What is the Policy Review Process?
Development of policies and procedures usually begins at the unit level, with employees who carry out the policy, take part in the process, or manage the work directly. The policy review process turns that draft copy into a controlled company document without letting the approval path become heavier than the procedure itself.
That balance matters. If too many people are required to authorize a document, policy/procedure development becomes a bureaucratic nightmare, slowing the release of policies and procedures and adding little to no value to the final version.
What Is the Policy Review Process?
The policy review process is the controlled workflow used to review, revise, approve, and release a documented policy or procedure. It checks whether the document is consistent, accurate, readable, usable, and aligned with existing corporate policy or other statements.
In a simple company, this may be one manager reviewing a procedure written by the team that performs the work. In a more regulated or sensitive area, the same process may include compliance management, legal counsel, top management, or the company’s president or chief executive. The point is not to invite every possible opinion. The point is to put the right authority on the right document at the right time.
Review
The documented policy/procedure is reviewed, typically by someone in middle or upper management. The reviewer should look for consistency and accuracy first, then check whether the document conflicts with existing policy, creates gaps with other procedure statements, or reads clearly enough for the people expected to use it.
This is where a procedure review earns its keep. A reviewer who is familiar with the work, but not buried inside the drafting process, can see assumptions the preparer may miss.
Revision
The document is revised if necessary. Revisions should resolve real problems: unclear instructions, missing responsibilities, inconsistent terms, outdated forms, conflicts with another policy and procedure statement, or a compliance issue that needs more precise language.
Do not let revision become the perfection trap. The preparer and reviewer should improve what is essential to accuracy, readability, and usefulness, then move the document forward.
Approval
After the document is adequately reviewed, it is given final approval. Who approves your procedures depends on the document’s content and risk. A department-level work instruction may need only the department manager. A procedure involving personnel, intellectual property, trade secrets, corporate exposure, financial controls, or legal duties may need top management and legal counsel.
Regulated industries make this especially clear. For example, federal drug manufacturing rules require written procedures for production and process control to be drafted, reviewed, and approved by the quality control unit, as shown in 21 CFR 211.100. Most companies are not operating under that rule, but the principle still helps: match the approval authority to the risk of the procedure.
Release
Once approved, the policy or procedure is released internally and, when appropriate, externally as a corporate policy statement or procedure. Release is not just posting a file. It means employees know which version is current, where to find it, and whether the procedure replaces an older document.
That is why the policy review process should connect to document control. The National Archives’ guidance on records management policy language is a useful reminder that policies work best when responsibilities, retention, and control language are clear.
Who Is Responsible for Policy Approval?
Responsibility for policy approval generally sits with the manager or executive who owns the affected business area. That person is accountable for the procedure’s accuracy, the resources needed to follow it, and the impact it may have on related departments.
The review-and-approval process may vary from company to company, but it is recommended you keep procedure approvals to a minimum. Avoid paralysis by analysis. If every procedure needs signatures from every department, policy/procedure development becomes slow, political, and detached from the work itself.
Use a small approval path by default, then escalate only when the document warrants it. Compliance management should review procedures that touch a compliance obligation. Legal counsel should review documents that create legal exposure. Top management should review sensitive issues involving corporate exposure, personnel, intellectual property, or trade secrets.
How Do You Streamline the Process?
One way to gain others’ input while keeping authority at the functional or departmental level is to release draft copies of proposed procedures to a select number of individuals for comment. Make clear to these individuals that their suggestions should be confined to what is essential to the document’s accuracy, readability, and usefulness.
Who these select individuals are depends primarily on the nature, or content, of the document. A purchasing procedure may need input from Finance and Operations. A hiring procedure may need input from Human Resources and Legal. A production procedure may need input from Quality, Safety, and the department that performs the work.
Procedure management software can help automate document workflow, route review comments, and simplify approval and release of policy and procedure documents to employees. OnPolicy Procedure Management Software was the original tool reference in this article, and the broader point still holds: software should support the review workflow, not add more bureaucracy to it.
When Is a Minimal Review Process Enough?
Rudimentary procedures affecting only a small unit within the company, and likely to have little impact on other areas, should be subjected to a minimal review process. In this case, it is advisable to have someone familiar with the area, but separate or outside of it, review the proposed statement.
For example, the company Finance officer may review a proposed accounting policies and procedures manual even if the first draft came from an accounting manager. That outside review serves three purposes.
- What makes sense to the preparer directly involved in enforcing the policy or conformance to a procedure may not be understood when read for the first time by someone not as closely involved.
- A review by managers of other areas may prevent a conflict with a policy and procedure statement still in the formative or discussion stages elsewhere in the company.
- It allows for input from multiple individuals while allowing the department manager to maintain control of the integrity of the policy/procedure and to drive its completion and release in a timely manner.
The best policy review process is therefore not the largest one. It is the smallest process that still protects accuracy, consistency, legal exposure, compliance management, and usability for the employees who need the procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Usually Drafts Policies and Procedures?
Policies and procedures usually begin at the unit level, with employees who carry out the work or managers who supervise the process. Their draft copy then moves into review, revision, approval, and release.
Who Should Review a Procedure Before Approval?
A procedure should be reviewed by someone who understands the work but is separate enough to catch unclear language, conflicts with other policies, and usability problems. Sensitive procedures may also need compliance management, legal counsel, or top management review.
How Many People Should Approve a Procedure?
Keep procedure approvals to the minimum number of people needed for accuracy, authority, and risk control. Too many approvers can create paralysis by analysis and slow the release of policies and procedures.
When Should Legal Counsel Review a Policy?
Legal counsel should review policies or procedures involving corporate exposure, personnel, intellectual property, trade secrets, regulatory duties, contracts, or other areas where the wording could create legal risk.
What Happens After a Policy Is Approved?
After approval, the policy or procedure is released as the current corporate policy statement or procedure. Employees should know where to find it, which version is current, and whether it replaces an older document.
