Lesson 8 1-5

Definition of a Form:

A form is a pre-printed piece of paper or electronic sheet used to enter information. Use a form to record data in designated fields. There are literally thousands of forms. Forms that you may be familiar with include an application for employment, a time card, and a bank deposit slip. Forms are made up of fixed information (also known as boilerplate ) and blank spaces (also known as fields) for you to enter variable information.

What best defines a policy?

A policy is a broad guideline supportive of an enterprise goal. Organizations use both major and minor policies.

Policies:

A policy is a broad guideline supportive of an enterprise goal. Policies do not specify how an activity is to be carried out. Acme Manufacturing will always strive to meet open company vacancies by promoting existing employees is an example. Policies exist within a context of organizational objectives and management philosophies. Policies are limits to behavior because they prescribe methods of action. Policies range from major policies (type of business selected—wholesaling versus retailing) to minor policies (employees soliciting for fundraisers on company time). Policies may have both positive and negative effects on your operation. Too many policies create excessive bureaucracy, while too few don't provide sufficient guidance. Policies lead to development of procedures. Without sound policies, procedures are not supported by management purpose.

Procedures:

A procedure tells you how to accomplish a task. Procedures describe an established way to operate. They define a step-by-step process that tells you how to replicate the same activity exactly the same way it was done before. For example, a procedure to support a policy of promoting from within an organization specifies the following: Publicize job vacancy on central and satellite company bulletin boards. Communicate requirements for the position. Set deadlines for applications. Schedule interviews. Fill position (if suitable candidate exists).

Write and Produce a P&P Manual Write Various Sections

After you've collected information, begin writing the manual. Ask process owners to write first drafts of policies and procedures. Use positive statements to create employee expectations. Write clearly and avoid unneeded words and legal jargon. Expect to rewrite the P&P Manual two or three times. Be your own critic and read your manual from cover to cover over a period of a few days. Distribute review copies of the manual to supervisors and other people who have an appreciation for detail and provide constructive feedback. Ask supervisors questions such as, "Do you understand this policy?" or "Can you explain this procedure to your employees?" Collect all inputs, make changes, and re-circulate a rough draft for further review. Once a master/final copy is ready, produce your manual.

Make Revisions When Needed:

All P&P Manuals require revisions. Instead of making revisions when a policy or procedure changes, make changes every six or twelve months. Issue change requests (updates to specific sections of procedures) to communicate specific content changes. Place change requests in the appropriate section of your P&P Manual.

Layout:

Alphabetical layout is the most popular. Give each main classification a letter. For example, group Bonuses and Bulletin Boards under the letter (section) B. Consider use of an indented breakdown structure. This method is similar to what we discussed in an earlier lesson when we talked about filing methods.

Developing a P&P Manual

As an administrative assistant, the role you play to develop a Policy and Procedure Manual varies. You may make inputs into its development, write the manual, or be responsible for its distribution and revision. Your role is also dependent on the nature of your P&P Manual. Some manuals are high level and apply to an entire organization (for example, a Quality System P&P Manual that refers to improving quality for a company), while some only apply to a department.

Regardless of your role, follow these steps to produce an effective P&P Manual:

Assign authority and responsibility to produce and maintain the manual. Determine format and organization. Identify informational sources. Write various sections and produce the manual. Distribute to users. Make revisions when needed.

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Use of Company Bulletin Boards:

Bulletin boards are essential components of an organization's communication system. They have changed little over the years. Despite the popularity of electronic communication, a high percentage of employees rely on bulletin boards to keep informed. Create a policy to describe type of bulletin board (central, satellite, department); location; responsibility to maintain; allowable materials (permanent and temporary); and time length for posting. Use a procedure to define how materials are received, posted, and removed. Make sure to include a section on archiving previously posted materials.

Follow these principles to effectively manage forms: Catalog All Existing Forms:

Collect copies of all forms used in your organization. Gather information from department files and by interviewing personnel. File one copy and analyze another copy. Review forms to understand their function. Group similar forms and look for duplication.

Introduction:

Communicate the purpose of your manual in this section. Include organizational objectives and management philosophy and add a letter from your chief executive officer or other appropriate executive for a personal touch.

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Cost Control:

Cost control policies describe duties and responsibilities to manage expenses effectively. Develop policies for cost reduction opportunities, work performance improvement, unsafe working conditions, review of cost data, use of department materials, preventive maintenance, employee training, employee morale, travel and entertainment, capacity utilization, and productivity.

Authority Issues of P&P Manual:

Create a policy for this area. No procedure is necessary. Specify who has authority to develop and maintain your manual and who has authority to ensure compliance and execute its contents.

Employee Training Records:

Create forms and produce training records to satisfy internal and external requirements. Create areas for employee and trainer name, trainee's supervisor and department, topic of training, and date of training. Include a section that indicates if training was delivered successfully and define a place for trainer and trainee to sign.

Standardization:

Create forms so that data is entered in a uniform way. Standardization permits ease of data entry and facilitates reading and understanding.

Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Organizational Concepts

Create policies to describe how your organizational reporting structure works. Include sections on authority, responsibility, accountability, span of control (number of employees effectively supervised), and principal-agency relationship (obligation of a subordinate to act exclusively on behalf of a superior).

P&P: Delegate Authority

Delegate authority for job duties. Indicate responsibility and authority in procedures for carrying out key tasks.

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Use of Space:

Design your form to avoid dead (empty) space. However, leave sufficient space in the binding margin to allow your form to be hole-punched and stored in a binder. Don't crowd data. Allow for plenty of room for a user to clearly and accurately record data.

Simplification:

Design your forms so that they are easy to understand and follow and that data is easy to enter. Fool-proof your electronic forms so that it is difficult or even impossible to enter incorrect data. For example, if four-digit numeric information is needed for a certain field, create a computer program to reject three-digit or alphabetical input. Organize data fields in a logical way. Design your forms to be a road map of work performed by showing flow and sequence.

Produce the P&P Manual (Final Draft):

Determine cost constraints first. Management budgetary considerations dictate style of your P&P Manual. Consider a low-cost approach and use internal desktop publishing capabilities. Alternatively, outsource your manual for a more professional look. To easily add and remove revisions and new policies and procedures, use a three-ring, 8-1/2x11-inch binder with loose-leaf pages. Save space and reduce your manual to half the size and use a miniature binder. Use your company network to place your manual on your company Intranet or the Internet. We have some examples of electronically supported P&P Manuals in the Supplementary Material section.

What is a fundamental step to take to produce an effective Policy and Procedure Manual?

Determine format and organization. Identify informational sources. Write various sections and produce the manual.

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Printing of Forms:

Determine if printing your forms is best performed internally or externally. Many organizations maintain satisfactory in-house printing capabilities. If you work for an organization that employs purchasing professionals, enlist their assistance to select potential printing sources, request bids (if appropriate), negotiate, and make a selection.

Distribution of P&P Manual:

Develop a policy and procedure for distribution of your P&P Manual. Indicate who receives copies and how copies are distributed. Include a section to acknowledge receipt of your manual.

Schedules:

Develop forms to use schedules for a variety of purposes, including scheduling conference rooms for meetings, production, and testing. Include purpose of activity, start and end dates, participants, scheduler's name, and materials needed.

Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Management-Employee Relations

Develop policies and meet company and employee expectations that address compensation issues, employee recruiting methods, selection processes for vacant positions, grievance procedures, work schedules, employee benefits, seniority, working conditions, and communication methods.

Invoices:

Develop this form to record products sold and services performed. Include seller name and address, ship to and sold to name and addresses, invoice number, item purchased, quantity, price, and payment terms.

Distribute to Users:

Distribute hard copies of your manual to appropriate company personnel. Ask them to read all manual contents and sign a verification sheet maintained by management or personnel. Obtain signatures for electronic versions of your manual.

P&P: Increase Compliance

Document compliance practices to maintain overall company good faith with organizations and regulatory agencies, including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA).

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Employee Benefits:

Employee benefits are second only to compensation, as they represent between 30 to 40 percent of your salary. Develop policies that describe 401k investment plans, profit sharing, pensions, medical/dental/vision/prescription insurance, employee assistance services, educational reimbursement, credit union, personal disability and life insurance, child care reimbursement, vacation and leave of absence policy, and employee relocation policy.

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Employee Personnel File

Employee personnel files are a permanent record of significant events. Create a policy and a procedure that defines how personal information (resume); current company status (offer of employment letter, employment contract, job description); withholding allowance certificate; employee benefits; letters of commendation, performance reviews, disciplinary action notices, record of pay increases; documented participation in company sponsored civic affairs and record of academic and professional achievement are received, maintained, accessed, archived and destroyed for each employee. Make sure to specify where employee files are stored and who may access them.

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Employee Surveys:

Employee surveys (also known as assessments) are designed to collect information about a single, specific topic or general organizational conditions. Successfully administering surveys requires a high level of skill. Make sure that your policy includes survey purpose, method of administration, level of confidentiality needed, interpretation and sharing of results, and follow-up.

Follow these principles to effectively manage forms: Create a Forms Management Team:

Empower a team to oversee coordination of existing and new forms. Rotate membership periodically to increase understanding for all personnel.

Customer Complaints:

Feedback from your customers is desirable to develop solutions for problems that currently exist or may exist in the future. Feedback helps identify priorities, uncover unmet needs, and address process improvement opportunities. Design a form that specifies name of unhappy customer, date complaint was generated, employee name receiving complaint, nature of complaint, initial corrective action taken, root cause of complaint, final corrective action taken, and date complaint was closed.

Fixed Assets:

Fixed Assets typically have an original total cost of $5,000 or greater (including applicable installation costs), and have a useful life of one year or more. These assets are capitalized for financial accounting purposes and usually have a bar code label to keep track of an asset during its useful life. Use a Fixed Asset form to identify its purchase date, original cost, description, account number, and location.

Table of Contents/Index:

For hard copy manuals, create a table of contents to provide an outline of the manual and enable speedy location of various sections. Insert an alphabetical index at the back of your manual to help users find topics that can't easily be located in the table of contents.

Form Design:

Form design is essential to achieve your goals. Let's discuss how simplification and standardization is used.

Forms Management:

Forms are indispensable for effective office communications. Of all tools used in an office, forms may be the most basic, as they record data, communicate and transmit information, and create a permanent record of transactions and events. In your office, chances are that you think of forms. Forms create a network that issues instructions and supplies data for decision making. They support every function in an organization and reach suppliers, customers, employees, and significant third parties, including the government.

What statement best describes a form?

Forms are made up of fixed information and blank spaces for you to enter variable information. This is the most universal definition of a form.

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Using Office Forms:

Forms have a tendency to multiply. It's not uncommon for different departments to create very similar forms to achieve the same purpose. New forms are often introduced when desired information is currently contained in an existing form. Supporting forms is expensive. Approximately $20 is expended for each dollar spent to purchase forms. At times, forms take on a life of their own and live beyond their usefulness. An example is an administrative assistant who, when asked why she filled out a particular form, replied, "Because I've always done it this way." She had no idea where data went. Neither did anyone else. Take time to periodically review all forms in your system. Create a database of existing forms and their functions before you allow new forms to be developed. Consider general purpose forms for widespread applicability instead of specific use forms.

Purchase Order/Requisition:

If your organization purchases materials or services, it's very likely that a Purchase Order (P.O.) or Purchase Requisition is used. Create a P.O. form that includes buyer and seller name and address, P.O. number (usually serialized and pre-printed), date of generation, name and address of supplier, item ordered, quantity ordered, price, payment terms, delivery date, shipping instructions, and terms and conditions. Include requisition number, submission and need date, item needed, quantity needed, need date, and shipping instructions for requisition forms. Designate an area for signatures and account number for both forms.

P and P Manuals are used to support....

Improving Communication Reduce Training Time Improve Productivity Increase Compliance Delegate Authority

Revisions and Additions to P&P Manual:

In a clear manner, define your process to submit revisions and additions, approval process used, and distribution of amended and new documents.

Determine the Manual's Format and Organization:

Introduction Table of Contents Layout Information Sources

Assign Authority and Responsibility for P&P Manual:

It is top management's role to assign authority and responsibility for the manual. Assign a team leader and use a team effort to create and maintain the manual. Select participants based on process knowledge, writing ability, and ability to meet a schedule. Participants who represent an entire department must be empowered to speak for their co-workers in all matters related to the manual. Regardless of who brings your manual into existence, encourage all employees to initiate new or revise existing policies and procedures.

Common Contents in a P&P Manual:

It's difficult to include all areas typically found in a P&P Manual, but in this chapter, we'll share what we believe are the most important sections. Consider these high-level areas of content regardless of what type of organization you work for:

What is the main purpose of optical character recognition (OCR) Technology for forms management?

OCR assists in designing and using a form, scanning a form directly into an electronic computer file, and summarizing results. OCR involves reading text from paper using scanners and translating images into a form that a computer manipulates.

Follow these principles to effectively manage forms: Commonly Used Forms:

Of the thousands of forms used in organizations, it's likely that your office uses many of these forms: Human Resources Forms Employment Interviewing It is important that interviews go smoothly. It is estimated that less than 50 percent of hiring decisions are successful. Design an effective interviewing form and help your organization. Include applicant's and interviewer's name, date of interview, place of interview, and start and end times. For back-to-back interviews, indicate who transports the applicant from room to room. Include a rating scale (1-10) for questions regarding interpersonal and communication skills, job knowledge, and experience. Finally, designate a place for open-ended remarks (including a recommendation if the applicant should be hired).

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Forms:

Often abbreviated OCR, optical character recognition involves reading text from paper using scanners and translating images into a form that a computer manipulates. Use an OCR system to design and use a form, feed it directly into an electronic computer file, and summarize results. OCR technology is especially useful for survey and questionnaire data. OCR requires high-speed sorting and reading equipment and also significant quality control regarding caliber of ink and paper.

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: New Employee Handbook:

Orientating new employees to your organization is very important. Look at the sample checklist to create a policy regarding your new employee handbook within the Policy & Procedure Reference.

Policy and Procedure=?

Paperwork.

Policy and Procedure (P&P) Manual:

Policies and procedures are best presented in a Policy and Procedure (P&P) Manual. This manual provides a systematic way to administer company practices. A P&P Manual is a fundamental way for management to clarify expectations and describe ways to achieve them. It is a working tool to prevent problems due to lack of understanding.

Which person is best qualified to assist with writing accurate procedures?

Process owners. Consult with process owners (employees who know their operations very well) to develop the most effective procedures.

Project Management:

Project Management has become a very popular discipline. Develop forms that include project description and justification, project objectives and strategy, stakeholders (customers), work performance plan, scope (limits), deliverables (project output), expected cost, projected start and finish dates, project manager, and project team members.

Request for Quotation/Request for Proposal (RFQ/RFP):

RFQs and RFPs (interchangeable terms) are forms commonly used for competitive bidding. Use competitive bidding to purchase items of large dollar expense and for items defined by specifications. Organizations involved with government contracts are frequently asked to use RFQs and RFPs. Issue forms to prospective sellers that include terms and conditions, instructions, prospective seller name and address, contact name, reason for issuing RFQ/RFP (what is needed), response from seller, price, and date. An important element of RFQ/RFP is date a response is due.

P&P: Improve Productivity

Refer to your manual to accelerate decision-making. Use specific sections to standardize problem solving and ensure optimum and consistent delivery of process outputs.

The Efficient Office:

Right things done by right people at the right time using right methods characterize an efficient office. It's not an accident when this occurs. Sound policies, procedures, and well-designed forms (paper and electronic) play a major role to create a productive and organized office environment.

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Form Paper and Format:

Select paper that holds up well under repetitive use. Purchase appropriate pressure sensitive paper for multiple copies. Purchase proper weight, grade, and colored paper for your purposes. Use color-coded forms for optimum identification. Use large or bold fonts or underline to emphasize key areas on your form and ink that provides proper contrast to your paper.

Follow these principles to effectively manage forms: Communicate to Your Organization:

Share results from your review session with recommendations for elimination, improvement and/or consolidation of forms. Conduct meetings and issue surveys to decide which changes are to be made. Focus on degree of need, efficiency of design, distribution of the form, number of copies, and extent that the form satisfies its purpose and goal.

Shippers:

Similar to purchase orders, use a shipper to deliver products to your customers. Use fields found on a P.O. except substitute customer for supplier and add carrier name.

Purpose and Benefits of Forms:

The overall goal of an effective forms management program is to improve productivity and reduce cost of office methods, systems, and procedures. Achieve this goal through simplification, standardization, and control. Focus on these areas; realize paperwork reduction; and generate improvements in preparation, reading, analysis, distribution, and filing. Also, reduce paper and printing costs.

Forms vs. Records:

There is often confusion between a form and a record. A form is a blank document without variable information and a record is a completed form.

Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Human Relations

This policy defines expectations for conduct of employees with others inside and outside your organization. Human relations involve mutual respect, tolerance and civility among all personnel, suppliers, customers, and other parties. Include sections on discrimination and overall conduct based on race, gender, religion, age, national origin, disability, or socioeconomic background.

P&P: Reduce Training Time

Train new and current employees to understand company policies and learn basic job functions.

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Number of Copies:

Use a single-copy form when only an original is required. Use multiple-copy forms to communicate with different company personnel. Keep the number of copies to a minim

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Responsibility for Form Design:

Use a team approach to develop effective office forms. Recruit a process owner/subject matter expert; a user of your form; and for complex forms, a graphic designer.

Consider these guidelines when you design a form: Form Content and Organization:

Use a title and serial number for identification purposes. For example, Purchase Requisition and 12574-A. Create group fields so they flow from left to right and from top to bottom. Maximize preprinted fields to reduce the amount of data entry. Achieve efficiency through use of yes/no and multiple-choice questions. Use checkboxes with captions for efficiency. Include appropriate instructions based on the complexity of your form.

P&P: Improve communication

Use your manual to avoid confusion and to spread business philosophies within and between departments.

Use of a P&P Manual:

We talked earlier about using a right balance for policies. This concept is illustrated in a P&P Manual. It is impractical to write a procedure for every task. Design your P&P Manual to help employees communicate, act with confidence, and maintain high morale. Write policy statements clearly, but also make them flexible. Empower employees to solve problems they are capable of without referring to an excessive number of procedures or requesting frequent guidance from management. Provide access to all employees who need to know and follow the contents of your P&P Manual. If possible, place your manual on your company Intranet. Assign passwords for security.

In addition to these high-level policies, it's likely that your organization maintains (or should maintain) policies in these areas: Human Resources Polices and Procedures: Employee Suggestion System:

When used properly, employee suggestion systems improve employee morale, worker productivity, and organizational performance. A high percentage of suggestion systems fail because of poor planning and poor execution (lack of follow-through). Develop a policy to institute an effective suggestion system that includes company expectations, definition of a good suggestion, eligible suggestions, categories for suggestions, and reward and recognition methods.

Work Order:

Work orders authorize performance of activities by employees and contractors. Include the date work is to be performed, nature of work, quantity produced, and who is to perform work. Make sure your form contains a signature for supervisor authorizing work and for person who performs work.

Identify Informational Sources:

Writing a P&P Manual from scratch can be difficult. We'll provide some assistance with writing procedures and other documents in the next lesson. Collaborate with associates in other departments and organizations and borrow (with permission) from existing policies and procedures. Locate previous policies and procedures from your own department and modify as appropriate. Many of these documents may be stored in co-workers' files. Consult with employees who know their operations very well (called process owners or subject matter experts ). Request that flow charts be developed, as they are excellent source documents to develop procedures. Make sure to conduct a meeting with process owners to validate authenticity of procedures.

Set up a formal system to record requests for revision. Institute a formal review process before you...

accept a proposed revision. Distribute revised policies and procedures at your designated revision time cycle and instruct personnel to discard outdated pages and insert new documents.

In a high percentage of organizations, responsibility for administering and supporting and even creating internal documents and forms resides with...

administrative assistants.

distinguishing between a policy and a procedure. There is often...

confusion between the two.

Another option is group your P&P Manual material by...

functional department. For example, segregate sections by accounting, engineering, and marketing functions.

Your success as an administrative assistant depends on...

how well you coordinate activities in your office. To meet this challenge, create outstanding policies and procedures and design and manage useful forms.

Create a format that encourages...

use of the manual. Disorganized P&P Manuals are not very useful. During the planning stage of your manual, consider its structure, its contents and update methods.

Use policies, procedures, and forms effectively to meet organizational objectives and to create harmony and order in your day-to-day activities. Your manager and co-workers rely on...

your expertise in this area.