Effective Instructions, Procedures, and Policies: Creating Clear Guidelines for Operations

1. Chapter Seventeen Formulating Instructions, Procedures, and Policies

2. Situation Analysis for Instructions/Procedures

3. Instructions, Procedures, and Policies • Instructions: specific, detailed, steps for performing a task • Procedures: general guidelines for performing a task • Manuals: complex procedures and instructions which may use many of the standard report elements • Policies: an organization’s statements defining its position on subjects important to the daily operations of the company, the required actions to achieve uniform practice; often include procedures

4. Components of Instructions • Introduction • Theory governing the procedure or instruction • Warnings, cautions, hazards, and notes regarding safety or quality • Conditions under which the task is to be performed

5. Components of Instructions • Steps in performing the task • Name each step. For each step, you may wish to include the following: • Purpose of the step • Warnings, cautions, notes • Any conditions necessary for performing the step • Time required to perform the step • List of materials needed to perform the step

6. Components of Instructions • Steps in performing the task, cont’d. • Place instructions in chronological order • Number each step • Limit each instruction to one action

7. Components of Procedures • Introduction • Introduction—purpose of the procedure—why it is important, what it should achieve • Scope—who/what activities are involved; who/what is affected • Definitions—terms readers need to know to follow the procedure

8. Components of Procedures • Description of the operation to be performed—steps in the process • References • Attachments

9. Format Considerations for Instructions and Procedures • Use clearly worded headings and subheadings. • Leave plenty of white space around headings. • Use space to make items in lists accessible. • Highlight safety information and warnings. • Leave space between major sections and between main steps.

10. Format Considerations for Instructions and Procedures • Place visuals at the point where the reader needs them. • Label a visual and refer to it in the text. • Make visuals as clear and simple as possible. • Label all visuals to correspond to the text. • Do not begin an instruction at the bottom of one page and complete at the top of the next page.

11. General Pattern for Policies • Name of the policy—clearly stated in a subject line or title • Statement of the policy—brief summary of the policy • List of forms needed to execute the policy

12. General Pattern for Policies • General applications—the situations to which the policy applies • Specific applications—procedures for applying the policy in the specific case(s) described under general applications • Attachments—examples of forms, reports, and letters that will need to be completed in executing the policy