Written in collaboration with Dr. Moria Levy
Introduction
In modern organizations, procedures and processes are a central component for maintaining organizational order and efficiency. The term "Procedure" includes several types of documents, procedure being just one of them; Work Instructions and Policies are additional types of procedural documents, and what they all have in common is that they provide employees with the tools needed to perform tasks consistently and uniformly.
In this article, we will examine the differences between the various types of procedures, discuss their role in the organization, and the considerations in their formulation and implementation.
Types of Procedural Documents
1. Procedures
Mandatory documents that define organizational and professional work requirements.
They aim to ensure compliance with legislative, regulatory, and safety requirements (where relevant), while establishing efficient and effective work routines, based on lessons learned from past practices.
Key characteristics:
Precision: Every word and definition is carefully considered, as procedures form the basis for defining requirements.
Action-oriented: Minimal introductions and enrichment information, in favor of focusing on what the employee must do in practice.
Examples: New employee onboarding procedure, customer complaint handling procedure, budget management procedure.
2. Work Instructions
Documents that describe how to perform a specific task, step by step. They serve as a recommendation only.
Their purpose is to explain and streamline the way of working.
Key characteristics:
Detail: Provide detailed instructions for performing specific actions, and sometimes include tools, techniques, or screenshots.
Focus: Intended for daily use at the individual task level.
Examples: Instructions for operating a specific machine, instructions for performing a quality check, instructions for preparing a financial report.
3. Policy
Documents that define the organizational, procedural, and computational infrastructure for action in the organization.
Their purpose is to guide decision-making and organizational conduct.
Key characteristics:
Purposeful: Short and principled.
Compass: Serve as a basis for developing specific procedures to follow. Sometimes, in the absence of a mandatory procedure, they will serve as guidance for the course of action of units and employees.
Examples: Information security policy, document management policy, signature authority policy.
To Unify or Separate? That is the Question...
Seemingly, the separation between policy, procedure, and instruction is simple and clear. However, in practice, when packaging information in a way that's easy and convenient for the organization to consume, several factors can help decide whether to combine policy documents with procedures, procedures with instructions in a specific area, whether to separate them, or whether to integrate everything into one document or body of knowledge. The main considerations are as follows:
Clarity: Separation between documents sharpens the understanding of what is required (procedure = mandatory) and what is recommended (=instructions).
Control and Responsibility: Separation between procedure and policy is important when different entities are responsible for overall policy versus specific procedures, for example, several sub-organizations operating under the same parent organization.
Efficiency and Improved Accessibility: Unifying procedures and instructions, and sometimes policy, can assist the employee, as everything they should know about a specific topic is in one place.
Document Length: Unification can facilitate use when the policy is short (just a few principles) or when the procedure is short, and the main focus is on implementation instructions.
Update Frequency: Separation between procedure and instructions allows for greater flexibility, as the approval process for procedures in an organization is more complex and lengthy compared to that of instructions.
When deciding on the separation or unification of procedural documents, it's important to consider all these factors together, and find the right balance that ensures maximum clarity, efficiency, and usability for the users.
To Conclude
Proper management of procedures, work instructions, and policies is not just a tool for more efficient management, it's also key to the organization's success. When employees know exactly what is expected of them, they perform their tasks uniformly, and management can monitor and improve processes in a structured way, thus moving forward the entire organization . These documents may sometimes seem routine, but they form the foundation on which every successful organization rests.
By adapting procedures and work instructions to the needs of the organization and the people who lead it, we not only streamline daily activities, but also create an organizational culture of excellence, responsibility, and cooperation. Procedural documents are more than just documents – they are the road map that guides us on the path to new achievements and continued success.
Choosing between procedures, policies, and instructions is another building block leading to organizational efficiency, improvement, development, and growth.
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