Why DO we write procedures? Anyone? (“Because we HAVE to!”)

Well, that’s one reason, though it’s not the best one. (“What do you mean, ‘not the best one’? The law says we need written procedures to be in compliance. If we’re not in compliance, we lose business.”)

Believe it or not, there are many excellent reasons to write procedures, and complying with regulations or standards, while it may seem the most important reason (because of the potential for fines and other penalties), is actually pretty far down the list. The best reasons for writing procedures include:

1. Documenting and analyzing process results in order to improve the process (in other words, you know if a process is getting better or worse by taking measurements and comparing them);
2. Communicating how you measure the effectiveness of a process (i.e., what your expectations are for the process (pieces per hour, zero defects, etc.));
3. Decreasing process error rates (moving the process closer to Six Sigma performance level);
4. Making it easier to replicate a process (that is, regardless of who’s working at it or when, the process remains the same);
5. Retaining and transferring valuable knowledge;
6. Documenting — and sharing — risks, hazards, and “lessons learned”;
7. Reducing the time you need to train (or retrain) workers;
8. Improving the consistency of process results (another way to put it is “your customers don’t like surprises”);
9. Simplifying access to — and understanding what is — important information; and
10. Solidifying the foundation for your company’s growth.

So, what do you think? Did I miss something? Do you know any other reason why written procedures make sense?

Like I say when someone wishes me good luck, “I hope it doesn’t come down to luck…but I won’t turn it down if it comes my way.”

Process improvement is occurring at many organizations throughout the world.  Yet people constantly ask about how to get started.  How do you get your organization moving in a direction of continuous improvement?

First off, you have to have Management Commitment.  The obvious question, then, is how does top management show commitment to change and improvement? The answer is about inspirational leadership, it is about communication.  To be an inspirational leader, one needs to be a great communicator.  Management commitment takes both leadership and communication.

Second, it takes SMART Objectives.  Planning by management must result in clearly defined objectives that the organization can work towards.

Third, in order to achieve the SMART objectives, the organization will require operational Action Plans with accountability and responsibility for each action.  This means the Who-What-When is spelled out for proper execution.

Fourth, you will need a User Focus.  Defined customer requirements, an understanding of the voice-of-the-customer — your customer, and a method of constantly integrating your customer’s requirements into your processes.

Fifth, there has to be Profound Knowledge, which results in your ability to anticipate results.  Really understanding your customer, your markets, and your processes lead you to anticipating what your customer needs next.  How do you reach this state?

Sixth, you will need to learn and implement Management By Fact, which will lead you to profound knowledge.  Collect the facts from data, use the data to derive information, and obtain knowledge about your customers, markets and processes.

Seventh, in order to manage by fact, you will need the facts in the form of Real-Time Data.  Your processes will require increased visibility and transparency.  Real time data is needed to build a strong competitive advantage.  The longer the delay in getting data, the slower your reaction time is and the less competitive you become.

Eighth, with so much going on you will need a good Change Management System that can document and control all of these changes.  This will build on your system of management by fact and lead you to greater profound knowledge.

Ninth, Execution Audits, internal audits or process audits.  Either way you will require a system of monitoring to ensure that the system is working, that your change management system is effective, and that you are in fact achieving progress towards your SMART objectives.

Tenth, still unsure of where to start?  Then Continuous Learning is needed to build your knowledge management.  No improvement will take place unless knowledge is identified, acquired, shared, and used.  Training, learning and practice are crucial to build competence.

What are these Performance Improvement Drivers?

1. Management Commitment (Leadership & Communication)
2. SMART Objectives (Goals)
3. Action Plans (Accountability, Who-What-When)
4. User Focus (Customer, Employee, Supplier)
5. Profound Knowledge (Anticipates Results)
6. Management By Fact (Data, Information Knowledge))
7. Real-Time Data (Visibility)
8. Change Management System (Documentation & Control)
9. Execution Audits (Monitoring)
10. Continuous Learning (Improvement)

Capturing and retaining critical knowledge within your organization is important for developing your policies and procedures.  But communicating that knowledge effectively with customers, employees, and suppliers is the key to growing your organization.

Policies and Procedures that are written but not used will quickly become outdated.  Poorly written, confusing, or long text-based documents will not be used either.  What is used is the informal network of knowledge experts, mentors, and old hands that have done it enough to know what to do without procedure documents.  Is better documentation the answer?

Maybe… depending on what you mean by better documentation.  Procedure documentation can certainly be improved.  Redundant passages can be integrated, unclear terms can be defined, passive voice can be transformed into active voice construction, and poorly written or confusing parts can be clarified and re-written.  But this is of little help if people are not using the procedures.  Communications are two-way interactions.  Procedures provide the basic information but text-based procedures are only one-way communications systems.  A robust knowledge management system must communicate in many different directions in order to reach many different people.

Many-to-Many Communications

One form of a many-to-many communication system is using lean visual management.  Employees get involved creating visual maps, aids, and scoreboards for key processes.  Process improvements are captured as well as current process metrics, targets, and results.  Visual management provides the visual cues that remind employees of important process history, of key training elements, and of what is expected.  Visual management can be used to replace text based documents, create engagement, and foster the involvement lacking in purely text based procedures.

Online social networking concepts can be used to connect employees with each other.  Organizations can use visuals, job aids, video, and online interactive social media systems to go beyond text-based procedures.  Social media tools  encourage knowledge sharing, updates and feedback that increase knowledge transfer throughout your organization.  Collaboration becomes a reality if you create the knowledge management system that supports it.

New knowledge management systems can transform how your company communicates, interacts, and uses your policies and procedures at every level.  Implement a collaborative system that continuously improves user involvement, training, and communications.  Leverage your policies and procedures investment to garner more sales, save time and money, and grow your company.  It is all possible with new knowledge management system concepts.