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  Information gets stale fast and it is difficult keeping procedures current and relevant without becoming outdated.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.

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Question of the month: How can Accounting Policies and Procedures help your organization?

The Accounting Department is an area where policies and procedures are usually a requirement, because they are considered part of the internal controls noted in Sarbanes-Oxley. The real question is: What approach are you taking to developing accounting policies and procedures?

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What is the difference between a well-conceived and well-written accounting policy and a poorly conceived and poorly written accounting policy?  Of course, the needs of every organization are different, and the most important element of an accounting policy is that it helps the organization. Last week we mentioned the importance of gathering accounting policies into the accounting manual.  Now let’s review some important points to consider when crafting policies.

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Question of the month: How can you make sure that procedures are used in your organization?

How effective are procedures that languish in file drawers or collect dust in binders… never used or seeing the light of day? What is the point of having procedures like these? We have talked in the past about why you need procedures, now let’s talk about how to get those procedures used.

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Our general topic this month is how to get procedures used. Most organizations put at least some effort into creating procedures. Shouldn’t they have a functional role in the organization? Isn’t it a wasted effort if they are just going to collect dust stuck in a binder sitting on a shelf, or if they languish in a file drawer and never see the light of day?

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Our previous essay listed the typical problems with procedures that we hear from those attending our Well-Defined Processes class. We divided these problems into two broad categories: poorly written and not used. The previous essay also covered problems that fit into the “poorly written” category.

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During our Well-Defined Processes course we spend a significant amount of time talking about procedures. The role of procedures in documenting processes as well as positive and negative attributes of procedures.

At the very beginning of the course, we ask the participants, “What is wrong with procedures in your organization?” The things that appear on the list are predictable. They include:

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Question of the month: How does using the typical writing process assist you in creating effective procedures?

The advice for writing procedures is the same as for any kind of writing project – from a college term paper to a novel, a business letter, or a procedure; craft the writing project by working through a process that includes three phases: Plan – Draft – Revise. Extensive research has shown that writing projects of any kind tends to be successful when writers use the process approach and engage in some type of activity from all these three phases.

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Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations lose thousands of dollars through common mistakes and lapses in usability. But what does that mean for business owners and executives?

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