What Is the Importance of Policies and Procedures?
Policies and procedures play a very important role by defining an organization’s guiding principles, providing detailed task instructions and forming the basic structure of business operations, according to the Global Post. Task procedures are designed following the framework of the governing policies.
The KCG Consultant Group states that an organization’s policies are the operational foundation for all its business processes. Clear policies define the business protocol and ensure that all employees operate according to a consistent prearranged formula. The Global Post notes that the scope of written policies includes language to cover legal issues that may arise due to the nature of the business, employee health and welfare, especially in hazardous operational conditions, and/or ethical concerns that may put the organization or the employee in a position of conflict.
Procedures document the who, what, when and how of task performance, according to the KCG Consultant Group. An individual procedure for a single task defines who is responsible for completion of the task, what steps are involved in the process, when each step is undertaken and how the progression of steps is performed to complete the procedure. The procedures manual, a collection of individual task procedures, forms the basic guiding document for the consistent completion of core responsibilities.
