| Policies and procedures are written by a variety of | | | | would recommend that the writer take charge, be |
| people in various capacities including administrative | | | | proactive, and develop and/or find their own writing |
| assistant, secretary, manager, director, technical writer, | | | | format template. |
| and of course, policies and procedures writers. They | | | | The Writing Format Template is Critical to Policies and |
| were probably asked by their boss to write a policy or | | | | Procedures in all Companies |
| procedure document on some subject. So how did | | | | The writing format template is a document that gives |
| they write the policy or procedure? They wrote the | | | | the reader the standard sections to use, with a uniform |
| document in a variety of formats including but not | | | | numbering system. The template typically has five to |
| limited to a style of paragraph after paragraph, an | | | | eight sections arranged in an easy-to-read sequence |
| outline style, a numbered list, or a bulleted list. Rarely, | | | | that should seem logical to the readers. The template |
| and this is unfortunate, do writers think to follow some | | | | is at the heart of all policy and procedure systems |
| kind of standard. | | | | because it provides consistency, efficiency, and |
| Even policies and procedures writers, without the | | | | reliability to the user community, management, and top |
| proper training or mentoring from a master policies and | | | | management of any company, public, private, or |
| procedures writer, write inconsistently without the use | | | | not-for-profit. |
| of a standard writing format template. And then | | | | Summary |
| management wonders why the readers have trouble | | | | Regardless of your writing status or experience, when |
| implementing the written word.. | | | | you are asked to write policies and procedures by |
| What to Do? | | | | your boss, first find out if any department has |
| Anyone embarking on a writing assignment or project | | | | produced some kind of writing guide. The policy and |
| should first look around the company and see if there | | | | procedure writer, regardless of status or position, has |
| is a department that writes policies and procedures | | | | an important role and obligation to their readers: To |
| and if they use some kind of standard writing style. If | | | | write a well-written, consistent, and reliable policy or |
| one exists, then the writer should conform to the | | | | procedure documents for targeted audiences that are |
| company style guide and be done with it. But if the | | | | read quickly, understood immediately, and easily applied. |
| company does not have such a department, then I | | | | If you do all this, you will be a success. |