Policies and procedures form the foundations of any company, providing an organization’s framework while ensuring all processes run smoothly. However, many organizations struggle to differentiate the concepts of policy versus procedure, which can lead to inconsistent operations and poor compliance.
To help clear up confusion, ComplianceBridge has prepared a primer on policy versus procedure. We’ll also discuss how policies and procedures work, together and separately, to help regulate businesses, as well as best practices for development and management.
What is a Policy?
Policies are high-level guidelines or principles establishing an organization’s expectations, values, and culture, while providing an outline for its decision-making. They outline the company’s official position on specific topics and serve as a reference point for employees, stakeholders, and external parties.
Policies are big-picture, overarching tenets of a company. A business’s policies guide its day-to-day actions and strategies, but should also allow for situational flexibility. Company policies tend to take such topics as social media use, sick time and paid leave, acceptable work behavior, workplace discrimination, and proper certifications and licensing among a plethora of other topics, some specific to your business.
What is a Procedure?
Procedures are detailed instructions outlining how specific tasks or processes should be executed. They describe, step-by-step, what actions should be taken in specific circumstances. Procedures have a beginning and an end, and should be strictly followed to achieve the desired outcome.
The uniformity and cyclical nature of a procedure helps inform vital facets of business such as employee training, compliance, and auditing. Additional examples of procedural topics include emergency procedures, material ordering, equipment operation or how to inventory supplies and goods.
Understanding Policy Versus Procedure
With both of these terms defined, how does one differentiate a policy versus procedure? There are some key differences.
Fundamentally, there is a difference in scope. Policies are principle-based, defining what an organization expects, with a focus on broad issues, guidelines, and principles. Procedures, on the other hand, define how those expectations are carried out. This makes procedures more specific, governing specific tasks, processes, and workflows.
Procedures are usually targeted to specific roles or departments within an organization, while the audience for policies is typically broad, often encompassing all employees. These differences also impact their levels of flexibility; while policies have a level of flexibility and may be interpreted with discretion, procedures require strict adherence.
Criteria for Deciding: Should it Be a Policy or a Procedure?
With the basic concepts of policy versus procedure laid out, next comes the dilemma of deciding whether new regulations your company adopts should take the form of a procedure, or a policy. Whichever you choose should depend on the level of detail needed to guide workplace actions, so consider the scope and audience of the document you’re creating.
Broad organizational goals or regulatory compliance topics projected to change infrequently, such as guidelines for appropriate workplace attire, are better suited as policies. Repetitive tasks that require consistency and detail, such as the best specific actions to take in the case of a fire or other emergency, are typically better defined through procedures.
The level of risk, complexity, and training needs associated with a topic also influence the decision between a policy versus procedure. The more rigidity, specificity and complexity required, the more likely a policy will fit the bill. The more employees and departments it covers, and the more it relates to or dictates broad company values or expectations, the more likely it is you should consider drafting a procedure.
When to Use a Policy Versus Procedure (And How They Interrelate)
While we’ve framed the understanding of the distinction between these concepts as a comparison of policy versus procedure, you should think of them as parts of a whole, not adversaries. A company needs to have both, not simply one or the other.
Generally, policies are established first to establish overarching principles, then procedures are developed to provide specific, detailed instructions on how to carry out activities in alignment with those established policies. Often, some topics require both a policy and one or more supporting procedures to ensure complete coverage.
Policies and procedures function best when they are clearly linked but still function separately, allowing for independent updates and revisions. A well-structured system of documentation within an organization allows policies to define intent, and procedures to direct execution. Cross-referencing the information contained within policies and procedures provides clarity to workers, while providing resources for onboarding, training, and audits.
Developing Policies and Procedures
When it comes time to actually brainstorm and draft policies and/or procedures for your organization, don’t get overwhelmed! ComplianceBridge has developed an eight-step development framework that also serves as a checklist, so you don’t miss any important steps or elements during the process.
1. Begin With a Need
Identify why, exactly, you’re creating a new policy or procedure in the first place. Employers shouldn’t create processes for every unforeseen event or hypothetical situation; instead, they should address an identifiable need in your organization. Once you’ve identified what you want to address or identify, it will be easier to pin down your goals as to what this policy or procedure will accomplish within your organization, and start collecting necessary data to achieve this.
2. Outline Your Content
Policies benefit from a standardized structure. These will usually include elements like a statement of purpose, a section detailing specific requirements or regulations, processes for implementation, a date this procedure or policy will go into effect, and a glossary of relevant terms.
When outlining procedures, which tend to operate with a more narrow scope, it may be useful to map out workflows the new procedure will cover. Use those workflows to document the required steps to complete a process.
3. Get Input From Key Stakeholders
When crafting new procedures or policies, gather input from at least a sample of the people within your organization these changes will actually affect. Remember to also touch base with legal, administration, human resources, and finance experts as needed. It might also be wise to start a policy committee, with a membership structure that mirrors the structure of the company as closely as possible.
When working with employees, managers, and other stakeholders on development, it can be helpful to work on the policy or procedure being drafted in a centralized document. This will ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to share their input. Document version control will also keep everyone on the same page, helping to track changes and monitor updates.
4. Write Your Policy or Procedure
Policies and procedures should be written in clear, concise language. Policies especially should also have flexibility built into their wording and structure, to ensure ease of application under various circumstances.
5. Seek Feedback
After drafting out the policy or procedure, seek feedback from within your organization to help guarantee its comprehensibility and viability. If necessary, implement a review process. As with the policy committee, involve relevant stakeholders across different departments and roles.
The policy review process is both an additive exercise, and a reductive one. Focus on what works about the new policy or procedure, and what doesn’t. You might need to add more information, definitions or visual aids. Or you might need to filter out anything extraneous or unnecessary to the policy’s underlying message.
6. Distribute to Employees
The time has come to roll out the new set of procedures, or the completed workplace policy, to the people. When rolling out implementation, give your employees necessary information to understand why the new policy or procedure is enacted. You’ll also need to determine the best method for circulating the new information. An email? A memo? A meeting? An interpretive dance?
Once distributed, give employees the opportunity to ask questions or seek clarification, should they need it. Additionally, include with the new policy or procedure an acknowledgement statement employees can sign and date, denoting their understanding and compliance with the policy, and its effective date. Once in place, tell your employees where they can access this information later, should they need to reference it.
7. Test Comprehension
Employees often acknowledge new procedures without completely comprehending what they’ve read, which might lead to the need for additional training later. Make it a standard practice to test understanding of the policies and procedures shared with employees.
In addition to testing comprehension upon publishing new procedures or policies, you may also opt to test again six months later, and then annually. Testing employees regularly on policy and procedure knowledge helps identify what they may have forgotten over time and increases overall organizational compliance.
8. Schedule Reviews and Updates
No organization is static, so its procedures and policies shouldn’t be, either! Although it’s not the most obvious step, one of the most vital factors of policy and procedure development is managing new procedures and policies over time. It’s important to schedule regular periods of review, so policies and procedures can receive updates or revisions as the need arises.
Updates may be required due to regulatory changes, an increase in employees moving to remote work, or organizational structuring. Employee and stakeholder feedback may also call for policy or procedure changes, to implement suggestions or clarify confusing language.
Decide on a cadence for policy and procedure review; these periods may be annual, biannual, or even driven by specific events within the organization. Just as training employees on new procedures can help safeguard comprehension and compliance, make sure to convey any changes made to all personnel who will be impacted.
Regular review of existing policies and their effect on the company also will help your business avoid policy proliferation. Policy proliferation refers to the excessive creation of policies, sometimes containing over-lapping information. Having too many policies in effect can reduce clarity and cause employee confusion, which in turn is likely to hurt morale and lower compliance. Consolidating policies with similar messages, along with conducting periodic audits of existing documents, can help head this problem off at the pass.
Creating Policies and Procedures is Fast and Easy With ComplianceBridge
Strong operations depend on two things. Clear policies that define expectations and clear procedures that detail the steps. If either is missing or outdated, risk grows and productivity slows.
ComplianceBridge’s policy and procedure software closes the gap. Host all policies and procedures in a secure cloud so employees always have the current answer. Use lifecycle management to draft, review, approve, publish, and retire content. Send targeted notifications, require attestations, and monitor completion. Reporting shows coverage across teams, locations, and roles, which simplifies audits and reduces exposure.
Build faster with collaborative editing, change tracking, and automated review and approval. Then drive adoption with easy distribution, acknowledgment tracking, and optional policy quizzes to confirm understanding. Schedule auto-reviews so documents stay aligned with how your organization actually works.
If you’re looking for a better way to develop policies and procedures for your business, look no further! Contact ComplianceBridge today for a free demo.
