Policies impact employees in a systemic way. They reflect what organizations reward and what they discourage, which affects dignity-honoring elements like safety, inclusion, fairness, and accountability. This means policies must cover a broad range of workplace behaviors and practices, and be visible, periodically and clearly communicated (including from senior leadership), consistently enforced through easily understood reporting and complaint procedures, backed by strong non-retaliation commitments, and supported by practical and understandable training.

Because policies often were drafted long ago (and frequently by teams that weren’t diverse), ongoing review is crucial to keep pace with changing cultural and workplace norms and external realities (think workplace safety in the COVID-19 era). In addition, as workplaces evolve to include virtual and hybrid settings, these policies must clearly apply to those areas as well.

This means policies must cover a broad range of workplace behaviors and practices, and be visible, periodically and clearly communicated (including from senior leadership), consistently enforced through easily understood reporting and complaint procedures, backed by strong non-retaliation commitments, and supported by practical and understandable training – all of which builds trust and avoids the risk of policies being viewed as performative.

• Human resources generalist/business partner

• Employee relations and policy teams

• Management teams

• Facilities teams

• Inclusion and diversity teams

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