NGO support toolkit (English)  >  NGO Support Programme management  >  Organisation 

Administration and HR

Operational policies and procedures document the agreed processes by which an organisation ensures that it functions in a systematic, fair, efficient and consistent way to implement its strategic goals within the local legal context.

They also facilitate compliance with fundraising constraints and regulations, financial reporting requirements, tax regulations, and employment legislation.

Additionally, by clearly setting out standards of conduct for members of the organisation, policies and procedures can offer protection to members of staff working in controversial or sensitive areas, who might otherwise be subject to accusations of illegal, improper or unfair behaviour. Policies identify the values, standards and strategic choices of an organisation. Typically, most NSP policies will promote NGO-based values such as: respect for human rights irrespective of lifestyle or HIV status; community participation, development and empowerment, prioritisation of the most vulnerable, etc.

The key priorities for policy development in an NSP are likely to be:

• Equality policy : provisions for equal opportunities in recruitment; provisions against discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, sexuality, gender, disability, etc.; equal rights for people with HIV in the workplace.
• Health and safety policy : working environment; other requirements of specific legislation in each country.
• Employment policy : recruitment; hours of work; holiday entitlement; sick leave; maternity and paternity leave; working conditions; medical benefits; temporary cover; notice periods; redundancy and retrenchment provisions; other requirements of specific legislation in each country.
• Remuneration policy : salary structures and scales; pension provision; other benefits and incentives; payroll arrangements; pay review criteria.
• Staff development policy : appraisal, training and skills development; promotion and career development.
• Communications policy : who can represent the organisation; copyright issues
• Planning and review policy : consultation systems; reporting structures; organisational review systems.
• Procurement policies : consultants; suppliers; other contractors.
• Travel policies : requirements and restrictions; expenses and per diem payments
• Financial policies
• Use of resources policy : restrictions and permissions on personal use of telephone and Internet; use of motor vehicles;
• IT policy : email protocol; file sharing; restrictions on illegal copying of software; network integrity and security;

Procedures identify the key steps to be followed in order to implement a policy. Whereas a policy may describe the NSP’s high-level strategic or organisational thinking, a procedure will describe clearly how to interpret and act on it in all foreseeable situations.

• Health and safety procedures : travel safety (such as use of helmets when riding motorcycles); use of universal precautions; first aid at work; fire procedures; etc.
• Employment procedures : recruitment; induction and probation; exit interviews staff turnover and staff succession arrangements.
• Pay review procedures.
• Staff development procedures : appraisal; skills development and training assessment and planning.
• Reporting procedures : absence from work.
• Travel procedures : claiming expenses and per diems.
• Grievance procedures: conflict resolution.
• Disciplinary procedures: appeals.
• Administrative procedures : record keeping, filing; archiving; taking minutes of meetings.
• Financial control procedures:

Other documents are also included in this section, because they are examples of the results of the application of policies and procedures, which are both important as records of organisational plans and activity, and also can be used as templates to complement procedures:

• contracts of employment for fulltime, part-time, temporary staff, seconded staff or interns, volunteers; terms of reference for consultants
• contracts for suppliers and contractors
• individual or collective agreements about pay or working conditions
• job descriptions
• training plans
• workplans
• appraisals
• terms of reference for consultants
• staff expenses forms
• purchase orders
• organisational charts illustrating areas of responsibility and lines of reporting, communication and accountability

Policies and procedures are unlikely to be effective unless they are embedded in the day-to-day management of the organisation. A number of key measures will make them work more effectively.

• There should be consultation with all involved parties during the drafting
• They need to be clearly written in plain language
• They should define rights and responsibilities for everyone involved, whether members of the governing body, management, staff, consultants, volunteers, contractors, or partner agencies
• they should be well publicised both with the organisation, and, where relevant, amongst partner agencies
• They can be grouped together for easy retrieval in policy or procedures manuals
• The task of monitoring that they are consistently applied should be allocated to specified post-holders and included in their workplans
• The effectiveness and continuing relevance of policies and procedures should be reviewed on a cyclical basis, and they should be adapted and altered to reflect changes in legislation, and other changes in the working environment.

Most NGOs and CBOs will need some sort of technical assistance with the drafting and implementation of appropriate policies and procedures for their size and scope of activities. The development process will incur costs for both the NSP and the partner grantees. It is important for NSPs to include these development and support costs in the budget and workplan.

Issues to consider

It is rarely necessary for NSPs to start from scratch in developing their policies and procedures, templates and forms. For many areas of policy, there are examples of international best practice to draw on. However, it is important not to underestimate the work and costs of adapting them for local use:

• it is important to reflect local circumstances (and especially legislation) in the policies and procedures, which means that someone with relevant expertise will have to check them carefully for local relevance and validity
• policies and procedures are unlikely to be fully effective those affected by them have been fully consulted and involved in reviewing and adapting them to local circumstances.

Similarly, whilst many of the policies and procedures of the NSP might be directly applicable to NGOs and CBOs, it might be more effective to engage in interactive technical support to help them develop their own policies and procedures (using and adapting the NSP’s where relevant) rather than imposing them or handing them over ready made .

Specific issues to consider in developing pay structures and levels in NGOs and CBOs include: how to identify comparative salary scales; the degree of differentiation of salary levels; the balance between financial and other rewards; and the strengths and weakness of performance-related pay.

There is usually an increased need to codify and document policies and procedures as an organisation grows. However, the staff time to do this documentation may be most restricted at times of greatest growth. It is important for the administrative costs of documentation to be included in the budget and workplan.

Related themes

Technical support for policies and procedures

• Send to a friend
• Printer-friendly