Silent! Policy making is in progress.

I remember the days when I got the summer internship in one company at Nashik. This company is well known infrastructure company which has built most of BOT projects in Maharashtra.

The HR Head was crazy guy who was more interested in instructing and guiding on snacks, lunch and dinner required during different meetings and events. His another expertise was in policies and SOPs. There were policies for everything in the organization.

Once somebody complained that they do not get newspapers to read during lunch break. This issue was serious according to him and he instructed to his team to make the policy on this issue. Team deliberated for few weeks and drafted two pages policy on “Newspaper reading”.

Once there was an issue of hiring the caretaker for director’s house. Director’s wife told administrative officer to replace the caretaker. This could not happen due to specific reasons. Finally the issue is tabled on desk of HR head. He asked the reason to the administrative officer. “Sir we are making a policy for this.” He calmly replied.

There was a big file of policies signed by him. Policy for telephone, policy for tea breaks, policy for reading newspapers, policy for making tea in pantry, policy for electricity and other payments. You just name the issue; you will find the policy on those issues. If not just raise the issue, the policy would be ready within two weeks. Execution of policies was the major challenge; hence the organization established “Corporate Planning & Policy Deployment Department (CPPD)”. There were three employees whose responsibility was to audit and check the implementation of these policies. Another factor was SOP, (standard operating procedures). Once the policy is made, CPPD department would make the SOP on execution.

My period was for two months in that company as a summer intern. One guy from CPPD made his career in HR in another organization; another started his own consultancy and third left the organization. I do not know what happened to CPPD department and HR Head afterwards.