Policy examples 

Policies don’t necessarily need to be written down—or related to work. Here are a few examples of personal policies:

• A savings policy—that drives what you set aside for future expenses, investments, or a rainy day
• A healthy living policy—that influences the way you exercise, eat, and sleep 
• A social media policy—that reflects your values about privacy
• A digital detox policy—that limits your screen time 
• A personal development policy—that helps you prioritize learning new skills and trying new hobbies 
• A no-complaining policy—that makes you more positive, grateful, and solution-oriented
• A regular self-care policy—that encourages you to do the things that make you feel your best
• An eco-friendly policy—that impacts how often you compost, recycle, ride your bike, etc.
• A punctuality policy—that means you call or text people if you’re running late

Workplace policies might include:

• A code of conduct—that covers confidentiality, conflicts of interest, dress code, use of company property, etc.
• A recruitment policy—that codifies how you hire new people
• An internet and email policy—that explains everything from security protocols to what is and isn’t appropriate
• A cell phone policy—that communicates any rules around phone usage at work
• A smoking policy—that goes over if, when, and where you can smoke
• A drug and alcohol policy—that prohibits the use, possession, and exchange of drugs and alcohol
• A travel policy—that informs how you should book and expense business travel
• An anti-discrimination and harassment policy—that provides clear guidelines for making sure everyone feels safe and welcome at work
• A disciplinary action policy—that helps managers address unacceptable behavior

Procedure examples 

Examples of procedures are everywhere you look.

If you’ve ever assembled a piece of Ikea furniture (💪🏼), applied for a driver’s license, painted your toenails, followed a recipe, conducted a scientific experiment, or evacuated a building for a fire drill, chances are you’ve followed a procedure to a certain extent. 

Well-documented procedures provide a clear roadmap for what to do, when. Here’s an example of how to make tea, in 10 steps:

The same logic applies at work.

You might rely on some pre-established procedures to make your job easier. Or you may be tasked with inventing them on your own. That’s the fun part, if you ask us! 

If part of your success hinges on helping others adopt something you’ve discovered or built, you probably already know how important knowledge-sharing is. And you probably already know how tedious, time-consuming, and underappreciated process documentation can be. But it doesn’t have to be. 🤩

If you teach people to use software, there’s a better way to share everything you know. Generating how-to guides automatically, as you work, makes process documentation:

• So easy → You won’t feel like you’re making documentation at all 
• So clear → You’ll never go back to dense text or long videos
• So fast → You’ll create 10x more tutorials in the time it used to take you to do one 

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Obvious upsides

• Process makes perfect. ✨ If it’s documented, it’s not just easier to learn and teach. It’s also easier to streamline and scale.

• A single source of truth. 🎯 We spend 3.6 hours each day searching for information we need. Pre-established policies and procedures help everyone take back time.

• Faster decision-making. 🚀  What helps people avoid indecision and move past points of uncertainty? Having clear guidelines and step-by-step instructions.

• Better onboarding experiences. 👋 Policies and procedures help new hires hit the ground running—without as many question marks.

• Increased compliance. ✅ Want to manage risk and protect your organization from legal liability? Two words: policies and procedures.

• More consistent results. 👍🏿 With processes, you can reliably replicate successes—and isolate and correct mistakes.

Underrated advantages

• Fewer interruptions. 🙌 With a framework in place (a policy) and instructions in hand (a procedure), you’re less likely to send that email—or be emailed down the road. 

• More autonomy and ownership. 🎉 Policies and procedures empower you to learn processes, use new tools, and be your best at work. 

• Less knowledge-hoarding. 👯 Knowledge is only valuable when it’s shared. Want to connect people and information? Have step-by-step procedures informed by overarching policies.

• Documentation as a differentiator. 🧠 What’s inside your head is a competitive advantage for your company—and the best way to protect and manage that knowledge is by documenting it. 

• A culture of documentation. ✍🏾 The easier it is to create documentation, the more documentation you and your team will create. And the more documentation you create, the more knowledge will be captured, shared, and put to work. 

• Operational excellence. 🏆 With policies and procedures that everyone can find, follow, and continuously improve, you can optimize the processes contributing to company growth.