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The Three P’s – Policy, Process, Procedure

Leave a Comment / Entrepreneur, Operations, Small Business, Tips / By Cindy Donaldson / August 6, 2020 / Instructions, jenn donovan, operations, policy, procedure, process, red barn consulting, rules, Tasks, Three P's

The Three P’s are kind of a big deal here at Red Barn. However, many people don’t quite understand what the difference is between a Policy, a Process, and a Procedure. In fact, many people use the terms interchangeably, and often incorrectly. Regardless of how you use them, it’s important to know that they are a vital part of your Operations. How can you hold yourself and your team accountable if you don’t have everything outlined, documented, and available?

Everything we do at work is governed by the Three P’s. Having unclear, undefined P’s is not so bad if you are a solopreneur, but if you have employees, vendors or contractors, and clients – you need clearly defined and documented P’s for everyone to follow.

So what do the Three P’s stand for?

The policy is the Rules and Standards that your company adheres to.

The process is the What, Who, and When.

The procedure is How and Where.

The Policy

Policies are at the top level of the Operational System. They state the principles by which your business will operate. You should aim to have a written Policy for every one of your business operations.

The Policy defines the RULES within which everyone involved in the activity will operate. It can also define minimum STANDARDS to be delivered. An example of a policy may be that the time clock is required to be used to document working hours – no handwritten time slips will be accepted.

The Process

The Process sits one level down from the Policy. It outlines how the rules and standards set by the Policy will be achieved by listing the tasks to be done, who does them, and when they do them.

The Process is the WHAT, WHO, and WHEN. An example of this would be that all hourly employees (who) are required to use the time clock to document their working hours (what) by punching in and out at the start and end of their shift and lunch breaks (when). Managers (who) are responsible for checking the timeclock log (what) on a daily basis (when) for missed punches.

This isn’t where all the details live. It’s simply just the tasks involved in the process. The process should make sure it covers all the rules and standards defined by the Policy. Not every Process needs to have a Procedure. The Procedure is where the details live, so if you need more information outlined than listed in the Process, spend a little more time documenting the Procedure for each task.

The Procedure

Procedures support the Process by defining exactly how you want each task to be executed. It lists the step by steps tasks to complete the process. It captures the HOW the task is done and WHERE to find the resources to do the task.

The level of detail to put into your Procedures depends on your level of comfort, who will be doing the task, and any requirements based on your company’s industry and certifications – like manufacturing and ISO certifications require very detailed procedures.

In our example of using the time clock, for the hourly employees, we would detail how to use the timeclock – do they swipe a card or enter a code, what buttons do they need to push to get their punches to register, what is the process if they miss a punch, are their rules on how early or late they can punch in without discipline, etc. You must also outline the tasks for the Managers – how do they check the log, what do they do if an employee is too early or late, how do they record a missed punch, etc. Who do they contact if there are issues with the timeclock?

A Procedure addresses a single task performed by a single person, so it should be relatively succinct, but complete enough that the person doing the task does not need to ask questions.

You will note that the Procedure is strictly the set of steps, and where to find the resources needed to complete the task. There’s no When and there’s no Who because that information is in the Process. The Procedure is designed to be picked up and carried out by anyone assigned to the task.

Spending time documenting your Three P’s will result in improved efficiency, less confusion, and mistakes, and allow you to delegate tasks or onboard new employees faster. Overall, better operations mean happier customers.

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You’ve started your Facebook group – Now what?

You’ve set up your Facebook Business Page, and you are ready to create your Facebook Group – but: What should I call it? How do you get members? What do you post about? Should the group be public, closed, or secret? How do you prevent trolls? Should I set rules or questions to join the group? All great questions, and things you need to consider before you get your Group off the ground.

Before you launch your Facebook Group – you should determine what the primary goal of your group is. Yes, the ultimate goal is to increase sales for your business, but people won’t join your group if they think it’s just a continuous sales pitch. Many businesses create Facebook Groups as a place to share some free advice and tips and tricks. It’s a place where you can be seen as an expert so that eventually the group becomes a feeder for your sales pipeline. SO, choose a name that conveys what your group is about. No one will join a group that is the name of your business. Name it something that relates to the topic or theme of what you want your group to be. You can incorporate the company name if it makes sense, but it doesn’t have to be included. Once you determine what you want the look and feel to be, pick a cover photo, create your description, etc.[/cs_text][cs_text]You also want to determine if your group will be public and anyone can join, they need to request to join, or it’s by invite only. Public groups are great for certain things, but if you only want your ideal clients or target audience in the group – I’d suggest a private group where you must manually accept requestors. There are a few instances where secret groups make sense – but those are usually part of a paid membership offering.

Many private Facebook Groups require members to answer a few questions before they can join. This is a great way to learn more about your members. Some sample questions may be: How did you hear about this Group? Have you viewed our free training or downloaded our Free XXX workbook? This helps you weed our spammers or trolls as well. They typically won’t take the time to fill out questions. BUT it allows you to get some insight into how much your audience knows about you, if they’ve viewed any of your lead magnets (free downloads or trainings) or any other info you want to gather.
[/cs_text][cs_text]It’s important to set the stage from the launch on the Group expectations. Create a pinned post at the top of the page so that the first thing new members see are the rules and expectations of the group. A few good housekeeping rules to post are 1. Keep things courteous – be respectful to others in the group. 2. No spam or plugging your business. (You will get trolls who try to join every group and post about what they are selling.) 3. This is your group too, please engage, ask questions, etc. 4. Give value – post things relevant to the group and its members. 5. Be open and share your own personal experiences, struggles, suggestions, etc. If you come across a troll or all around rude person, it’s ok to delete them.

Gaining a following in your Group can take time. Don’t get discouraged and give up. It’s important to get the word out about your group. Some easy ways are inviting people you are already connected to who might find interest it in. You can also send out an email to your list of contacts to see if they have any interest in joining. Why not add a link in your email signature or on your website as well? If people don’t know about your group – they can’t join!

Lastly, and probably most importantly, is posting engaging content. Get the engagement started with some posts of your own related to the Group topic. Don’t post salesy stuff about your own business. Share some of your own wins or loses, ask questions around areas that you may have personally struggled with. Share some 3rd party articles you found interesting or infographics. Once you get the ball rolling, others should follow.

As your group grows you may want to enlist others that you know to help moderate the page by making them an admin. It’s important that someone is always watching the group, letting in the right people, and encouraging participation.