How to Create a Policy Document

Creating a policy document for your company can often seem like a daunting task, with so many legal requirements to incorporate and standards to adhere to its difficult to know whether you're getting your facts right and whether your finished policy actually makes sense. However, following a carefully thought out structure and carrying out robust research will help you to produce a policy document that is relevant and accessible, offering your business a sound framework to work within.

Firstly, no matter what your policy is in relation to you should always try to begin by defining exactly what the policy is for and what you intend to achieve by having this policy in place. This opening policy statement will be an introduction to the issues dealt with within the policy and will help to define its position within the framework of the organisation. This policy statement only needs to be one or two paragraphs in length.

The document should then go on to detail exactly who the policy applies to, whether there are any exclusions, i.e. when the policy does not apply, and specifically where the policy applies, as it may be the case that one location is not covered by the policy whilst a second location is. An easy way to incorporate these introductory points is through the use of the following subheadings:

Policy Statement
Scope
Exclusions
Locations

Once you have completed these fields you can then go on to provide the detail of the policy; you may choose to begin with some background information, listing why the policy is required, whether this is through law, to minimise risk, or to improve efficiencies. The main bulk of the policy content may require some research to ensure that you are following the correct and most current legislation and guidelines. Valuable places to start your research are on the HSE website, or government websites such as the Department of Health or Department of Education, depending on the nature of your business and the policy you are writing. There is also legislation.gov.uk which details all of the current and changed legislation in existence.

Having introduced the background to your policy you then need to detail specifically how it will be implemented. What does it look like in practice? It is often helpful to break down the practice by using flow charts demonstrating the action to be taken following different circumstances. Once you've added the specifics, covering as many differing scenarios as possible, you then need to address how you will monitor the policy's implementation and relevance. This is essential to ensure that your policy is being acted on and is still appropriate within what is ordinarily an ever changing working environment. Policy monitoring and review dates should be recorded within the policy, either as a footer or on the opening page.

Applying a methodical approach like this to your policy writing will ensure that you produce robust policies that your staff, clients and associates can understand, relate to and work within.

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