A policy is a statement of intent and guidance developed by senior management to guide decisions and achieve desired goals in the organization.

Policies should be developed for the subject areas identified by senior management as particularly important for the organisation to achieve its strategy. Common subject areas are e.g. quality, environment, information security and work environment.

It is not uncommon to have multiple policies, but a good option is to create one business policy which includes everyone these areas.

The policy is the guiding principle towards which we point the compass so that we can determine the direction to be able to achieve our vision.

Sometimes it is also described as the framework within which the organization has the freedom to act within the relevant subject area.

Why?

We establish a policy to ensure that we as an organisation and individual employees understand which subject areas and related overarching rules are important for the future and further development of our business.

We receive comprehensive information about what applies and what is expected of us.

Companies often come into contact with the concept of business policy when they need to certify themselves against a management system standard, for example according to ISO 9001. This type of standard requires companies to have a documented quality policy.

All companies certified to ISO 9001 must update their policy regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and that it is compatible with requirements imposed on the organization. At the same time, the organization must ensure that the policy is consistent, clear and useful to everyone involved in the company's processes and activities.

How?

A policy that no one follows is pretty toothless. ISO management system standards e.g. ISO 9001 requires that the organization has a system in place to monitor compliance with the policy and that it is consistent. Therefore, it is important to ensure that everyone throughout the company understands and follows the policy.

There is no requirement that a policy must be long and boring.
Quite the contrary - a policy that is easy to understand and follow is a good policy.

A good quality policy describes, for example:

• Who we are
• What we do
• How we generally meet the requirements of the subject area

Most of the time, organizations have requirements that are set or areas that are important to the company based on more than just ISO 9001 and quality. In order for employees not to drown in different policies, it is advisable to create an operational policy that addresses all or at least several of these subject areas.

A good business policy describes, for example:

• Who we are
• What we do
• What makes us unique and leads to our success
• How we act in our relationship with our customers
• How we who lead and work within the organization are expected to act
• How we work systematically on issues that matter to our customers, us and the world around us.

For example, it is common to process information security requirements, work environment requirements, environmental requirements and other important requirements from the company's other stakeholders.

There are many ways to make a policy. It can be long or short, a document or a printed plan.

We at AmpliFlow have helped clients create policies that are truly unique to their organization and that stand out. One of our clients made a nicely designed wall plan with the policy, another printed it up on a sports jersey that was signed by all the employees and framed.