Are your Policies and Procedures becoming a barrier to growing your company?

Well written policies and procedures allow employees to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities within predefined limits. Basically policies and procedures allow management to guide operations without constant management intervention. Constant intervention equates to increased operating expenses which ultimately detract from your company’s profitability.

Oh, so you say you don’t have written policies and procedures. Well, it’s never too late to take advantage of tools and techniques to successfully grow your business.

What is a Policy?

A policy is a predetermined course of action to provide a guide toward accepted business strategies. Policies provide a general strategy to decision makers on how to handle issues as they arise.

• Policies identify company rules, are general in nature and are described using simple sentences and paragraphs
• They explain why they exist and tell where the rule apply
• Policies describe who it covers
• They show how the rule is enforced and the consequences of breaking it.

What is a Procedure?

The ultimate goal of every procedure is to provide a clear and understood plan of action required to implement a policy. A well written procedure will help eliminate common misunderstandings by identifying and establishing boundaries for job holders. Good procedures allow managers to control events in advance and prevent the company and its employees from making costly mistakes.

• Procedures identify specific actions, when to take action and alternatives
• They includes warnings and cautions and shows emergency procedures
• Procedures give examples
• They shows how to complete forms

Policies and procedures are required when there is a need for consistency in your operational activity. Policies and procedures provide clarity to employees on issues of critical importance to the company such as health and safety, legal liabilities, legislative requirements or issues that have serious consequences.