Top Steps to Best Practices When Documenting Policy and Procedures (P&P) in the UAE

Every business operating in the UAE has to navigate the complex VAT, GDPR, anti-money laundering, as well as financial auditing regulations which puts a lot of pressure on the management.

On top of that, these businesses also have to ensure maximum employee efficiency along with effective communication to grow consistently. Thus, to maintain a successful and smooth operation businesses have to adhere to certain rules and guidelines.

This is where the policy and procedure (P&P) documentation comes into the picture. P&P documentation guarantees there are no communication errors that can disrupt the operations.

This blog covers the ins and outs of documenting policy and procedures in detail. This information will help you minimize process errors or failures resulting from poor P&P documentation which will lead to a smooth business operation so keep on reading till the end.

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• What is a Policy and Procedures Document?
• Things Included in a P&P Document
• The Importance of Documenting Policies and Procedures
• Reduction in Negative Findings in Audits
• Reduction in Missed Deadlines
• Mitigating Errors in the Documents
• Regulatory Investigation Prevention
• Reduced Employee Mistakes
• Improved Business Reputation
• Key Features of the Policy and Procedures Documentation
• Proven Steps for Writing Effective Policy and Procedure

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What is a Policy and Procedure Document?

A policy and procedure document is a comprehensive account of an organization’s own guidelines, processes, and protocols which is aimed at governing its every major and minor operation.

This document covers the overall operational framework of the company which every relevant person must adhere to at all times.    

This detailed document provides the employees with clear instructions regarding their conduct as well as the expectations that the company has for them. This ensures better handling of the specific situations as well as compliance with the standards set by that organization.

The policy simply refers to the rules you need to follow as an employee while the procedures include the practical guidelines to follow in order to adhere to the policies.

Things Included in a P&P Document

Here are the main items included in a P7P document

• Organization culture
• Employment procedures
• Communication policies
• Payment procedures
• Code of conduct
• Technology usage procedures
• Employee benefits
• Workplace guidelines
• Forms and templates
• Organizational structure
• Revision history
• Appendices i.e., additional resources, references, legal disclaimers, copyright information, etc.

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The Importance of Documenting Policies and Procedures

Here is why every organization in the UAE needs effective policies and procedures documentation

1. Reduction in Negative Findings in Audits

In most cases, non-compliance found during internal and external audits is linked with P&P documentation inconsistencies. These unacceptable audit findings can subject you to fines and business disruptions.

By crafting clear P&P documentation, you can eliminate the risks of miscommunication or the employees misunderstanding the key terms.

2. Reduction in Missed Deadlines

Your P&P documentation can give your employees valuable information regarding what, how, and when of the tasks they are responsible for. This gives them an accessible and reliable source of information that they can use when performing their tasks which ensures a reduction in the number of missed deadlines.

3. Mitigating Errors in the Documents

A clearly written P&P documentation can specify the formats and guidelines regarding expense reports, holiday requests, supplies requests, benefit submissions, and other key documents. This allows employees to quickly understand how they need to fill these forms and where they need to submit them which increases efficiency.

4. Regulatory Investigation Prevention

Your P&P can give regular authorities insights into the critical industry standards that you adhere to. This prevents frequent audits and ensures business continuity.

5. Reduced Employee Mistakes

With the help of a well-written P&P document businesses can make sure employees are aware of the guidelines when undertaking key business processes. This reduces errors and enhances employee efficiency.

6. Improved Business Reputation

A robust P&P policy can impact the way customers and other partners perceive your business. This also enhances collaboration between your teams which further makes your target customers as well as stakeholders trust your organization. This gives them confidence that you can take immediate action if a misstep occurs which reflects positively on your reputation.

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Key Features of the Policy and Procedures Documentation

Here are the main features of a well-crafted P&P documentation  

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• Relevance

The document addresses the needs of your specific entity instead of containing irrelevant or abstract statements.  

• Cogency

The document should be logically coherent and easy to understand.

• Coordination

Every policy mentioned in the document must be compatible with other policies of the organization to avoid policy conflict.

• Balanced

You need to balance your goals with the ground reality. The document should contain practical goals, objectives, and doable actions to achieve these.

• Lucid

The document should contain no grammatical errors and it should not be in a style that is not familiar to the target audience.

• Ethical

The document should have ethical corporate policies and statements. You also need to make sure every employee and stakeholder is aware of these as well as the consequences of non-compliance.    

• Authority Approval

The document must be signed off by the senior management before distribution to give it more authority.

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Proven Steps for Writing Effective Policy and Procedure

Here are the steps you can follow for writing effective policy and procedure documentation

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Step 1: Define and Prioritize Policies

You need to identify every policy that is most impactful for your business and write it down on a priority basis. You also need to note down policies that are common in your industry and are required by the law.

Step 2: Understand the Audience Requirements

You need to understand who needs to do what and how they need to do it. You can also take considerations from third parties and regulators in this step to make sure you give your target audience exactly what they require.

Step 3: Collaborate with Other Departments

When writing policies and procedures you need to keep other departments like legal teams, accountants, managers, and executives in the loop.

Step 4: Categorize the Information

You need to categorize the information in the document into sections like procedure, process, principle, type, concept, and structure. After categorization, you can label each category to help the employees find the information they need easily to ensure compliance.

Step 5: Select and Sequence the Information from Audience’s Perspective

In this step, you need to make sure the information you give to the reader is in the order in which it should be used. Make sure to add caution and warnings before the procedures to further minimize errors.

Step 6: Ensure Consistency and Compliance in the Document

Make sure the document uses the same terms, abbreviations, and formats in every section. For example, a form cannot be called a document in different sections as it can create confusion for the reader. With consistency, you can make your P&P document more presentable as well as comprehensible.

Step 7: Make Sure the Information is Accessible

Make sure the information has clear titles, labels, indices, references, keywords, and hyperlinks. This can optimize information access which can lead to better efficiency.

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Step 8: Seek Out Reusable Information modules

Make sure to use content that is in small and modular units as it can be reused across multiple platforms without losing the integrity of the information. For example, you can use key concepts surrounding anti-money laundering (AML) compliance in training, customer service, security, and IT sections.

Step 9: Provide Context and Examples

You can provide context and real-life examples with each policy and procedure to further ensure better understanding. By using real-life scenarios, you can help the employees better ensure compliance since it gives them a clear picture of what and how they need to perform.

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Step 10: Solicit Feedback and Revise

Finally, you can involve stakeholders like department heads, managers, and even employees in the documentation review process. By soliciting feedback you can further ensure clarity and relevance in the P&P documentation. By getting feedback and making revisions based on it you can also increase the usability of this manual.    

Conclusion

The documentation followed by the strict implementation of the P&P can reduce operational errors, ensure compliance, and enhance productivity. The P&P documentation is not a one-time process. You have to make revisions either yearly or on an ongoing basis based on the complexity of your tasks.

By consulting with several internal departments and stakeholders, you can create a more effective policies and procedures document that promotes consistency, transparency, as well as accountability across every level of the organization.

You can also seek help from external advisors and P&P professionals to get a fresh perspective and an unbiased opinion to create much better documentation in less time.

Visit Alpha Pro Partners today to get the best P&P documentation as well as accounting services in the UAE.        

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Disclaimer

This article is written in general terms and, therefore, cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; the application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved. We recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refrain from acting on any of its contents.

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