Policies, Processes and Procedures, what is the difference between them?
Policies, processes and procedures are not only for large organisations, they can significantly improve any business and
- Eliminate mistakes.
- Decrease stress and increase staff satisfaction, as they know what they need to do clearly!
- Improve productivity.
Let’s find out what each is.
What is a policy?
A policy is a guideline principle that sets a direction for an organization.
It is a guide but doesn’t have many details. For example:
Customer support personnel shall ensure that all outstanding customer support tickets are closed in a timely manner.
It is high level and very similar to a mini-mission statement.
What is a process?
A process is a high-level set of things (procedures, etc) that must happen in order to ensure compliance with a policy.
For example, to create a new web hosting account for a client, the developer needs to follow an open account procedure which dictates what needs to be done to accomplish that.
Having a process allows organizations to cut long procedures into small bits, which are easier to test and execute.
What is a procedure?
A procedure is a particular way of accomplishing a task. It is a series of steps to be followed in a consistent and repetitive approach to accomplish an end result.
The benefits of having policies, processes and procedures.
Once completed, you will have a set of established methods for conducting the business of your organization.
It’s useful for
- Training new staff and onboarding
- Process auditing
- Process improvement
- Compliance initiatives
