in the workplace. You must gather relevant information about issues in your workplace and communicate them to your work team.

Organisational culture is a term which is not simple to define. One way to think of it is how the members of the organisation relate to each other, to their work and to the outside world in comparison to other organisations. These key elements all play a part in defining an organisation’s culture:

• Values: reflect what the organisation considers important and may include abstract concepts such as integrity, customer focus, innovation or teamwork.
• Beliefs: the convictions and assumptions held by members of the organisation. For example, a belief in continuous improvement may lead an organisation to view challenges as opportunities for growth.
• Norms: the unwritten rules and social expectations which govern how people in the organisation should behave. This could include norms around communication, dress codes or expectations regarding working hours and punctuality.
• Practices: Actual behaviours, rituals and routines prevalent within the organisation. This might include how meetings are conducted, how decisions are made and how feedback is given and received.
• Symbols and Artefacts: The visible and tangible manifestations of the organisation’s culture, such as its logo, office layout and physical environment. Symbols can convey powerful cultural messages to reinforce values.
• Language and Communication: The way people communicate within the organisation and with external stakeholders, including terminology, jargon and communication styles, also reflect an organisation’s shape and culture.
• Leadership and Role Modelling: Leaders' actions and decisions, as well as their adherence to the organisation’s values, have a deep effect on the culture of the organisation.

How do leaders influence organisational culture?

The way leaders act and what they do sets the tone for both employees and customers alike. Leadership plays an important part in influencing and shaping an organisation’s culture. Leaders need to be aware that they are role models for all employees to show their commitment to behaving in accordance with the business’s culture.

Dynamic culture

Cultures are not fixed in stone, and they are constantly evolving as times and environments change. In that respect, developing an organisational culture should be seen as continuous progress rather than one that experiences big changes (which are often made in response to crises) and likewise, a “fixed” and “stable” culture may never or even should never be reached. An organisation’s culture should always be learning and developing.

Workplace policies and procedures form the framework to govern behaviour, promote fairness, ensure compliance with laws and regulations and foster a safe and productive work environment. They help to set clear expectations for employees and simplify management by outlining what’s expected. They cover a wide range of areas, from human resources and employee conduct to health and safety and ethics.

What are policies and procedures?

Let's start by describing the differences between a policy and a procedure.

• Policies: Policies set some parameters for decision-making but leave room for flexibility. They explain the 'why' behind an action.
• Procedures: Procedures explain the 'how' behind an action. They usually provide step-by-step instructions for specific tasks and may include a checklist or process flowchart as a visual prompt.

Workplace policies and procedures are essential and beneficial for both employers and employees for several reasons:

1. Consistency: policies ensure consistent application of rules and standards, promoting fairness and reducing favouritism.
2. Employee guidance: serves as a resource for employees, helping them to understand their rights and responsibilities.
3. Risk mitigation: correctly documented policies reduce legal risks and liabilities and protect the organisation from legal threats.
4. Safety: workplace health and safety policies protect employees from accidents and injuries
5. Ethical framework: policies help to build an ethical organisation that emphasises values such as integrity and respect.
6. Conflict resolution: procedures offer a structured approach to resolving conflicts, reducing disruptions in the workplace.

Most policies and procedures include a list of relevant policies and procedures, Acts, and legislation at the end of a policy and procedure. Why is this? The purpose of the legislation is to set out the law in New Zealand. By creating workplace-specific policies and procedures, an organisation can help to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities as an employer under certain legislation, such as work health and safety and discrimination legislation. Laws can also be used to enforce the actions stipulated in a policy.

Benefits of policies and procedures

Having documented policies and procedures are invaluable in helping you to manage your team. They clarify the expectations and obligations of the employment relationship and are important for several reasons:

• Reduce the risk that conditions of employment are not misunderstood 
• Ensure fairness
• Ensure that relevant legislation is acknowledged and complied with
• Ensures consistency across multiple work site locations

Activity:

Click through the following links from business.govt.nz to read and try out further resources around workplace policies and procedures:

Common policies and procedures which may be relevant to different businesses include:

• code of conduct — this should also cover privacy and conflicts of interest
• discipline, misconduct and employment investigations
• health and safety
• holidays and leave
• hours of work and overtime, including time in lieu and flexible work arrangements
• information security
• internet, e-mail and social media use
• leaving the business
• performance appraisals
• recruitment, including reference checking
• resolving employment issues
• training and development
• travel
• use of company equipment
• how to handle customer complaints.

Purpose and impact of workplace policies

Document Title	Purpose	How it impacts teamwork
Document Management Policy	This policy defines an organisation's approach to the development, review, naming and version control of all documents, including tools, forms, resources, policies and procedures.	All staff must ensure that they use the current version of all documents. Electronic files will be saved centrally for access by staff in the organisation's cloud-based storage system. All document authors or reviewers must follow a consistent approach to developing documents and follow all guidelines as set out in the procedures section. Document authors or developers must also ensure that prior to the development or revision of any document, approval to commence revision or development is granted by their immediate manager or the Managing Director. All documents are subject to approval prior to use by any staff member. Approval must be given for every document by the authorised person specified within the procedure section. This avoids confusion and errors as it ensures everyone is using the most current documents.
Communications Policy	This policy aims to specify the various channels of communication within an organisation, determine their intended purpose, and the roles and responsibilities of staff in accessing and using them.	This policy aims to specify the various channels of communication within an organisation, determine their intended purpose, and the roles and responsibilities of staff in accessing and using them.
Health and Safety Policy and Procedure	This policy and procedure outline the approach taken by an organisation to ensure a safe and healthy environment for staff, clients and visitors during their participation in workplace activities.	Working safely: All staff have a responsibility to work safely, take all reasonable care for their own health and safety and always consider the health and safety of others who may be affected by their actions. Encourages active participation, cooperation and consultation with all staff to promote and develop a healthy and safe workplace. Workplace inspections: Staff who visit client’s premises should ensure that they follow all workplace health and safety instructions provided by the client. Hazard identification and risk control: All staff are required to report any hazards and safety incidents as soon as they become aware of them. The organisation will take immediate actions to respond to incidents, assess risks and control hazards where applicable. Incidents: Staff are expected to immediately report any incidents that occur at work that may impact an individual’s health or safety. Prioritising the safety of all team members and clients is of utmost importance, and making others aware if this is being violated in any way.
Conflict Resolution Policy and Procedures	An organisation is committed to sustaining a positive work environment in which employees work constructively together. This policy is intended to: provide the opportunity to resolve a conflict or complaint quickly, fairly and without reprisal improve communication and understanding between employees as well as between employees and their manager support a positive work environment by allocating a manager responsible for preventing and resolving conflicts and complaints identify organisation policies and procedures that need to be clarified or modified.	Employees who are experiencing a work-related conflict or have a complaint are encouraged to refer to this policy and resolve the matter through discussions with their manager whenever possible. All requests for conflict resolution, complaints and appeals are fully investigated, and a reply is provided as quickly as possible. Penalty or retaliation against an employee who initiates conflict resolution, makes a complaint, or participates in a problem resolution investigation will not be tolerated and will be subject to disciplinary action. It’s important to discuss any conflict first with the manager to get an amicable solution. For the team to work well together, communication needs to be open, and individuals must take responsibility for their communication style.
Quality Assurance Policy and Procedures	This policy and procedure is designed to ensure that the organisation has an effective quality assurance approach and systematically evaluates its services to implement ongoing and continuous improvement.	Systematic Quality Approach: is committed to ensuring the quality of services provided across all its operations – this includes clients services and processes, client support, customer service and effective management of the business and its staff. Systematic continuous improvement is a fundamental component of the quality assurance approach used by an organisation. Complaints and appeals are always reviewed to identify the root causes of the incidents and areas that need improvement to prevent a recurrence. Internal audits are conducted regularly to identify areas in which performance could be stronger. Management meetings held by the organisation are used as an opportunity for managers to identify areas that require improvement from their knowledge and what they have learnt from staff. Improvements are recorded and acted upon on a continual basis to ensure the organisation is responsive to areas that require improvement. Coming up with new ideas to streamline and be competitive. Sharing ideas with the team and supporting each other with ideas.

Code of Conduct

A Code of Conduct is designed to outline the standard of behaviour expected from the employees of an organisation. Each and every organisation will have the core ethical behaviour and code of conduct that all staff are expected to adhere to and must follow.

Impact on teamwork: Having a code of conduct can give employees a structure to follow from the moment they join the company, reducing the chances of problems coming up and making the process of dealing with issues a lot easier should the worst occur.

Following are some of the most common code of conduct principles that most workplaces and organisations would adhere to:

• be inclusive: ensure that all internal and external customers are treated the same
• be honest: ensure honesty in all your business dealings with internal and external customers
• be accountable: promise what you say you will deliver
• be sustainable: ensure that sustainability plays an important part in any work activities that you undertake
• be professional: ensure that you act with integrity at all times.

What does a Code of Conduct look like?

An organisation’s code of conduct should contain clear expectations which align with its day-to-day operations, its core values and its culture. When designing a code of conduct, some factors to consider include: (A Code of Conduct, n.d.)

• how does the code of conduct align with the organisation’s values and culture?
• How useful is the code in guiding staff through integrity issues?
• How are staff involved in the review of the code?
• How will you know whether the code is being complied with?
• What happens if someone breaches the code?
• How will the business leaders role-model the code?

Activity:

Download and read PWC’s Codes of Conduct – covering how they themselves conduct themselves in business and what they expect from third parties doing business with them.

Your role as a leader is to inspire your team to achieve certain outcomes. This begins by ensuring both the team and individual goals are aligned with your organisation’s vision and overall strategy. Team members are more likely to be inspired by the organisation’s vision when their leader demonstrates passion and drive. This helps to create an environment where team members’ contributions and success directly impact the company's objectives.

What is the difference between goals, objectives and KPIs?

Goals are statements describing what your team wants to achieve. Goals need to be clear, simple, and easy to understand and read.

Objectives are the steps your team takes to achieve the overarching goal. These should be SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are specific individual and measured targets that tell you how you are tracking with regard to your goals and objectives. For example, if an objective is to increase sales by a certain amount, an associated KPI may be to increase calls to prospective customers by 15% in a specified time period.

So why is it important to set goals and objectives?

It is important to be clear about objectives when setting goals for yourself and your team. When these are clear, employees find it easier to stay focused and motivated on a task as they understand how it fits into the organisation's overall vision. When setting team or individual goals, they must be aligned with the organisation’s overall goals, be SMART goals and have associated KPIs attached to them to track progress. Documenting goals in a performance plan ensures they are easy to refer to when needed.

Begin by setting team goals that align with the organisation’s vision and goals. From there, you can set individual goals for team members, making sure that each individual’s goal also serves the overall team goal. It is a good idea to include team members in the process of goal setting.

What are SMART Goals?

Use the SMART acronym to create effective goals for individuals and teams. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. A goal that incorporates these features will help to focus efforts and increase the chances of achieving the goal.

SMART goals are:

• Specific — Clearly defined to avoid any confusion
• Measurable — Have specific criteria that need to be reached in order to measure progress towards the goal
• Achievable — Attainable, not impossible to achieve with current resources
• Realistic — Within reach and relevant to your organisation’s goals
• Timely — Have well-defined time frames, including a start and end date.

Your workplace or organisation may have a Communication Policy in place. If so, this exists to guide communication channels both within and outside of the organisation. For example, if you need to deal with another department, who is the most appropriate person to get in contact with first? Having these policies in place can reduce conflict and misunderstandings. The policy may also set the standard for communication styles with regard to what is considered appropriate and consistent with the organisation’s values.

Communication is a two-way street, and your communication style is the way in which you give and receive information. It is important to understand your own natural communication style. Being aware of your team members’ styles also enables you to adjust the way you communicate depending on the individual, team or situation. This helps your message to be understood clearly, which is particularly important when communicating goals and objectives.