Policies, procedures and processes

There can be some overlap between these terms. But generally:

• Policies are high-level guidelines for your business. For example, a policy on personal internet use at work.
• Processes are a series of actions you take to achieve something. For example, the process you follow to onboard new staff.
• Procedures are detailed instructions for a task. For example, how to allocate and activate a new employee’s network login. A procedure might be part of a process.

Consider having policies for:

• workplace health and safety, including a plan for emergencies
• anti-discrimination, harassment and bullying
• managing stress and mental health
• handling conflicts of interest
• appropriate use of computers, internet and social media
• how staff should dress at work
• recruitment and induction
• dealing with customer complaints and employee complaints
• protecting customer information
• selling products or services, including fulfilling orders and dealing with returns
• how to open and close the business every day
• working from home or remotely
• staff leave.

• Consult your staff about new policies that might affect them. Help your workers understand why the policy is important.
• Identify important processes and tasks then develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for each.
• Document your policies, processes and procedures. Make sure staff can access them easily.
• Teach staff about the policies, processes and procedures specific to their role. Make this a part of onboarding new employees.
• Regularly review your processes and procedures. This should include asking staff how you could improve them.

Your business may also be subject to standards, codes of conduct and codes of practice. These are different for each industry and can be mandatory or voluntary.

To find out which standards and codes might apply to your business use:

• our industry information pages
• the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS).

You also need to make sure your staff are aware of their legal obligations. This includes complying with Australian Consumer Law.