You have decided you need policies and procedures, but which business policies and procedures do you need?  Assess the business impact of each of your core business processes to generating revenue or introducing risk and then rank the results.  Core business processes that greatly impact your revenue or risk are where you want to start.

The Bizmanualz CEO Company Policies Procedures Manuals are designed with your core business processes in mind.  The nine business procedures manuals in the series provide your entire company with examples of the primary procedures used in writing your company procedure manuals.  How do the nine procedure manuals address the core business processes?

1. Customer Strategy & Relationships (Marketing) is a good place to start.  Most businesses talk about the customer being the most important part of any business.  Well, if your customer is so critical, have you mapped out a clear customer strategy and customer relationship process?  Do you have customer strategy procedures for developing awareness and education of your business in the marketplace?  The Bizmanualz Sales and Marketing Policies and Procedures Manual provides sample policies and procedures to help you set marketing strategy, marketing tactics, and marketing planning to cover the first part of your marketing sales funnel — awareness and education.

2. Employee Development & Satisfaction is essential to your business because your employees are the ones that talk to and develop your customers.  The Bizmanualz Human Resources Procedures Manual provides example procedures for hiring, administration (e.g., personnel records, compliance), compensation, and — the most important part – developing your employees.

The HR manual also includes a sample Employee Handbook and an HR Manager’s manual to provide a complete discussion of human resources.  Keeping employees and facilities safe is the focus of the Bizmanualz Security Procedures Manual, which includes coverage of guard force management, employee conduct, emergency operations, protection, and safety.

3. Quality, Process Improvement & Change Management is driven by competition, your desire to excel at what you do and make your customers happy.  The Bizmanualz ISO 9001 QMS Procedures Manual provides a sample quality manual, the six quality procedures required by ISO 9001, and additional supporting procedures to provide a foundation for your process improvement and change management initiatives.

4. Financial Analysis, Reporting, & Capital Management is critical to fast growth companies.  Cash is the lifeblood of your company and a fast growth company consumes cash quickly.  The Bizmanualz Financial Procedures Manual has example procedures for financial administration, raising capital, managing capital, financial statement reporting, and the internal controls necessary in a fast growth company.  A controllers manual is included to provide the direction and organization for controlling your company cash.

5. Management Responsibility addresses all of your core business processes and is integral to every area of your company.  Every manual in the “CEO Company Policies Procedures Manuals” covers the management of that departmental area.  Each manual provides a departmental (functional) manager’s manual that describes the departmental organization structure, major responsibilities, departmental guidelines, ethics, policies, and – of course – the primary business processes for that department.  The Bizmanualz Business Procedures Manual provides a simple, fast, and easy way to provide immediate oversight for all of your operations.

6. Customer Acquisition (Sales) is about engaging the customer and closing the sale.  The Bizmanualz Sales and Marketing Procedure Manual contains procedures for the entire sales funnel, sales process, sales administration and sales management common to organizations that have to oversee a sales force.  The Bizmanualz Accounting Procedures Manual contains procedures for controlling cash and the revenue cycle, which is a parallel and supporting activity to the sales process.

7. Product Development must obtain requirements from sales and develop products that satisfy the customer.  Therefore, product development procedures are found in both the Bizmanualz Sales and Marketing Procedure Manual and the Bizmanualz ISO 9001 QMS Procedures Manual, which contains procedures for customer requirements, as well as the design and development of new products.

8. Product/Service Delivery The Bizmanualz Accounting Procedures Manual contains procedures for shipping, receiving, and inventory control.  But since delivery is part of ISO and quality, the Bizmanualz ISO 9001 QMS Procedures Manual also provides coverage of this critical customer facing area.

9. Accounting Management is about accounting transaction management, as opposed to finance which is focused more on raising, managing, and using cash effectively.  The Bizmanualz Accounting Procedures Manual focus is on controlling operating cash receipts, cash disbursements, inventory and assets, the revenue cycle, and general accounting administration.

10. Technology Management is about all of the technology in your company.  The Bizmanualz Computer, Network and IT Procedures Manual contains procedures for IT administration, IT asset management, IT training, technical support, IT security, IT disaster recovery, and software development.  More in-depth continuity planning coverage is provided with the Bizmanualz Disaster Recovery Procedures Manual.

Business Process Policies Procedures

The Bizmanualz CEO Company Policies Procedures Manuals collection is the best overall deal — you save 45% when you buy the set, compared with purchasing all nine manuals individually.  The series covers all of the core business processes in one simple bundle.  It includes manuals for:

• Financial Policies and Procedures
• Accounting Policies and Procedures
• Computer & IT Policies and Procedures
• Human Resources Policies and Procedures
• Sales & Marketing Policies and Procedures
• ISO 9001 Quality Policies and Procedures
• Security & Disaster Policies and Procedures
• Business Policies and Procedures Sampler

Every critical area of your company is now covered with the Bizmanualz CEO Company Policies Procedures Manuals set.  Coverage is now easily at hand for Accounting, Administration, Customer Service, Disaster Management, Engineering, Environmental Management, Finance & Credit, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Personnel, Sales & Marketing, Security Operations, Shipping, Purchasing, Inventory, and ISO 9001 conformance.

Like anything else worth having, a continuity plan isn’t easy.  However, the most elegant, complex plan isn’t necessarily the best one.  Start simple, with a framework like the one below, and build on that.

1) Do you have a plan in place?

• If not … DON’T PANIC!  Action driven by panic can often be worse than no action.
• If so, when was it last tested? How thoroughly?

2) Have you conducted risk assessments?  What is the risk of a swine flu outbreak crippling your business (vs. other events, like a flood, tornado, or gas leak)?

3) Have you identified and prioritized your vital operations?  (Don’t leave out payroll and benefits, whatever you do!)

4) What’s your employee attendance policy?  “Come in unless you’re on your deathbed?”

• Do you have a telecommuting policy?
• How robust are your security policy and practices?
• How are your network and server capabilities (especially those you’ve outsourced)?

5) What is your chain of communication?

• How sure are you that your employees are getting the same information at the same time?  How about your contractors/outsourcers?  Are you keeping them informed?
• Are you able to keep your customers, suppliers, etc., in the loop?

6) Are your suppliers adequately covered? (That is, do they have a continuity plan?) Should you be worried about an interruption of supplies or services? Do you have a fall-back position?

7) Is your staff sufficiently cross-trained that you’ll be able to withstand a loss of 10, 25, or even 50 percent of your staff for weeks at a time?

8 ) What is the line of succession?  Who makes executive decisions if the chief executive is incapacitated for a period of time?

9) When the flu bug has passed, be thankful you weren’t hit much worse.  Then get started on a real continuity plan.

Periodically test every piece of the plan. A desktop or bench test is better than no test at all, but a “live” test of every function, department, and facility in your continuity plan is a must!  If it’s been three or more years since any part of your plan was tested under simulated “real-world” conditions, you need to put your continuity plan to the test now!