2.06 - Management of Change Procedure - Effective Date: 01 Jan 2024
2.06.01- Purpose
The purpose of this Management of Change (MOC) Procedure is to establish guidelines and process for managing changes within the Sarnia Hockey Association (SHA) to ensure the safety, integrity, and continuity of our operations. The procedure is laid out to ensure that any policy changes within the Sarnia Hockey Association are managed effectively, transparently, and provide opportunity for membership input and feedback.
SHA is committed to proactively managing changes to prevent risks, minimize disruptions, and maintain a safe and efficient environment. All changes, regardless of their nature, must be systematically evaluated, approved, communicated, and documented.
2.06.02- Scope
This procedure applies to all members, volunteers, and stakeholders involved in SHA policy development, maintenance, and implementation. This procedure is limited to changes in policy, processes and procedures in the SHA Policy Manual, Representative Guideline or Recreational Guideline. Any policy or procedure previously approved and/or published prior to 01 Jan 2024 is exempt.
2.06.03- Definitions
a) SHA Policy Manual – Refers to the document titled SHA Policy, Procedures and Regulations Manual, including all previous accepted revisions. The SHA Policy, Procedures and Regulations Manual is the responsibility of the VC-Administration. SHA Policy, Procedures and Regulations Manual shall govern SHA and be the baseline for Category Guidelines. The SHA Policy, Procedures and Regulations Manual will be available in electronic form on the SHA Website and all changes or updates will be made in a reasonable timeframe.
b) Representative (Rep) Guidelines – Refers to the document titled Representative Operations Guideline, including all previous accepted revisions. The Rep Guideline is the responsibility of the VC-Representative. The Rep Guideline is meant to assist all SHA Teams that play in A/AA, B/BB or MD categories. This guideline should be reviewed and approved annually. The Representative Operations Guideline will be available in electronic form on the SHA Website and all changes or updates will be made in a reasonable timeframe.
c) Recreational (Rec) Guidelines – Refers to the document titled Recreational Operations Guideline, including all previous accepted revisions. The Recreational Operations Guideline is the responsibility of the VC- Recreational. The Rec Guideline is meant to assist all SHA Teams that play in House League, Local League, and House League Select categories. This guideline should be reviewed and approved annually. The Recreational Operations Guideline will be available in electronic form on the SHA Website and all changes or updates will be made in a reasonable timeframe.
d) Requestor – Refers to the person, persons, or committee proposing a policy change to any SHA Policy or Guideline. A requestor can be any current member of SHA. The requestor is the “CHAMPION” of the change and is responsible for the Final Draft or Proposal.
e) Housekeeping – Refers to updates in wording, nomenclature, spelling, or references to any SHA policy or guideline. Changes of this nature are not efficient when the MOC Process is used.
f) Policy Committee – Refers to a committee called by the First Vice Chair in application of this MOC policy. A policy committee can be used to review any policy change request received once it is called and until it is excused.
2.06.04- MOC Procedure
a) Identification and Classification of Change: Any member or committee proposing a new policy, new procedure, or changes to existing documentation within SHA must submit a:
i) "Policy Change Request" in writing detailing the nature and purpose of the change in accordance with Policy 2.06.04(b). Policy changes are required to follow the process detailed in 2.06.04(b)(c)(d).
ii) “Guideline Change Request” to be submitted to the respective Category VC. Guidelines are to be managed by a Category VC. Guidelines should be approved by the SHA Board of Directors in conjunction with the annual budget for a particular season/fiscal year; or
iii) “Housekeeping Change Request” should be submitted to the VC-Administration for review.
b) Submission of a Policy Change Request: A requestor shall submit a Policy Change Request to SHA VC-Administration and SHA First Vice Chair for screening. The change request may be re-classified, recommended to expedite, rejected with reason, or will continue to the review/evaluation stage. All requests shall consist of the minimum information below:
i) Date of Submission
ii) Requestor’s Name or Requesting Committee
iii) The proposed motion wording and intent of the change
iv) The proposed effective date of the change
v) Any required or recommended follow ups by members or committees
vi) Mandatory relevant details of the change include old wording and new wording; and
vii) Optional information that can be included is budget impact, stakeholder impact, member responsibilities and member accountability. Purpose, Scope, and Definitions should be included in policies if applicable.
c) Policy Committee’s Review/Evaluation of Change
i) The First Vice Chair will provide a notice to the SHA Board of Directors informing them a change request has been received, recommended for review and that a “Policy Committee” is being formed. The notice will include all information provided by the requestor in the policy change request and offer an invitation to participate as committee members. The notice should be presented at a regular meeting or could be sent by email at request of the VC-Administration. If a member or members are opposed to a proposal, a resolution must be passed to reject the change.
ii) The Policy Committee will be formed by the First Vice Chair and include the change requestor or requesting committee representative, SHA VC-Administration, one other Board Member and could involve relevant ex-officio members or subject matter experts to assess the potential impact, risks, and benefits of the proposed change. Any SHA Member may request to participate as a policy committee member. The Policy Committee must be a minimum of 4 members.
iii) The Policy Committee will consider factors such as safety, financial implications, operational impact, and regulatory compliance during the evaluation.
iv) Policy Committee members have the right to decline invitation or excuse themselves at their discretion without justification including conflict of interest.
v) The Policy Committee members shall be provided a reasonable review timeframe that is not less than ten days and should not exceed thirty days. If circumstances warrant an extension to the deadline, it can be requested by any member of the committee at any time. The policy committee should provide any recommendations to the requestor with a reasonable timeframe to review and publish a final draft for the approval stage.
vi) The SHA Chairperson can advise any policy committee to adopt mandates, scope, members, or instructions if deemed necessary in consult with any member of the Sarnia Hockey Board of Directors
d) Approval of Policy Change
i) Motion for policy change may be made by a requestor, committee representative, or their proxy at any regular or special meeting so long as it is included on the agenda provided by the SHA Chairperson. Any policy change should be presented to all members in written form and can be discussed.
ii) The motion should be tabled for not less than ten days for review by all members. All questions, recommendations and edits to the proposal should be sent to the requestor for consideration or discussion. The seconder of the motion should be advised on all proposed changes.
iii) The requestor shall provide the final draft to the Chairperson for final approval. Final discussions and approval for any policy change will be made by the SHA Board of Directors at a regular meeting so long as that it is indicated on the agenda presented by the SHA Chairperson.
2.06.05 - Communication
a) Once a change is approved, Category Vice Chairs are responsible to communicate changes to relevant stakeholders about the impending change. Communication media can consist of SHA website announcements, email, or other forms of written communication and include the nature of the change and it’s impacts on different groups.
b) Communication shall take language barriers into consideration and will not consist solely of verbal communication or social media posts.
2.06.06 - Implementation
a) Directors are responsible implementing the change in accordance with the approved plans or processes.
b) Category Vice Chairs are responsible to ensure safety protocols, training, and resources necessary for the change's successful implementation will be provided.
c) VC-Administration is responsible to ensure policy changes are recorded and all relevant documents are updated including SHA’s on-line policy manual.
d) Category Vice Chairs are responsible for ensuring the Rep and Rec Guidelines are updated. Guidelines should be reviewed and approved annually.
2.06.07 - Exemptions
a) SHA Chairperson can expedite policy changes at their discretion provided their justification to expedite is given to the SHA Board of Directors prior to start of the meeting where discussion and approval is set to take place
b) Housekeeping Changes do not require the MOC Process