Policy Documentation: boring but necessary.

The 4 do’s and don’t of documentation.

When it comes to documentation (whether policy or general institutional knowledge), there is often resistance. The resistance may come from the fact that it takes a little bit of time, it can be tedious when trying to get it “just right”, or people may claim it is a waste of time. At Kindred Works, we have seen time and time again that a lack of documentation leads to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and a lack of accountability. The effort you make to document company knowledge - and keep it updated - is well worth the benefits.

If you work at a startup, you can follow these steps to ensure your employees know what is expected of them:

1. Write it down

   If something is considered a “norm” in your workplace, you should write it down. This can be anything from how you communicate on slack, to expectations for turnaround times on emails or customer support tickets, or your PTO policy.

   
   

2. Don’t set it and forget it

   Once you have a policy or guidelines, be sure to share them in multiple ways: 

   1. Present it in a company all-hands.

   2. Document it on your company software ensuring everyone has access (for example, on Confluence or Notion).

   3. Include policies and norms in your onboarding efforts, whether in your company handbook or onboarding materials. 

   4. Email it to the company.

   5. Remind people in Slack where to find the documentation.

   6. Make it easily searchable by using clear keywords, and think of alternate wording. 

      1. For example: when looking for the PTO Policy, people might search “vacation policy” instead.

   7. Remind people of the policy. This can be as often as quarterly. You may consider going over all policies at least once a year, particularly after large hiring sprints. 

   8. Audit and update your documentation regularly. If you are reminding people quarterly, that is a great checkpoint to ensure your documentation isn’t out of date.

      
      

3. Be extremely clear

   1. Write out your policy, and have others review it and weigh in on things that might be unclear.

   2. Collaborate! Your documentation will always be better if you get input and feedback from your managers and leaders. 

   3. Make it clear when managers have discretion. For example: Is it up to a manager whether or not an employee can work remotely during certain days, or is there a blanket company policy that should be followed by everyone?

      
      

4. Leadership and Managers set the example

   1. Set the expectation that leadership is required to follow company policies.

   2. Ensure that they enforce policies with consistency on their teams.

   3. Give your managers feedback if they are not living up to company expectations.

Following these guidelines will help ensure that your employees can navigate the workplace with confidence. The time you spend documenting your policies will save you time in future workplace disagreements and confusion.

If you’re having trouble:

• writing policy

• knowing what norms and rituals are worth documenting

• scaling your policy

• or having people follow or enforce policy 

Kindred Works is happy to help! You can fill out our form or email info@kindred-works.co.