What are procedures?
Procedures are the quickest, most basic, and most cost-effective way to document “how we do things” in the organization. Written procedures make it easier to:
- Analyze and improve the organization’s methods
- Transfer knowledge
You can use procedures to build training, create tests, or transform to any other format that applies organizational knowledge.
An approved procedure indicates that all the relevant people in an organization have agreed on decisions such as:
- The standard way of completing a specific process or task
- A policy or code of conduct
The goal is to always document the most efficient way the organization has of getting things done and pass that knowledge on with procedures.
In large organizations, it’s common to break the system of procedures into the following hierarchy:
- Policies – Why do we do things this way?
- Work procedures – What do we do?
- Work instructions – How do we do it?
- Forms and records
Note: Some organizations combine work procedures and work instructions.