What Procedures Should You Write?

In the past weeks we have explored the very basic reasons why an organization needs procedures.  My belief is that, no matter how many complex explanations you give or long lists you create, it all boils down to four basic reasons: 

• Compliance
• Operational Needs
• Manage Risks
• Continuous Improvement

How Many Procedures Do We Need?

Once you realize why you need to write and use procedures, the next obvious question is what procedures do I need to write?  Do I need to document all the processes in all departments with procedures?

Creating dozens and dozens of procedures is usually not necessary.  In fact, such an approach can create more problems than it resolves.  They can’t be found, they aren’t used, they aren’t updated, and a glut of uncontrolled copies are scattered throughout the organization (a non-compliance in many audits).  If you are just starting a project to create or update procedures, selecting what procedures to write is an important early step.

When starting this kind of document project, it is best to begin with one department that has mature processes.  Create procedures for this department before expanding the project to other departments.

Use Phases for the Documentation Project

Selecting what procedures to write for a department is very closely related to understanding why we write procedures.  What are the compliance issues?  What are the most important risks that need to be addressed?  What processes require a high level of control, and where is improvement needed?  Then prioritize in order of importance for all these areas: now you have selected what processes should be documented by procedures.

The idea is to select and develop procedures in phases; by department and by degree of importance.  Work within a department and develop procedures only for the processes that are identified as meeting our criteria for “why we write procedures.”  In a first pass document development project for a small to medium size organization, we might typically developing 5 to 12 procedures for a department, depending, of course, on the size and complexity of the organization (as well as compliance issues).

Tackling one department with mature processes makes is easier to address issues with design, writing, and implementation, instead of trying to deal with such issues broadly across the whole organization.  You can take these lessons learned and avoid such pitfalls when you move to the next department.  In the long run, starting slowly in a focused way can produce dividends, and make for a smoother, more efficient documentation project.  Now move to the next department (the one with the second most mature processes), and using the same approach prioritize which processes need procedures.

Only focusing on top tier priority procedures within each department in the first pass phase allows the process owners and department members to integrate the procedures into their department documentation and operation.  Then, when the documentation project returns to develop another tier of procedures, the department can assist in providing meaningful feedback on how useful and accurate existing procedures are, and assist in selecting what, if any, processes should be documented with procedures in the second pass phase.

Are Procedures the Only Answer?

While procedures can play an important role in internal control system, it is also important to understand that procedures are not the only path to internal control.  The ISO 9001 Standard only requires six procedures, no matter how large the organization.  Sarbanes-Oxley doesn’t require any procedures; only a demonstrated internal control system.  Note:  The existence of procedures themselves does not demonstrate internal control; procedures that clearly document processes and that are used, followed, and maintained do.

Training, for example, can frequently supplant the need for procedures.   If your department has a well-developed training program and training materials, clear training requirements, training records, and process records that clearly demonstrate the process effectiveness;then does your department have a demonstrated internal control system?  Most auditors would say; yes, it does.

Again, it returns to the inexorable connection between why and what.  Understanding why you are writing procedures helps you understand what procedures to write. In the first pass of the building a control system of policies and procedures, the highest priorities of compliance, organizational needs, risk management, and improvement should be addressed throughout the organization.  Then, in a second phase of development, the next tier of priorities can be addressed.

But the answer isn’t always to write procedures.  The key is to understand how having the process defined by a controlled document like a procedure benefits your organization.

Learn more about developing policies, procedures and processes, or improving your organization by attending the next Implementing Lean Thinking or How to create well-defined processes classes.

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Posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 under Writing Policies and Procedures

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Originally published by Bizmanualz, Inc. under the title What Procedures Should You Write?.

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