Top Ten Reasons Why Policies and Procedures Don’t Work

We always start our Well-Defined Processes Class by asking the participants “what’s wrong with your policies and procedures where you work?” and we always get the same answers.  Students come to the class from different industries, companies, and geographies and yet we still get the same answers every time.

People tell us how hard it is to keep their procedures up-to-date.  Information gets stale fast and it is difficult keeping procedures current and relevant without becoming outdated.  One reason for this is that the procedures are too long in the first place.  If you have a 35-page procedure then, yes, it is difficult to keep all 35 pages up-to-date.  Especially, if the procedure is unclear, overly complicated or just too difficult to understand in the first place.

Another reason procedures are not current is because they are not followed.  If your people were using the procedures then they would get updated with the latest information.  An unused procedure is one that is not updated either.  Revisions are an indicator of usage and revisions help to create effective procedures.

Why don’t people follow procedures?

Perhaps your people can’t find your procedures.  Maybe they don’t even know you have a procedure.  And when they go to look for one, if they can’t find it on the server where it is supposed to be they figure you don’t have one.  That means your configuration management is suspect.  An uncontrolled procedure implies your system is out of control.

I have also seen procedures that were too simple or generic.  If your procedures are not offering helpful information then your employees will not have a reason to use them.  Poorly written procedures are just as bad as a procedure that are too generic.  If your procedures are incorrect or wrong, of course people will not use them.

Sometimes procedures are just poorly designed without a good format to navigate your way around.  An inconsistent format that changes with every department can confuse the readers.  It helps to think about who procedures are written for when designing your procedures.  Procedures are training aids.  So, frequent users don’t really need the procedure at all.  Occasional users need a reminder of what needs to get done and novice users need a lot of description.  Perhaps more than you can or will want to put into a procedure.  In this case novices should use the work instruction.

So what are the Top Ten Reasons Why Policies and Procedures Don’t Work?

1. Procedures are out of date.
2. Procedures are too long and wordy.
3. Procedures are unclear, complicated or difficult to understand.
4. Procedures are not used or followed.
5. Procedures are hard to find or locate.
6. Procedures are uncontrolled or out of control.
7. Procedures are too generic, general or simplistic.
8. Procedures are incorrect, wrong or poorly written.
9. Procedures are poorly designed or hard to navigate.
10. Procedures are inconsistent using different formats.

How to make your procedures work for you

I couldn’t leave you with just the problem.  To understand how to make your procedures work you need to fix each of the problems.

1. Develop a system that keeps your procedures current using intranets, social media constructs (blogs, wikis, SharePoint), software, or new knowledge management systems.
2. Keep your procedures short and succinct so it is easier to update them.
3. Use pictures, graphics, and examples to illuminate what you expect.
4. Incorporate your procedures into the job at the point of use.
5. Develop a system with easy access (see 1 above), make them searchable online, or make them part of the job (see 4 above).
6. Revision control is required for ISO and must be part of the job (see 1 & 4 above).
7. Eliminate generic procedures entirely and save paper.
8. Keep procedures updated and useful and they won’t be wrong (see 1 & 4 above).
9. Create a common format as part of your document control.
10. Discipline the organization to follow your procedures.  If they are part of the job then they are more likely to be followed (see 4 above).

Now you know the secrets to writing effective policies and procedures and ensuring that they are used.

Related Articles:

1. How Do You Know Your Procedures Work?
2. Policies and Procedures: Compliance or Control?
3. Bizmanualz Releases Reference Books to Quickly Develop Policies and Procedures
4. How to Encourage the Use of Procedures
5. What’s the Difference Between Policies and Procedures?

View free sample procedures from any (or all) of our policies & procedures manuals

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Posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 under Writing Policies and Procedures