A policy and procedure writing dilemma: Do you create separate policy and procedure manuals or create a single document that contains the policy and procedure statements?

Most of my peers will say that they write separate policy and procedure manuals. In other words, there is a manual that contains only policy documents and there is a manual that contains only procedural documents. I have found few situations where this makes sense. Let me explain my concerns with this practice. In my policy and procedure books, I suggest and advocate the embedding of policy statements within procedures, thereby eliminating the need for a second policy manual. My method is much more practical for reference and writing purposes, as we will see later in this article.

Referencing subjects in two places becomes unreasonable with SEPARATE policy and procedure manuals

The problem with having two manuals (policy manual and a procedure manual) is that policy and procedure on the same or similar topic often contain duplicate information. When a reader references one manual and points to another manual, it is rare for this person to make the effort to reference the second manual. This is just a fact of life, a fact that I have learned over 30+ years of experience in the field. Even when the physical manuals sit side by side, I’ve found it weird that the reader looks at one for the policy guide and one for the procedure guide.

Let’s look at a real life example: If I want to read a procedure about recruiting and it references a policy statement in a separate policy manual, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll take the extra time to find the policy statement in the second manual. I’m more likely to click on a hyperlink in an online manual, but even this takes my attention away from the current document. And the reader would be lucky if he had taken the time to place hyperlinks within the policy or procedure document that clearly allow the reader to switch between documents.

This problem of referring to policies and procedures located in two manuals is exacerbated when the manuals are physically separated from one another. For example, I worked at a company where the policy manual resided on my manager’s shelf and the procedures manual resided on a shelf closer to the users. Oh! This practice only further exacerbates the readers’ experience because the referenced manual isn’t even close so they can access the referenced documents if they want to.

Cumbersome for the writer to maintain policies and procedures on the same or a similar topic

This second issue of maintaining a separate policy or procedure manual revolves around the process of keeping policies and procedures up to date. If I write a policy on hiring practices for a company, there will most likely be duplication from policy to procedure and from procedure to policy. In my experience, there are redundancies from policies to procedures, and it is often difficult to write different content about policies and procedures on the same or similar topics.

THERE IS A SITUATION WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE TWO MANUALS

I only know of one situation where having two manuals makes sense. When a company strives to become certified to ISO quality standards, there is often a requirement (by the standards) to keep policies and procedures separate in two manuals. Therefore, if a company-supported program is in place, such as ISO quality standards, Six Sigma, or the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), then the policy and procedure writer will need to comply with the requirements of this program. , even when the practices are not adequate. they seem practical as in the case of separate policies and procedures manuals.

Now let’s move on to what makes the most sense: the integrated policy statement

Since 1984, I have been advocating the use of a writing format that integrates the policy statement with a procedural document. In my seven section writing format, the third section is the Policy Section and this is where policy statements are written, no matter how long. The policy and procedure writer can produce one of two types of documents: First, a procedure document with embedded policy statements. If applicable, the title of the contracting policy and procedure could read: CONTRACTING PROCEDURE.

The second type of document is a title that does not use the word Procedure. The title of the document could be RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES. This practice has been adopted by thousands of companies worldwide in more than 90 countries because it eliminates the need for two separate manuals. In both cases, the third section of the writing format would be labeled Policy. An example of this writing format is as follows:

1. Goal
2. Scope
3. Politics
4. Definitions
5. Responsibilities
6. procedures
7. historical review

ADVANTAGES of using a policy statement embedded in a procedure

1. There is no need to produce a separate policy manual and a separate procedures manual.
2. Quick access and reference to both procedure statements and policy statements in one document.
3. There is no duplication of section content within the policy-to-procedure or procedure-to-policy writing format. For example, if there is a policy on Recruitment and a procedure on Recruitment Processes, the purpose, scope, definitions and responsibilities sections of the drafting form could be duplicated.
4. Extremely easy to write policies and procedures using a simple seven section writing format.

DISADVANTAGES of using a policy statement embedded in a procedure

1. When management requires a separate policy and procedure manual and is unconvinced about incorporating policy statements into an umbrella document.
2. When management has adopted a standard such as ISO 9000 Quality Standards, Six Sigma, or the Capability Maturity Model and that standard requires the creation of separate policy and procedure manuals.

Summary:

The writing dilemma of writing two separate policy and procedure manuals or using generic policy and procedure titles and incorporating the policy statements within section three of the seven-section writing format no dilemma at all because when you look closely at this method of using section three of the seven-section writing format to represent policy statements, I think you’ll agree with my reasoning and advice.

So do yourself a favor and learn how to embed your policy statements within a procedural document, and better yet, give your documents general titles while incorporating policy statements at the beginning of policy or procedure documents. .