Policies the Field Reads and Records the Plant Can Produce
A consumer goods business has plants and depots that keep registers and a field force that is almost never on the premises. Field policies are written at head office and sent by app, so few are read, and the evidence of what was done sits on devices and in separate files. We help you write short policies, assign each obligation an owner and a date, and keep the records in one place.
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Share your requirementsThe starting point
Could You Show an Auditor the Records for Every Site and Region?
Plants and depots keep records on site. The field keeps its evidence in apps, claim forms and manager messages. Different regions use different versions of the same policy, and nobody can say which is current.
We help you write fewer, shorter policies, assign each obligation to a person and keep the evidence together.
You may be experiencing:
- Conduct, expense and device policies that reach the field as a long message few people open.
- Several versions of the same policy circulating in different regions.
- Distributor and agency staff working on the brand with no clarity on what applies to them.
- Compliance dates for plants and depots tracked by whoever remembers.
- Records for the field held on handsets, in apps and in personal chats, and for the plant in registers on site.
- Road safety, data use and claims rules that exist on paper and are not acknowledged by anyone.
- An audit or inspection that pulls the HR team from other work for days.
What we can help with
Our Policy and Compliance Services for FMCG and Consumer Goods
HR Policy Manual and Handbook
A manual for managers and a handbook for employees, written in short, plain sections, with a version for the field that can be read on a handset.
Field Conduct and Claims Policies
Short policies for expense claims, use of samples and display material, handset and app use, data privacy at the outlet and conduct with retailers and distributors.
Road Safety and Lone-Working Policy
A policy for people who ride and drive for work, covering vehicles, hours, helmets, breakdowns and what to do in an unsafe area or situation.
Plant and Depot Policy Set
Policies for shifts, overtime, contract manpower, attendance and conduct on site, aligned with the way registers are kept.
Version Control and Acknowledgement
A single place for the current version of each policy, a change log and a record of who has acknowledged it, with a prompt to re-acknowledge after a change.
Compliance Calendar with Owners
A calendar of recurring HR obligations by site and region, each with a named owner, a due date and the evidence to be kept. The items on it are those you confirm apply to you.
Central Evidence Register
A register showing, for each obligation, where the record is kept, who holds it and how it can be produced, for the plant, the depots and the field.
Periodic Review and Internal Audit
A rhythm for checking policies and records, with a short audit format that sampled sites and regions can complete.
The deliverables
What You Receive
Depending on the agreed scope, the work produces:
- An HR policy manual and an employee handbook, with a field edition.
- Short policies for field conduct, claims, devices and road safety.
- A plant and depot policy set.
- A policy register with versions, owners and acknowledgement records.
- A compliance calendar with owners, dates and evidence notes.
- A central evidence register for field, depot and plant.
- An internal audit checklist for sites and regions.
- A statement on the position of distributor and agency staff.
Step by step
How We Work
Collect what exists
We gather the policies, circulars and records in use across head office, regions, plants and depots, and note which versions are circulating.
Decide what is needed
Together we choose which policies the business needs, and ask you to confirm with a qualified professional the obligations that apply to your plants, depots and field staff.
Write short and test on the field
We draft the policies in plain language and test them with a few salespeople and plant staff to see whether they are understood.
Build the calendar and register
We set up the compliance calendar and the evidence register with owners named by you.
Roll out and review
We support the rollout and acknowledgement. Before work starts we record where you stand, and we report against it.
The difference
Policies in Use and Records in Reach
A structured policy and compliance framework helps you:
We do not promise outcomes. We record a baseline before work starts, covering policies with a current version and acknowledgement, obligations without a named owner and the time taken to assemble records for a site, and report against it, so you can see what changed and what did not.
- Give the field a short policy it will read.
- Know which version of each policy is current everywhere.
- Clarify what applies to distributor and agency staff.
- See what falls due this month and whose it is.
- Produce records for a site or region without a search.
- Review policies on a rhythm instead of after an incident.
Find your fit
Who This Service Is For
HR Heads of Multi-Site Consumer Goods Companies
People who hold the compliance picture for plants, depots and regions in separate files.
Plant and Depot Managers
Managers who maintain registers and prepare for inspections.
Sales Heads with Field Conduct Concerns
Leaders who need clear rules on claims, samples and devices.
Growing Brands Writing Their First Handbook
Owners who have run on habit and now need written policy.
How it usually shows up in fmcg and consumer goods
Compliance in FMCG covers plants and depots, with registers, safety, shift and contractor obligations, and also a mobile workforce that is rarely on premises. Policies for the field, such as conduct, expense claims, data and device use and safety on the road, are written at head office and reach salespeople by email or app. Many are not read. Distributor and agency staff work on the company's brand, and what applies to them depends on the arrangement. Evidence for plants and depots is on site, while evidence for the field is on devices and in apps. Audits sample these in different ways, and records are rarely in one place. Compliance in the field is mostly about conduct, claims and road safety, which are the areas where written rules help most and where they are least often read.
Common challenges
Where it goes wrong in fmcg and consumer goods
Field policies are not read
Policies sent by email are accepted and not followed.
Distributor staff are in a grey area
What applies to them is unclear.
Evidence is in different places
Plant registers, depot records and field data are separate.
Obligations sit with individuals
The calendar is known to a few, and dates leave with them.
A better process
What a working version looks like
- 01
Write field policies short and test them
A page on each of conduct, claims, data and road safety, with an acknowledgement. The HR policies and governance work builds them.
- 02
Clarify the distributor position
What the company requires of distributors for staff on its brand, in the agreement.
- 03
Keep a central evidence register
What evidence exists for each obligation and where.
- 04
Build one compliance calendar
Obligations, due dates, owners and back-ups. The compliance framework holds it.
What to check this week
- Ask a salesperson to summarise the claims policy.
- Check the distributor agreement for staff obligations.
- See how long it takes to assemble plant, depot and field evidence for one audit.
- Ask who holds the compliance calendar and who is the back-up.
- Confirm with a qualified professional which obligations apply to your plants, depots, field force and distributors.
Confirm with a qualified professional. What applies depends on your establishment, your state and your sector, and it changes. This page describes a practice; it does not state a legal position.
What this looks like in fmcg and consumer goods
The parts of policies, compliance and governance that are specific to this sector, rather than general.
Governance Across Plant, Depot and Field
Several establishment types under one company.
What this coversHide
Governance Across Plant, Depot and Field
Several establishment types under one company.
What this coversHideFMCG businesses operate plants, depots and a field force across states, which typically means several establishment registrations and a set of obligations nobody holds in one place.
- Register of establishments and applicable obligations
- Contract labour arrangements documented and governed
- Field force policies covering travel, expense and conduct
- Distributor and trade interaction policy
- Product handling and hygiene policies at plant and depot
- Named owner and dated calendar per obligation
- Version control across locations
- Acknowledgement records maintained per employee
Contract labour governance at plants and depots is where FMCG exposure concentrates, and it requires the principal employer's obligations to be understood rather than assumed.
Questions on this, in fmcg and consumer goods
That depends on your state, the type of establishment, your headcount and how people are engaged, and the rules change. GullyHR does not give legal advice, so confirm the requirements with a qualified professional. We build the calendar and records around what you confirm.
We write them short, in the local language where needed, usually a page or a screen, with a plain statement of what to do and not do. We test them with a few field staff before release and record acknowledgement.
We set out which policies your own people follow and what you expect of distributors and agencies in conduct while they work on your brand. Your contracts with them govern what you can require, and they should be checked by a qualified professional.
We design the register and the calendar and can configure them on the GullyHR platform or your own system. You and your named owners hold and update the records, and they remain yours.
We provide an internal review format and can help your team carry out a sampled review of policies and records. It is an internal check, not a certification or a legal opinion.
Keep them to a page each, in plain language, with an acknowledgement and an example. Policies nobody reads do not protect anyone.
It should be stated in the distributor agreement, covering conduct, safety and records. The legal position depends on the arrangement, so confirm it with a qualified professional.
Keep evidence as the work happens, in a register that says where each item is. An audit becomes a review, not a search.
A named person with a back-up, and owners for each plant, depot and the field.
Through rides, spot checks of claims and a short acknowledgement each year. A policy that is never checked is not followed.
Make Policies Work in the Field and Records Easy to Find
Tell us how policies and records are kept across your plants, depots and regions. We will discuss a set of short policies and a calendar with owners.
Prefer to talk first? Call +91 80958 58589 or write to hello@gullyhr.com.
Discuss Your Policies and Records
Share where policies and records are weakest.
The general method — what policies, compliance and governance covers, the questions it answers and what an engagement produces — is the same whatever the sector, and is set out on the hr policies and governance page. What is above is the part that differs for fmcg and consumer goods.
To run this in a system rather than on paper, see policy and document centre.
Other HR topics for fmcg and consumer goods
Where to start
Most engagements begin with a review of how this runs in your business today, then a written process and the sequence to implement it.
See all HR topics for fmcg and consumer goods, or another industry.