Documenting processes and procedures is a vital part of the success of any company. Successfully implemented processes and procedures creates consistency and quality control, providing customers with the same experience across your entire company.
However, many business owner balk at the idea. This is because they are carrying an enormous amount of vital information in their heads, and therefore they feel that the person doing all of this documentation will be them and only them.
This should not be the case.
Include Your Team
While most business owners know the overall view of what is happening in their company, the nitty-gritty on how things are done on a step-by-step basis is often left to others. This is how a company should work, though it’s not how they always do work.
If you are always diving into various departments to put out fires, then it is time to get your team on board with documenting processes and procedures. This will allow you to step back and let the team do the work while you strategize on how to grow your business.
The first step to including your team is identifying which department to tackle first. This should be the department that most often pulls you in to solve an issue. In most companies, that is sales or production.
Next, you need to get their buy-in. You have a reason to get these processes and procedures documented and implemented – but why does your team want to do this work? While you can share your goals with your staff, each team member should have their own objective.
For example, your lead salesperson may want to hire a sales assistant to help with demand. This would require written processes and procedures in place so that the assistant could duplicate his/her techniques.
Here is another example: your production team lead is continuously having to train new staff on the procedures, only to find them ad-libbing later on. Written processes and procedures would provide staff with something to which they can refer and keep them producing the same product – every time.
You aren’t the only person in your company who would like to be able to simply do your job without stepping on the toes of employees and doing their job for them.
How to Get Your Team On Board
You have decided to document processes and procedures. Now it’s time to get your team on board. You know you have to get them to buy-in to your plan, but what would be their pain point?
Instead of guessing and hoping and struggling, do a survey. Ask your employees what they are wrestling with in their jobs. Find out what their goals are within the company. Once you discover that pain point, help them overcome it.
First Steps of Documentation
Before jumping in and documenting every process and procedure under the stars, you first must identify which processes and procedures are working.
With your team on board and ready to help, you can work with them to quickly discover and map out which processes and procedures need documentation.
The next step is to provide an accessible database and some naming convention policies which will make this information searchable.
Finally, it’s time to start documenting!
More Information
Our specialty is working with business owners to document processes and procedures and help them take a step back from the daily grind. Our clients have used their up-to-date documentation for onboarding, establishing business continuity, training, business expansion, risk mitigation, improved customer service, and more.
If you are ready to begin documenting processes and procedures, contact us! We are here to help.
If you aren’t quite sure, we hope you will do a little more research. Watch this video interview with our Founder and CEO, Adi Klevit. It’s 30-minutes of information about process and procedure documentation.
