Standard
3.2 Document TypesWithout standards, there can be no improvement
What is a standard?
Definition
A formal document stating the methods, structures, roles and responsibilities describing how something shall be performed
Purpose
To describe establish clear and practical frames for how something shall be performed
A standard is typically and extension of a policy, clarifying how the organisation shall work to comply with the policy. It typically states the methods, structures, roles and responsibilities that define the frames for how work should be performed for the specific subject matter.
Standards are typically internal and only for the eyes of the employees and auditors. It can contain company secrets that can give competitors and advantage if leaked.
Accountability, Responsibility & Lifespan
The accountability for standards lies in the Leadership layer. More specifically with the most senior manager within the company such as the CEO or equivalent. The accountability includes the approval of standards as well as the outmost responsibility that the standards are appropriately designed and implemented to a acceptable level.
Standards are a way for the senior manager to clarify how the organisation shall operate on a practical level through methods, structures and responsibilities.
The responsibility for standars also lies within the Leadership layer. Typically a senior manager in the management team is delegated (in the standard) the responsibility for maintaining, developing and implementing the standard in practice.
The standard provides clear structures for leaders and employees how the topic should be managed in practice.
A Standard is a document that typically has a fairly long lifespan. Structures and roles should not change too frequently as each change typically has significant impact on operations. This means that standards typically lives over several years and should updated regularly when improvements are needed.
Good practice is to update standards when needed (typically during larger improvement or transformation) or review at least once per year.
Typical Content
The format and content of a standard can vary widely depending on the subject matter it should cover. But some common headlines are:
The title should be clearly stated and as aligned with best-practice and standards to make it easy for both internal and external stakeholders to understand its content and purpose.
Standards must be strictly controlled. This means that information such as:
- Effective date (from when the document is in affect)
- Document owner (accountable role and approver)
- Sensitivity (public, internal, confidential or equivalent)
- Version history (summary of previous versions and changes)
The introduction should state the subject matter that the standard covers as well the purpose of the document.
The scope should define who or what is affected by this standard. In a corporate group setup, some standards might not affect all subsidiaries.
The methods, structures and/or guidelines should be clearly described to establish the frames for how things should be performed.
The roles, forums with purposes, responsibilities and mandates for working with the methods, structures or guidelines should be stated. As well as the roles and responsibilities for maintaining, developing and implementing the standard and all sub-level documents.
It should be stated how often the standard should be reviewed, unless stated in general for all standards (which is good practice).
References to policies or other relevant documents should be listed.
By having a clear, crisp and unified structure and way of working for all standards, the overall ability to adhere to policies and work effectively becomes much higher.
Standards are an important part for most assets and clarifies how to practically work.
Next Step
Read more about the forth document type, the Process…