Writing company policy is similar to writing a business procedure, but there are a few differences between a policy and a procedure.  Business policies consist of either company rules, typically about ethics or relationships, or process outcomes defining expected results, kind of like a mission statement.

Company rules are found in your Employee Handbook.  One example would be sexual harassment.  It is illegal in the United States to subject others to unwelcome sexual conduct in a work situation.  If you are going to write a company policy, you would start with the law or regulation issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The EEOC provides definitions and additional information that will allow us to describe a company policy.

Every company should have a sexual harassment policy in their company manual that reads something like this:

Read more...   |    1 Comment »

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How can I unlock the value in my business?” …you’re not alone.

This question has been on every business manager’s mind since the first company was started.  Large or small, it doesn’t matter.  When it comes to business valuation, people want to know how to get the most for the company.

Today I’m going to tell you.  It’s so shockingly simple, it may take a few seconds before you realize the truth of this statement:  The key to unlocking the value in your business is by documenting your business processes, in writing, for all of your employees!

Read more...   |    2 Comments »

According to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), an effective system of internal controls helps ensure that our organizational processes are functioning properly, that our financial information is reliable, and that we’re in compliance with applicable regulations. Businesses primarily implement internal controls systems to protect themselves from internal fraud and abuse, while many do so with regulatory or standards compliance in mind.

It is interesting to note that, in many cases, the internal control system at many companies consists of volumes of instruction-like procedures that document activities. If a company is taking the time and effort to develop a procedure-based financial control system, it’s worth the additional effort it takes to:

Read more...   |    Leave Comments »

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.

Read more...   |    2 Comments »

Historically, compliance has been the focus of most knowledge management systems.  Documenting business processes with policies and procedures is required by many standards such as for ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems, Sarbanes Oxley Accounting and Finance, or Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  But if we look closer at the intent of these standards then we see that we should be more concerned with control, to improve quality or reduce the risk of failure.

Read more...   |    3 Comments »