How to Create Policies and Procedures Without Losing Your Soul (Or Your Sanity)

Let’s face it—writing policies and procedures ranks somewhere between watching paint dry and sitting through a four-hour corporate compliance seminar. But here’s the kicker: if you don’t have solid policies, your company becomes the Wild West, and sooner or later, someone’s going to rob the metaphorical bank (or at least violate a labor law).

So, if you want to avoid lawsuits, chaos, and that one guy who always “didn’t know the rules” when he took a two-week vacation without telling anyone, here’s your foolproof guide to crafting policies that actually work.

Step 1: Admit That You Have a Problem (AKA Identify Policy Needs)

Before you start drafting a 30-page handbook that no one will read, ask yourself:

• Where is the company bleeding money because people are making up their own rules?

• What legal nightmares are lurking in the shadows, waiting to bite you?

• Which employees keep saying, “But no one told me that” like it’s a valid excuse?

If any of the above applies, congratulations—you need policies!

Who’s involved?

• Legal & Compliance Team – Because jail time is bad for business.

• HR – The unfortunate souls who have to enforce these rules.

• Operations & Department Heads – The ones who actually know what’s happening on the ground.

Step 2: Find Out Where the Cracks Are (AKA Policy Gap Analysis)

At this point, you’re probably thinking, Can’t we just copy-paste a policy from Google? Nice try. That’s how you end up with policies that make zero sense for your company. Instead, do a gap analysis:

• Dig up your current policies (assuming they exist).

• Find the loopholes employees are exploiting like it’s a tax shelter.

• Compare your policies to industry standards—because you don’t want to be that company.

Who’s involved?

• HR & People Ops – Because someone needs to read through all that fine print.

• Legal & Risk Management – To make sure you’re not breaking any laws (or getting sued).

• Managers & Employees – Because they’ll tell you how policies actually play out in real life.

Step 3: Get Everyone to Argue Over What’s Important (AKA Stakeholder Input)

This is the fun part. You bring all the key players together, and they proceed to debate things like whether the dress code policy should mention Crocs. It’s a mess, but it’s necessary. You need:

• Leadership to weigh in on company values (even if those values change every six months).

• Legal to remind you that, yes, you do have to comply with labor laws.

• Finance to make sure your expense policy doesn’t let employees expense a yacht.

• IT to set security policies, because someone will use “password123” if you let them.

Once you survive this phase, you’ll have a solid idea of what actually needs to be in your policies.

Step 4: Actually Write the Damn Policies (AKA The Drafting Phase)

Time to put words on paper. But before you turn into an emotionless corporate drone, remember this: policies should be useful, not just legally airtight. Avoid corporate jargon that makes people want to throw their employee handbook into the sea.

A good policy includes:

• Purpose – Why does this rule exist? (Hint: It’s usually because someone did something dumb once.)

• Scope – Who does this apply to? (Everyone? Just the interns? Only Gary in Accounting?)

• Definitions – What do these words mean? Because trust me, someone will argue about the definition of "business casual."

• Procedures – Step-by-step instructions so people can’t claim “they didn’t know.”

• Consequences – What happens if someone ignores this policy? (Fines? A sternly worded email? Immediate banishment?)

Who’s involved?

• HR & Legal – The policy-writing power couple.

• Department Heads – To make sure policies are realistic.

• Communications Team – So the final version doesn’t sound like a robot wrote it.

Step 5: Have Everyone Tear It Apart (AKA Review & Validation)

Now that you’ve painstakingly crafted policies, it’s time for feedback. Spoiler alert: people will have opinions.

• Legal will nitpick every word.

• Managers will say it’s too strict (or not strict enough).

• Employees will claim they “don’t get it.”

This is where you refine the language, close any loopholes, and make sure the policies won’t collapse under scrutiny.

Who’s involved?

• Legal – Because lawsuits = bad.

• HR & Operations – The enforcers of workplace order.

• Leadership – The final sign-off, assuming they actually read it.

Step 6: Actually Tell People About the Policies (AKA Implementation)

If a policy exists but no one knows about it, does it even matter? Nope. So you need a rollout plan:

• Training sessions – Because if you just email the policies, no one will read them.

• Handbooks & digital access – So employees can’t say, “I didn’t know.”

• Q&A sessions – Because people will have questions (usually dumb ones, but still).

Who’s involved?

• HR & Training Teams – The unlucky folks who have to explain everything.

• IT – To make sure policies are accessible online.

• Managers – To enforce policies without looking like villains.

Step 7: Keep an Eye on It (AKA Monitoring & Updating)

Congrats, you’ve survived policy creation! But the work isn’t over—because people will find loopholes, and laws will change. So:

• Review policies annually to catch outdated rules.

• Track violations to see which policies need adjustments.

• Gather employee feedback (though mostly, they’ll just complain).

Who’s involved?

• HR & Compliance – The watchdogs of policy enforcement.

• Operations & Finance – Adjusting policies when budgets and processes shift.

• Leadership – Who will pretend they’ve read the updates.

Final Thoughts: Policies Shouldn’t Suck

Let’s be real—no one wakes up excited to read a policy manual. But if you do this right, your policies will be clear, fair, and (most importantly) enforceable.

If this all sounds like a nightmare and you’d rather not spend your time playing corporate lawyer, let Zamaworks handle it for you. We’ll craft policies that won’t put your employees to sleep—or land you in legal hot water.

Now go forth and create policies like a responsible adult. Or just call us. Either works.