Improve the policies and procedures you already have

In this page

A document can look finished and still fail its users
What we review
What you receive
Optional AI-readiness review
Policy review or Policy and Procedure Audit?
What the review does not cover
How it works
Contact us

You might not need a new policy or procedure. Instead, you might need someone to check whether the existing document is clear, complete, and usable.

Cherryleaf reviews policies and procedures for organisations that already have content but are not confident it works as well as it should.

We check the wording, structure, consistency, cross-references and document controls.

We identify gaps and contradictions.

We can also edit the document when the review is complete.

You receive clear findings, specific recommendations and a realistic view of the work required.

Discuss your project

A document can look finished and still fail its users

The document is approved. Then an employee tries to use it, and:

  • They cannot tell whether the policy applies to them.
  • The procedure assumes they know information, when, in reality, they don’t.
  • Key exceptions and edge cases either aren’t covered, or they make the documents too dense to read.
  • One section refers to a form that no longer exists.
  • The responsibility table contradicts the instructions.

Nobody checked the whole experience from the user’s point of view.

That is the gap this service fills.

What we review

We will agree the review criteria with you before we start. We typically use the document quality matrix developed by IBM.

You can ask us to review one important document, a related group of policies and procedures, or a larger batch.

Readability

We check whether the intended audience can understand the document without unnecessary effort.

We look for:

  • Long or overloaded sentences
  • Unexplained terms and abbreviations
  • Passive wording that hides responsibility
  • Vague instructions
  • Unnecessary repetition
  • Legal or technical language that has not been explained
  • Inconsistent names for the same role, system or process
  • Paragraphs that contain several unrelated points

We do not reduce every sentence to its shortest possible form. The test is whether the detail helps the user act.

Usability

A readable document is not automatically a usable one.

We check whether the reader can answer practical questions such as:

  • Does this apply to me?
  • What do I need to do?
  • Who approves this?
  • What happens next?
  • What should I do when the normal process does not fit?
  • Which form or system do I use?
  • Where can I get help?
  • Which rule takes priority?

We also check whether warnings, deadlines, approval limits and exceptions appear where people need them.

Gaps, duplication and contradictions

Policies and procedures grow over time.

We look for:

  • Missing steps
  • Missing decisions
  • Duplicated instructions
  • Repeated rules with different wording
  • Statements that conflict within the same document
  • Conflicts with related documents
  • Undefined responsibilities
  • Gaps between a policy and the procedure that supports it
  • References to forms, systems or teams that no longer exist

Where the content needs a business, legal or compliance decision, we flag the point for the authorised owner. We do not make that decision for you.

Structure

Readers should not have to read the full document to find one answer.

We check the order of the content, heading levels, section titles and the way related information is grouped.

We might recommend:

  • Moving content
  • Splitting one document into several documents
  • Combining overlapping sections
  • Turning dense paragraphs into steps or tables
  • Moving definitions closer to where they are used
  • Adding a contents list or local navigation
  • Changing headings so they describe the information underneath

We also check whether the document type is right. For example: A document called a policy might contain nothing but work instructions, and a procedure might contain rules that belong in a policy.

Consistency

We check consistency in:

  • Terminology
  • Document titles
  • Templates
  • Headings
  • Numbering
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Version information
  • Approval records
  • Dates
  • References to other documents

For a batch review, we identify patterns across the whole set rather than reporting the same fault document by document.

Ownership and review information

We check whether the document states:

  • Who owns it
  • Who approved it
  • When it took effect
  • When it was last reviewed
  • When the next review is due
  • Which version is current
  • Which documents it replaced
  • Which business area is responsible for updates

We also look for signs that the stated owner is no longer suitable, such as a deleted team name or a role that no longer exists.

Cross-references

Cross-references become a problem when they send readers to dead links, withdrawn files or documents with conflicting instructions.

We check:

  • Links
  • Document titles
  • Section references
  • References to forms and templates
  • Dependencies between policies and procedures
  • References to laws, standards or internal controls
  • Whether the linked content is necessary to complete the task

We can also suggest where content should be linked instead of repeated.

Findability

A well-written document has little value if staff cannot find it.

We review titles, headings, keywords and introductory text to see whether they match the language employees use.

For example: Staff might search for “holiday” while the organisation uses “annual leave”.

We check whether the document makes its subject, audience and purpose clear. Where relevant, we also review file names, page titles and metadata.

Accessibility

We review the content and structure for issues that make documents harder to use.

Depending on the file format and scope, this can include:

  • Heading structure
  • Descriptive link text
  • Unclear table layouts
  • Instructions that depend on colour
  • Unexplained images
  • Dense blocks of text
  • Inconsistent reading order
  • Scanned content that cannot be searched
  • Formatting that breaks when text is enlarged

A full technical accessibility test is a separate piece of work. We will state clearly what our review covers.

What you receive

You can choose a review-only service or a review followed by editing.

Review comments

For a small number of documents, we can add comments directly to the files.

The comments explain:

  • What the problem is
  • Why it affects the reader
  • What needs to change
  • Who needs to make the decision

We distinguish writing changes from questions that need a response from Legal, HR, Compliance, IT or another owner.

A review report

For larger projects, we provide a report that groups the findings by subject.

The report can cover:

  • Repeated writing problems
  • Structural weaknesses
  • Missing information
  • Contradictions
  • Broken dependencies
  • Ownership gaps
  • Template problems
  • Accessibility concerns
  • Recommended priorities

The report gives you a clearer view than hundreds of separate comments.

A prioritised action list

Some findings need immediate attention. Others can wait for the next scheduled review.

We can classify the work according to urgency, impact and effort.

For example:

  • Correct now
  • Confirm with a subject expert
  • Rewrite
  • Merge with another document
  • Update during the next review cycle
  • Withdraw
  • Leave unchanged

This prevents minor copy edits from taking attention away from incorrect instructions or missing controls.

Edited documents

We can revise the documents after the review.

This can include:

  • Rewriting unclear passages
  • Restructuring sections
  • Correcting terminology
  • Removing repetition
  • Improving headings
  • Fixing cross-references
  • Applying a standard template
  • Adding ownership and review fields

Your authorised subject experts approve changes to policy, process or legal meaning.

Review levels

Not every document needs the same depth of review.

We can agree one of the following approaches or create a scope that fits your project.

Focused review

A focused review checks a specific issue.

For example:

  • Readability
  • Consistency with a template
  • Cross-references
  • Suitability for a defined audience
  • Document controls
  • Preparation for publication

This works well when you already know what needs attention.

Full document review

A full review covers wording, structure, usability, gaps, consistency and controls.

We read the document as a user would, then examine it as part of the wider policy and procedure set.

This is suitable for an important document before approval or publication.

Batch review

A batch review covers a group of related documents.

We look for repeated problems and conflicts between files. Examples include:

  • A set of HR policies
  • Procurement policies and supporting procedures
  • Information security documents
  • Customer service procedures
  • Finance controls
  • Health and safety instructions

Reviewing related documents together gives a better result than treating each file in isolation.

Optional AI-readiness review

If you’re planning to make the documents available through Microsoft Copilot, an internal chatbot or enterprise search, we can add an AI-readiness assessment to the review.

This checks issues such as:

  • Conflicting source documents
  • Sections that are too broad to retrieve accurately
  • Headings that do not describe the content
  • Missing context
  • Inconsistent terminology
  • Weak metadata
  • Unclear document status
  • Repeated rules across several files
  • Answers that depend on information in another document

We can also test a set of likely employee questions against the content.

See: Is your content ready for AI? Find out before your chatbot does

Policy review or Policy and Procedure Audit?

The services differ in scale and purpose.

Choose the review service when:

  • You have a defined set of documents
  • You want detailed comments on the content
  • The documents already exist
  • You are preparing them for approval or publication
  • You need help improving the wording and structure
  • You may want the documents edited afterwards

Choose the Policy and Procedure Audit service when:

  • You do not have a reliable document inventory
  • Policies and procedures are spread across several systems
  • You need to identify missing or obsolete documents
  • Ownership is unclear across the whole set
  • You need a prioritised remediation programme
  • You need an estimate for a larger improvement project

The review looks closely at selected documents.

The audit examines the condition and management of the document set.

What the review does not cover

Our review is not legal advice.

We do not certify that a document complies with a law, regulation, contract or industry standard.

Your legal, compliance and subject specialists remain responsible for:

  • Deciding the policy
  • Confirming regulatory requirements
  • Approving operational controls
  • Checking contractual wording
  • Accepting the final document

We identify unclear, missing or conflicting content. We also flag statements that appear to need specialist confirmation.

A legal review and a usability review answer different questions. Many important documents need both.

How it works

You send us the documents

You tell us who uses them, what concerns you and what stage they have reached.

The documents might be early drafts, approved files due for review or content that staff already use.

We agree the review criteria

We confirm what we will check and what we will deliver.

We also agree which related documents we need to see. Reviewing a procedure without its parent policy can hide important conflicts.

We carry out the review

We read the content in detail and record specific findings.

For larger sets, we compare documents to find repeated wording, inconsistent rules and missing links.

We discuss the findings

We explain the main issues and answer questions.

Where a point depends on a policy decision, we identify the person or team that needs to resolve it.

You decide what happens next

You can make the changes internally, ask us to edit the documents or use the findings to plan a larger project.

There is no obligation to commission the rewriting work from Cherryleaf.

Ask us to review your documents

Send us one or two sample documents and tell us what concerns you.

We will discuss:

  • The audience
  • The document status
  • The type of review needed
  • Related documents we should see
  • The deliverables
  • Whether you need comments, a report or edited files
  • The likely cost

Find out what needs changing before the document reaches its users.

Email: info@cherryleaf.com

Ask for a review