Policies and procedures

Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliancy or other governmental regulations, such as the American Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring full openness in accounting practices.

The easiest way to start writing policies and procedures is to interview the users of the policies and procedures and create a flow chart or task map or work flow of the process from start to finish. Next convert this information into a writing format. Next talk to the users and confirm that the written word matches the flow chart. And then, after a thorough editing of the document, it can be submitted to management for approval.

Policies and procedures have many names including but not limited to business policies and procedures, standard operating procedures or SOP, or department operating procedures or DOP.

Standard Form

A fundamental requirement of policy-and procedure writing is its use of a standard format within an organization, including a complete history of changes made to the document. This standard format, called a writing format, is at the heart of any policies and procedures system. Typically, the format includes a purpose, persons affected, scope, sometimes a background section, a policy section, definitions, responsibilities, and a procedures section. The format when put into a template can also include information about the title, effective date, revision date, and an approval section.

The writing format is extremely important to the integrity of the policy and procedure system. Consistency is the key. Don't make the mistake and write a different format for a policy and a procedure. Keep the same format. In fact, one best practice is to combine the policy statement within the procedure document, thus eliminating the need for a policy document altogether. While this may seem strange to some writers, it's not. Think about it. Why write two entire manuals, one for policies and one for procedures, when you can easily incorporate the policy statement within the procedure document. This way, the reader need only look in one place to find both the policy and the procedural content. And, most importantly, readers simply will not go to two places. They will take the word of one and hope it is right. It's too much trouble to go to two places.

Example

File:Writing Format.jpg

NOTE: Consistency is the key. But if you want to add a "Background" Section or move the "Revision History" section to the end of the document, you may do so but keep in mind that not only does the format have to be renumbered but that this change shall become final for all of your policies and procedures, past and current.

Seven C's to Avoid Procedure Writing Errors

Here's a list of seven "C's" that you need to take into account while writing effective procedures:
1. Context - Actions must properly describe the activity to be performed.
2. Consistency - All references and terms are used the same way every time, and the procedure must ensure consistent results.
3. Completeness - There must be no information, logic, or design gaps.
4. Control - The document and its described actions demonstrate feedback and control.
5. Compliance - All actions are sufficient for their intended compliance.
6. Correctness - The document must be grammatically correct without spelling errors.
7. Clarity - Documents must be easy to read and understandable.

External Links

• A A Baig & Co., Chartered Accountants (Pakistan)