In order for a business to grow, it needs systematic procedures with regards to human resources, customer service and marketing tactics. Get your staff to help you create a procedural handbook that everyone relies on, enjoys and finds easy to understand, and you'll have one less thing to worry about.
Why Do We Need a Policy Manual?
Since the purpose of all businesses is to grow and increase the bottom line, you'll want to ensure that what works either continues to work or evolves as the need arises. When you have all the business policies and procedures clearly spelled out, there's no confusion, misdirection or lack of consistency amongst staff or management. As well, a manual makes training new staff infinitely easier, while giving employees the comfort of knowing they're performing their job duties accurately.
What to Cover in Your Procedural Handbook
Get a binder to house all of the necessary information, and create tabs for each of the following sections:
- Overall Vision: Start off the manual with your vision statement and mission statement. These two items offer a snapshot of the businesses' feel, atmosphere and intention, and should provide focus to new employees when starting out. Make sure that anything in the manual not reflecting these goals either gets removed, adapted, or change the mission and/or vision statement accordingly to include them.
- Human Resources: Think about the kinds of things a new staff member or long-term employee wants to know about the business, and how if affects them. When do they work, and when is the business open? How long are their breaks, and how often do they get one? Is there a dress code or place to eat their lunch? What happens if someone has to work overtime? How can one get promoted or receive a raise? Who reports to whom? Ask your staff what items need covering here, and add them all.
- Documentation: Maybe you have a marketing plan that requires a step-by-step process, or perhaps there's a cleaning schedule all staff must adhere to. Any forms, procedures to deal with customers, or comprehensive how-to's need filing here. Once you've finished this section, give each item to a staff member that has never performed the task before and see if they can follow it without issue. Anything that needs explaining or demonstrating needs clarification.
Keep Updating Constantly
No matter how well your team covers the basic necessities in your first attempt, you'll still find things to add, change or improve upon as time goes by. Plan for a date to review the manual on a semi-yearly or monthly basis, while still changing things as the need arises too. Assigning this task to a senior staff member is an excellent way to ensure everything remains up-to-date.
Bonny Albo - Bonny offers 20 years of writing experience to her readers. CNN, MSNBC, The LA Times and Macleans all reference her for expert advice.
