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THE ROAD IS OPEN TO EASY COMPANY MANUALS
A policy and procedures manual can be something that when planned and written to support the vision and strategies of the business, can be a document of immense value. It can add value to the business as well as adding a sense of belonging to the employees of the business. If you are planning on taking on partners, investors or perhaps selling your business this year then documenting your operations with TKO Business Modeller Software can make it easy.
One hurdle to overcome as the policy and procedures writer for your business is understanding the layout of your documents and what each heading means. There are many suggested writing formats that experts have developed over the years and none of them are "right". There is only the one that is right for you! Take the time to understand the layout of each format before selecting one and then if you're using TKO you will be able to set it as the default so that your preferred layout is easily accessible each time you start a new document.
A couple of headings that you will see in most layouts are defined for you below to assist you to understand there purpose.
Purpose
The Purpose section contains an introductory paragraph that explains the objective(s) and reasons for writing a policy or procedure in the first place. The Purpose paragraph should be comprehensive and concise in its meaning. From the title and the introductory paragraph, the reader should have a clear sense of what to expect in the rest of a policy or procedure document.
The Purpose section is generally limited to one paragraph made up of two or three sentences in addition to an opening sentence. When writing Purpose statements, you should consider an opening phrase that you can use from policy to policy and from procedure to procedure.
A format for a good opening sentence follows: “This [insert ‘policy’ or ‘procedure’] establishes guidelines for…”
Policy
The Policy section is the most important section heading for a policy or procedure because it provides the objectives, strategies, goals, culture, and vision and mission of an organization as they relate to a specific policy or procedure.
Policy statements generally originate from the following kinds of information:
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Goals or objectives of senior management toward specific business processes or issues
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General company or department assumptions (i.e., facts taken for granted)
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Department guidelines for specific business processes or practices
The Policy section should use a consistent opening phrase, as was the case in the Purpose section. The format choice is yours. My personal favorite opening phrase is “The policy of [your company name] is to ensure:”
Thanks to Stephen Page of www.companymanuals.com for the descriptions detailed above. Stephen has four excellent books on writing policies and procedures which can be purchased by contacting Transform Business Systems on 1300 735 681.
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