In the last post, I defined standard operating procedure and gave a quick run-down of factors to consider while developing sops. In this post, I will define terms you should consider while designing standard operating procedure. To design effective standard operating procedures, you must know the difference between policy, procedure, guidelines, and regulations.

Policy

A policy is a course of action adapted to achieve a set of objectives. It is the general principle that guides behavior towards present and future decisions.

Procedure

A procedure is more specific than a policy. It states specific ways tasks should be completed. A procedure always lists the specific order tasks should be completed.

Guideline

A guideline is a guide or outline of policy (ies) used for making present and future decision making. Unlike a policy, a guideline is a general set of actions created to guide behavior. However a guideline is not as detailed as a procedure. Also guidelines are created as a guide and not mandatory as in a policy. If an employee does not follow the policies, he or she is said to have violated that policy versus a guideline where there is no enforcement.

Regulation

A regulation is a rule created by authority to regulate conduct. Regulations are often created in response to outside authorities. For instance the government might have specific rule as to how to conduct your business. A regulation cannot be strayed from in any way and has the backing of a higher authority

Example to illustrate the difference between policy, procedures, guidelines and regulations

George owns a fitness business that ships fitness equipment from its online store. George needs to communicate the shipping process to his employees/ contractors. George could choose to conduct the shipping process in his SOP as either a policy, procedure, guideline or regulation as follows:

Policy: A policy will tell the person using the SOP to get from point A to point B without any specific directions. Example: All goods must be shipped within 7 days is a policy.

Procedure: To turn all goods must be shipped within 7 days into a procedure, the policy will need to be broken down as follows:

• Day 1 – customer places order in our online store
• Day 2- the order is received by our shipping department and front runners on duty are assigned to gather the goods from the warehouse
• Day 4- the goods are gathered and packages by the packagers on duty
• Day 7 – the goods are placed in the outgoing section of the warehouse to be picked up by UPS

Guideline: A guideline will look like this: It is customary to have goods shipped to customers within 7 days of receiving the order.

Regulation: A regulation will look like this: All goods MUST be shipped within 7 days according to the local government shipping legislation.

Knowing the difference between policies, procedure, guidelines and regulations are essential in developing your standard operating procedures. You should make it clear what processes should not be deviated from (policies) and which ones should give the person in charge more authority (guidelines).

Always get input from all parties that will be affected by the standard operating procedure. Some questions you should ask in developing your sops are:

• What processes should be rules, procedures or guidelines?
• Are policies based on sound judgment?
• Are rules attainable?
• Should some regulations be developed to comply with legal authorities?
• Are guidelines flexible?
• Can rules be enforced?