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Virtually
everyone recognizes the importance of having an office procedure manual,
but actually creating one is a big job, so it doesn't get done. Here's a
SIMPLE way to get it done:
1)
Buy an ordinary three ring binder. Mark it "Procedure Manual."
2)
Put some ordinary lined notebook paper in it.
Congratulations!
Your company now has a procedure manual!
3)
Have everyone in the company contribute to the creation and upkeep of
this manual. Whenever a repetitive task arises, the most likely person
(whoever does that task) takes a few minutes to hand-write a procedure
on one of the blank pages. Give it a title so it's obvious what it's
for.
4)
Assign an administrative person the task of periodically taking these
hand-written procedures and typing them into a computer using a word
processor program like Word. Put a "Revision Date" on each one
so you always know whether you're looking at the most current version.
Replace the hand-written procedures with those printed from
your computer.
5)
Add to it and tweak it over time. It's never really "done."
That's
it. The hard part may be getting your employees to stop
"winging it" and to actually follow your new procedures.
Bill Collier is
a St. Louis-based business coach, consultant and speaker. He is the
author of the book “How to
Succeed as a Small Business Owner … and Still Have a Life.” His
website is www.collierbiz.com,
and his email is bill@collierbiz.com
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