Dread the Idea of Writing Process Documentation for Your Organization?
Have you Been avoiding it?
Most organizations dread the idea of writing their own process documentation. For starters, it is a tedious undertaking that requires research, focus and a considerable amount of time. Common reactions are to either ignore the need or just download something from the internet and put your logo on it.
We advise against this approach.
Documentation is essential for organizations of any size as they clearly outline steps necessary to complete a task or a process. Without written documentation breakdowns can occur and chaos can reign over a company. When employees and companies alike do not have a clearly defined process the likelihood of error increases exponentially. For some companies, this could quite literally be a safety hazard. For others, client relations can become tarnished or significant amounts of money can be lost. Process documentation not only helps the employees and company understand steps necessary for completing a project, but they also provide you an opportunity to continually improve and analyze the way you go about things.
Why you need a process documentation
Consistency
Any process, project or task completed by multiple people more than once need to be written down to create consistency. Without a clearly defined process, each time an individual tackles a project the process becomes adaptable to the individual each time, and thus harder to manage or share knowledge. By explicitly laying out the process and the expectations means that if an employee leaves the knowledge does not also leave with them, but rather is recorded and easily transitioned to the new hire. This helps all employees understand their role in the company and their overall fit of the process. By having an outlined process there is no question on how to go about a repeated process, and allows repeatable processes to be executed more efficiently and smoothly.
Monitoring
By having written process documentation it allows for an understanding in areas that may need improved upon. Without documentation it is much harder to understand where things may have gone wrong. Similarly, without documentation is is difficult to understand what may need improved upon as each employee may have a different method of completing a task. This creates more of that consistency. By having a consistent method that each employee follows it becomes much easier to pinpoint if a process needs adapting or if an employee needs more training.
Efficiency
Increased productivity is often the primary goal of most organizations. Documentation allows workers to be more efficient and thus increase the organizations overall efficiency. When employees understand what is expected of them less of their time is spent trying to understand a process and identify the challenges involved. Documentation clearly outlines the steps and expectations for them so that there is maximized time for implementation.
If your dreading writing your procedure documentation – you don’t have to. We can help you.
An organization that does not currently have process documentation in place misses opportunities to dramatically improve the communication, efficiency and overall satisfaction of customers and employees. Companies and organizations of all sizes and areas of expertise should have documentation in place.
Contact us if you’re interested in learning more and implementing positive changes in your organization.