A policies and procedures manual is a reference document that brings together a company's written rules and the steps for carrying out its work: what is allowed, who does what, in what order, and who approves. Its value is that the company works the same way whoever is in the seat, so the work never depends on one employee's memory.
This guide, written for company leaders in Saudi Arabia, covers what a policies and procedures manual includes, the difference between a policy and a procedure, when your company needs one, how it's prepared step by step, and how to choose who writes it: your own team, a ready-made template or a consulting firm working with you.
What is a policies and procedures manual?
A policies and procedures manual is the reference that answers two questions for every activity in the company: what rule governs it, and how is it carried out? A policy sets the rule, its limits and who is authorised; a procedure turns the policy into ordered steps, each with an owner, inputs, outputs and an expected duration.
At SELA we prepare this manual as part of standardising policies and procedures within SELA's operations track, alongside the organisational structure, the authority matrix and KPIs. A manual written separately from the structure and authorities soon contradicts them, and employees end up caught between two documents that say different things.
A simple example shows the difference between the levels. The purchasing policy says that any purchase above a set limit needs several quotes and financial approval. The purchasing procedure explains the steps: who raises the request, how quotes are collected, who compares them, where the decision is recorded and when the purchase order is issued.
| Level | The question it answers | Purchasing example |
|---|---|---|
| Policy | What is the rule, and why? | Any purchase above a set limit needs quotes and financial approval |
| Procedure | Who does what, in what order? | The steps for requesting, comparing, approving and issuing the order |
| Work instruction | How is one task done in detail? | How to enter a purchase order in the accounting system |
| Form | What is recorded and kept? | The purchase request form and the quote comparison form |
A common mistake is to write the whole manual as general policy, so it looks complete but never answers the employee's daily question: what do I do now, and who do I send this to? The opposite mistake is to write it all as detailed instructions, so it swells and becomes hard to update.
A good manual keeps the levels apart: a few stable policies approved at a senior level, clearer procedures owned by departments, and instructions and forms that change when needed without a long approval cycle.
The manual doesn't replace the other organisational documents; it connects them. The structure sets the departments, job descriptions set each role's tasks, the authority matrix sets decision limits, and the manual explains how they work together. When these documents contradict each other, employees follow habit, not what's written.
When does your company need a policies and procedures manual?
A five-person startup doesn't need a hundred-page manual. The need appears as the team grows and departments or branches multiply: the founder can no longer answer every question personally, and each department starts working its own way.
If two or more of these apply, the lack of a manual is costing you now, even if it doesn't show in the numbers. Time lost to asking, correcting and waiting for approvals doesn't appear in any report, but it builds up every day for the team and for customers.
What leadership gains goes beyond fewer mistakes. Written limits let managers delegate with confidence, make it faster to replicate the operation in a new branch, prepare the company for internal or external reviews, and lay the ground for later systems or automation.
If your company is small, don't shelve the idea entirely and don't overdo it either. Start with the few policies and procedures that touch money and customers directly, such as payments, purchasing and invoicing, then extend the manual as the team grows.
The lack of documentation usually shows up in a diagnosis before anything else. In an organisational diagnosis at a plastics manufacturer that found partners' decisions made without regular meetings or records, the findings became three development interventions, the first being managers' authorities. An unwritten rule stays open to interpretation, however committed the team.
A manual doesn't fix every problem. If the fault lies in the structure, the division of roles or unclear priorities, writing down today's procedures locks the fault in. That's why a good manual starts with a diagnosis that decides what to document as it is and what to improve first.
What does a policies and procedures manual include?
The content varies with the company's activity and size, but the overall structure is similar. It opens with a framework that governs the whole document, then each department's policies and procedures, then the forms and appendices the team uses every day.
Every procedure page follows the same template, so employees find information in the same place whatever the department:
- Purpose and scope: why the procedure exists and whom it applies to.
- Responsibilities: who carries out each step, who reviews and who approves.
- Steps: in order and with durations, plus a simple workflow diagram.
- Forms and records: what is filled in, where it's kept and for how long.
- Measure: how you know the procedure is followed and achieves its purpose.
- Revision history: version number, date and who approved it.
The departments that most need written standard operating procedures are those that touch money, people and customers: finance and purchasing, HR, and sales and customer service. Industrial and service companies add quality, safety and field operations.
Some content has a regulatory reference it must stay consistent with. HR policies relate to the establishment's internal work regulations, and the Qiwa platform explains to business owners how to prepare those work regulations (in Arabic). A policy on handling personal data is written in line with Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law.
If your company is listed, the Capital Market Authority's Corporate Governance Regulations require the board to set written policies, including one on conflicts of interest. Even an unlisted company can use them as a reference when writing its main policies.
Authorities aren't written into each procedure separately. They sit in the authority matrix the manual refers to: who proposes, who reviews, who approves, and within what financial limits. We explain how to build one in our guide to organisational structure and the authority matrix. That way an approval limit changes in one place, not in twenty procedures.
How do you prepare a policies and procedures manual, step by step?
Preparing a policies and procedures manual doesn't start with writing; it starts with understanding how the team actually works today. A manual written in an office, away from reality, describes a company that doesn't exist, and the team ignores it from the first week.
- 1Diagnosis and scopeWhich departments and processes come first, and what problem the manual solves.
- 2Map current proceduresInterviews with the people who do the work, mapping the steps as they happen today.
- 3Improve before documentingRemove unnecessary steps, clarify approval points and link them to the authority matrix.
- 4Write in one formatOne template for every policy and procedure, in plain language with forms attached.
- 5Review and approvalReview by procedure owners and management, plus a legal review where regulations apply.
- 6Roll out and updateTrain the teams, track adherence and review the manual regularly.
The most important stage is improving before documenting. Documenting a procedure that carries approvals nobody needs makes the waste official. At every step, ask: why does it exist, what happens if we remove it, and who really needs to approve it?
These stages follow the method we use on every project: diagnosis, then designing the model and plan, then delivery, then follow-up and improvement, with one party accountable to you. If you plan to automate processes later, documented, improved procedures are the starting point, as we explain in what business automation is and how to prepare your company for it.
Don't try to document everything at once. Start with the processes that have the most impact and the most repeated mistakes, finish and apply their part of the manual, then move to the next department. A manual that covers three departments and is used is worth more than one that covers the whole company and nobody opens.
Write each procedure in the language of the person who will follow it: short sentences, clear verbs, one step per line. Give every procedure an owner responsible for updating it and a date for its next review, so the manual doesn't go stale with the first change to a system or the structure.
Think about the manual's format from the start. A long file emailed once soon exists in several versions, and nobody knows which one is approved. Publish it in one place the team can reach easily, with an index, search and a clear version for each procedure, and withdraw old copies with every update.
Finally, don't approve the manual before the people who will follow it have tried it. Pick one or two procedures, have the team work with them for two weeks, then collect feedback: where they got stuck, what they didn't understand, which step they skipped. That short trial reveals what a desk review never will.
How do you choose who writes your policies and procedures manual?
You have three options: your own team writes the manual, you start from a ready-made template and adapt it, or you engage a consulting firm to prepare it with you. Each has its place, depending on the company's size, how clear its processes are and how much time your team has.
| Option | When it fits | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| In-house team | Clear, stable processes and a team with time and writing skills | Day-to-day work crowds it out, so the manual slips or documents reality without improving it |
| Ready-made template | A starting point for headings and a consistent format | It describes another company and needs a full rewrite to match your processes and authorities |
| Consulting firm | Fast growth, reorganisation, or processes that need improving before they're documented | Choose a firm that starts with a diagnosis and supports rollout, not one that only hands over files |
If you choose an outside firm, ask about five things:
- Approach: do they start with interviews with the people who do the work, or with a template they put your name on?
- Improvement: do they review and improve procedures before writing them, or document them as they are?
- Link to operations: is the manual tied to the organisational structure, the authority matrix and KPIs?
- Rollout: do they train the teams and track adherence after approval?
- Updates: who owns the manual after handover, and how is it updated when processes change?
Ask for a written scope in the proposal: the departments and processes covered, what's delivered at each stage, who approves it and how the team will be trained on it. "Preparing a policies and procedures manual for the company" on its own gives you nothing to compare two proposals by.
Agree in advance on what you'll receive, not on a page count. The outputs worth writing into the contract are approved policies and procedures for the departments in scope, workflow diagrams, forms, the link to the authority matrix, a training plan, and an update process with an owner for each procedure.
Whoever you choose, the manual needs things you can't outsource: a senior sponsor who settles disagreements between departments, time from procedure owners for interviews and review, and a clear decision that the approved manual is the reference whenever someone disputes how the work is done.
Be wary of quick promises, such as a complete manual for every department in a few days without interviewing the people who do the work. For comparing firms in general, our guide on how to choose a management consulting firm sets out criteria you can apply here too.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a policy and a procedure?
A policy is a general rule that sets what must happen and why, such as requiring quotes for large purchases. A procedure explains how that rule is applied step by step: who raises the request, who reviews it, who approves it and which forms are used. Policies rarely change; procedures change whenever the way of working does.
How long does it take to prepare a policies and procedures manual?
It depends on how many departments and processes are in scope, how much is already documented, whether procedures need improving first, and how quickly the company reviews and approves them. What usually takes the time is the interviews, improving the procedures and agreeing on them, not the writing itself, so it helps to phase the work by department.
Can we use a ready-made policies and procedures manual template?
A template helps you organise headings and standardise the format, but it describes another company with its own structure, authorities and systems. Copying it as it is produces a manual that doesn't match your work, so the team ignores it or applies it wrongly. Use it only as a starting point, then build the content from your actual procedures.
Who should own the policies and procedures manual once it's approved?
The manual is best owned by one function, such as quality or the chief executive's office, which manages updates and versions, while each procedure has an owner in its department who keeps it accurate. The company also sets when the manual is reviewed and who approves changes, so copies don't multiply and content doesn't go stale.
Does the manual replace an authority matrix?
No. The manual explains the rules and the steps of the work, while the authority matrix sets who proposes, who reviews and who approves each decision, and within what financial limits. The manual should refer to the matrix rather than repeat limits inside every procedure, so a limit changes in one place and every procedure stays consistent.
Next step: start with the processes that matter most
A successful policies and procedures manual isn't measured by its page count, but by whether employees find the answer to their daily question in it, and whether the team works the same way when anyone is away. Start by identifying the highest-impact processes in your company, then choose who will prepare the manual with you and support its rollout.
If you'd like to know where to begin, talk to SELA's team about your policies and procedures manual and we'll suggest an initial scope that fits your company's size and stage.
