“Help, I need policy and procedure assistance tonight, tomorrow, or by next week.” I hear this phrase all the time. I can’t help to wonder why they didn’t know about “some assignment” before the last day or week. I have puzzled over this problem for years.
I think the problem lies with the “assigner”, which is often someone on the management team at some company. They think it’s easy to write policies and procedures in a day or two. In other words, they take policy and procedure writing for granted. This is far from the truth as it takes experience and great organization skills to be a good policies and procedures writer. With this said, there is help out on the web but usually not in physical bookstores like the Borders down the street.
The good news is that if you need to write one or two policies and procedures, you can get some quick help but if you have to write complete manuals, do good communications, do good training, and expect your audience to follow your policies and procedures, then you have to purchase books from experienced authors to help you learn how to write good policies and procedures and how to write and implement strong communication and training programs.
Here’s what you can find on the web:
In summary, the best and quickest way is to find an author who is also an experienced policies and procedures writer and buy this person’s books. Check out first to see if the author has books that can help you establish the framework for a system of policies and procedures rather than just grammar and/or editing tips. And if you must hire a consultant, make sure that the selected consultant has indeed written at least 500 policies and procedures.