Marie Kondo first came on the scene in 2014 with her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The KonMari method is now being implemented in homes across America thanks to her popular Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
Can the main principles of the KonMari Method be used at work? How can you tidy up your policies and procedures? We take Marie’s six main principles and apply them to Human Resources.
Commit yourself to tidying up.
It is easy to say that you want to review your policies. Everyone wants to be compliant and organized, but few companies take the time to really clean up their policies and procedures. You must go beyond simply stating the desire and instead realize the value and commit the time to reviewing them.
Imagine your ideal lifestyle.
Not all policies and procedures fit all companies. A five-person IT company has different needs than a 50-person manufacturing company. A younger workforce may have a different company culture than an aging one. While some policies are based on laws, and are universal, others depend on the specific needs your company.
Finish discarding first. Before getting rid of items, sincerely thank each item for serving its purpose.
Before you can write new policies and procedures you need to take inventory of the ones you have. Decide which need rewriting and updating, and which need to be thrown out.
Some policies may have worked when you were a start-up, but as an established business they no longer serve you. Thank them for helping you grow and toss them in favor of new ones.
Tidy by category, not location.
Rather than starting with a department and re-writing all policies, go for those that are company-wide and impact everyone.
Follow the right order.
Look at those policies with potential legal implications first and filter down to those that are just procedural last.
Ask yourself if it sparks joy.
Most policies and procedures won’t spark joy, but you can ask if they are necessary. Is this just paperwork and red tape, or does it benefit your business? That benefit could be regulatory, keeping you in compliance, or work flow based making you more productive.
You may not end up with a drawer of neatly folded shirts after this exercise, but you will have policies and procedures that are cleaned up! If you need help reviewing and re-writing your HR policies, contact Spirit HR for help at 405-951-5300.