Not every task in an enterprise requires a Procedure. If all tasks are documented, the documentation becomes unwieldy. Procedures needs and topics should be evaluated to determine whether or not a formal Procedure should be written.
Ask yourself these questions – If the person or department who performs the task is sick, on vacation, or quits, who will perform their tasks and how? Could the task be delayed or not performed? Are the tasks simple enough to ‘figure out’? Do other people in the office know the task? Would regulatory penalties be threatened? Would production lines be affected? These are some of the questions that might be asked to determine whether or not a formal Procedure is required.
Informal Procedures
It is simply not practical or beneficial to document every Procedure in an enterprise. Standardized Policies, Processes, and Procedures will not solve every problem within an enterprise. Creativity and initiative are necessary to produce effective work. The Informal relations within the organization prevent the organization from the errors and misfortune by observing when a Process or Procedure is not attaining its objective. Literal obedience to formal policies, rules, regulations, and procedures – without question – when there is obviously a problem will cause great problems for an organization.
Departments |
Specific departments are more likely to need standardized Procedures than other departments. Finance departments, with extensive compliance requirements, require standardized Processes and Procedures. Departments, such as Customer Service, require a great deal of creativity to handle customer complaints effectively. |
Ideas |
Ideas are generated daily throughout an enterprise. The ideas are tested and implemented, based on their workability. These ideas can become standard Processes and Procedures – at which point they may need to be documented. |
Error correction |
Errors occur daily within an organization. It is not necessary or effective to document every error condition. The effectiveness of promoting quality in an organization rests with every person and the consistent correction of errors. Nevertheless, if errors occur on a regular basis within an area, research should be performed to correct the Process and document the Procedures. |
Workarounds |
Workarounds are methods, usually temporary, used when the usual or planned method is not working. When the problem is fixed, the workaround is no longer required. The complexity of the workaround and the length of time to fix the problem will determine if it requires documentation. Some workarounds may be in place for several years. |
Simple changes |
Existing Processes and Procedures will change. The Documentation should be evaluated to determine if the simple changes are critical and require immediate modification to the Procedure. However, if a proper Change Management Process is in place, the noncritical and simple changes can be recorded, and during the next scheduled update, the changes can be incorporated. |
Orientation |
When a person is new to a company, they may write simple Procedures that are common knowledge to experienced employees. This type of Procedure is usually not documented, although departments may develop a handbook. Because it is not critical, it is not maintained and quickly loses its usefulness. |
Meetings |
Meetings address problems, issues, status, and so forth. Usually notes and action items result and are distributed; however, they do not take the form of a Process or Procedure. |
Formal Procedures
Formal Procedures are required when a specific outcome is required. In addition, other conditions may require a Procedure – regulatory requirement, production support, and so forth. Formal Procedures require that they are clear, concise, complete, and correct™ ™ and are routinely reviewed and updated. Many are averse to writing formal Procedures; they think they stifle innovation. That may be partly true. However, innovation that changes critical Processes and Procedures must go through a Process change to ensure nothing critical is being affected. The topics below may overlap but should be considered to determine when documentation is required.
Key Policies |
Policies that require supporting Procedures to accomplish the Policy objectives should be documented. Failure to perform the Procedure may cause the Policy to fail. |
Compliance |
Compliance requirements are a major reason for Procedures. The enterprise can suffer financial, legal, product, or reputation penalties and liabilities when compliance requirements are not met. |
Controls |
Controls ensure quality standards are being met. Controls are part of most Processes. Controls can relate directly to Compliance requirements. |
Strategic objectives |
Strategic objectives set by management may affect Processes. An evaluation should be performed to determine if Procedures are required to support the Processes, and if those Procedures require documentation. |
Standard results |
Many enterprises strive for standard Processes in order to achieve standard and predictable results. There are also other objectives and benefits for standard Processes. Procedures are required for standard results; otherwise, over time the Procedure will vary, and the results will begin to vary. |
Critical tasks |
Tasks may be critical in that they have specific requirements that must be performed. Critical tasks may relate to Controls or Compliance. The critical nature of the tasks requires that they be a Procedure. |
Cross functional |
Cross functional Procedures require documentation; at a minimum a Process Flow. Because a cross functional Procedure effects other departments and tasks, any changes must be closely coordinated. Changes to a Procedure for one department, may adversely affect the Procedure in another department. Therefore, for a cross functional Procedure to be successful, it must be standardized; otherwise the end result may be incorrect. |
Audit requirements |
Based on the results of an audit, specific tasks will require Procedures. If a task is ‘written up’ in an audit with unfavorable results, the task requires a Procedure to ensure it is properly performed. |
Enterprise wide standardization |
Enterprise Process standardization is a goal for many companies. The enterprise may be global, requiring different Procedures to meet local compliance issues. Nevertheless, the end result is standardization. The Procedures are critical for the standardization. |
Legacy systems |
Legacy systems can be complicated and not intuitive. They may be used by a limited number of users or may require manual workarounds. Old Procedures may exist that no longer present the correct instructions. Consequently, if an experienced employee leaves the company, there is a lack of critical information available. |
Performed infrequently |
Tasks that are performed infrequently – annually, semi annually, monthly, or on-demand – should be evaluated to determine whether if they require documentation. The critical nature of the task and/or the complexity of the task will determine the type of documentation required – checklist, detailed Procedure, or quick reference. |
Error conditions |
Within a Process certain error conditions will occur. Certain error conditions may require complex or extensive steps to correct the condition. If the correction is not intuitive, the corrective actions should be documented as a Procedure. Documenting the corrective actions will highlight how to avoid creating the error condition in the future and present the proper method to achieve the correct result. |
Complex transactions or tasks |
Complex transactions and tasks require Procedures. The Procedure may take the form of a checklist, detailed Procedure, or quick reference. Due to the complex nature of a transaction or task, some type of Procedure documentation is required. For example, an inquiry may involve an extensive amount of information. The Procedure may be as simple as stating the types of information that is available, without involving the detailed steps that show how to access the information. |
Large audience, multiple locations |
Documented Procedures are required by large audiences and by audiences that are in multiple locations. Therefore, the Procedures are susceptible to change over a period of time. To ensure standardization the Procedures must be documented. |