Policies and procedures—Our favorite dynamic duo

The world is full of great duos—

• Batman and Robin

• Laurel and Hardy

• Peanut butter and jelly

• Shaggy and Scooby

• Cake and ice cream

Well, you get my point.  But one dynamic duo you might not have counted on is policies and procedures.  You see, these two items work together to create greatness in organizations. 

But how?

Well let’s first start with what each of these items does and how they’re different.

Policies: At their very core, policies are developed to help mitigate risks.  They answer the questions of why and what within an organization.  Policies provide the rules in which something in your organization needs to happen.  For instance, an expense policy provides guidance to employees on what are acceptable expenses, what documentation is needed, and what happens if expenses are falsified or abused.  But it doesn’t (typically) provide all the ins and outs of what actually needs to happen to pay expenses (i.e. issuing checks or electronic payments).  

Procedures (also called processes): Procedures are helpful to show how something is done in an organization to ensure that is completed consistently.  They answer the how and when within an organization.  They give steps on how to complete something within the rules outlined by the policies.  If we’re sticking with the example above using an expense policy, the procedure aligned with the policy will show how expenses are reviewed, entered, and the payment issued. 

Now that we know that policies are the why and what and procedures are the how and when… the HOW is how do they work together??

I’m glad you asked!

So a policy staying that expense example (because let’s stay consistent shall we?).  Let’s say expenses are due at the end of the month and should not be older than 60 days.  BUT!  But your procedure does not reflect that the dates need to be checked… so it doesn’t align with the policy.  Which means expenses will probably all be paid regardless of how old they are.  Thus, the rule has no bite.  It’s like you’ve just threatened to ground your 16-year-old for sneaking out, then putting a ladder under their window to help them to sneak out next time.   

That’s where organizations tend to fall a little short.  They’ll spend a lot of time on developing a policy to protect their organization, but don’t take into consideration whether or not they can actually sustain what they set out to do.  

How do your policies and procedures match up?  Are they the ultimate dynamic duo?  Or is it just a classic clash of the titans? Plan-It Documents is here to help!

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