March 3rd, 2010
We recently began looking for companies to take part in a beta test of our new policies and procedures management system. We’re giving companies like yours the opportunity to be in on the building process, so the result is something you’ll be able to use intuitively from the start (we hope).
As much as we listen to our customers, we have to translate what we hear into fields on a screen so that software engineers know what to build. Think of it this way: when you say, “I want to easily adapt Bizmanualz procedures for each of my clients”, that could require a bunch of screens.
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Posted in Knowledge Management, Process Management, Strategic Process Improvement | Leave Comment »
February 23rd, 2010
Companies are using a wide variety of intranet software solutions to develop policies and procedures for multiple departments. Common policies and procedures software solutions include editing in MS-Word, publishing in PDF, and managing files in SharePoint. You can try putting most of your information on a wiki, but a wiki can be an inefficient solution for keeping documentation up-to-date and under control. Adobe has a product called RoboHelp that’s good for maintaining a single source and distributing various versions and revision changes to a mixture of channels. »» Read more… »
Posted in Business Management & Operations, Computer & IT Policies, Knowledge Management, Process Management | Leave Comment »
February 12th, 2010
Bizmanualz is one of the leaders in policies and procedures documentation. Our policy and procedure manuals are written with small to medium businesses (SMBs) in mind. Thousands of companies that have been looking for a way to develop and implement a system of effective policies and procedures quickly have relied on us.
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Posted in Writing Policies and Procedures | 3 Comments »
February 8th, 2010
If your company is like most, you’re storing your policies and procedures on a file server. Perhaps your working drafts are in one folder, approved versions are in another folder, and previous versions are archived in yet another folder. Some companies will create folders for the different clauses of ISO 9001 or arrange documents according to functional areas or departments. A lot of these companies aren’t even practicing the most basic security techniques, like limiting “read-write” privileges to a select few. »» Read more… »
Posted in ISO Quality Standards, Knowledge Management, Writing Policies and Procedures | Leave Comment »
January 25th, 2010
Policies and procedures need to be managed, not simply collected, as we oftentimes tend to do. Add in the offspring of policies and procedures — records — and you have the making of a problem common to business…a lack of control.
Control of records and documents is critical to compliance. ISO 9001 requires document control, record control, and specific procedures that clarify how you are maintaining control. HIPAA requires access control. Sarbanes-Oxley requires access and revision control. Document and record control are at the heart of many of the various compliance schemes businesses encounter. »» Read more… »
Posted in Business Management & Operations, Knowledge Management, Sarbanes Oxley Compliance | 1 Comment »
January 18th, 2010
Policies are most often rooted in undesired consequences. Â Something happens that shouldn’t — a door isn’t secure from the outside and someone gets in your building who doesn’t belong — and a policy (i.e., “That door is for exiting the building ONLY in case of emergencies. Â It is NEVER to be used as an entry.”) is enacted.
A few — such as high-level, or corporation-wide — policies are designed to promote desirable consequences for an organization, as well as prevent undesired ones. Â In this article, we’re going to stick with the first kind. Â In any case, the best policies give everyone in the organization a sense of purpose and direction. Â So…how do you write a good policy? »» Read more… »
Posted in Business Process Improvement, Writing Policies and Procedures | 1 Comment »
December 17th, 2009
In part one of this article, you learned the first three steps in the Bizmanualz process of making a policies and procedures manual –Â research, design and development, and procedure writing. Â Now, as Paul Harvey liked to say, “Here’s the rest…of the story.” »» Read more… »
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December 14th, 2009
A lot of work goes into developing every Bizmanualz Policies and Procedures manual. Â We start by conducting…
1. Subject Research
In the not-too-distant past, we primarily searched the Internet for clues as to what people wanted. We’d find what topics people were interested in by doing the same thing you do: searching by keywords. »» Read more… »
Posted in Business Process Improvement, Writing Policies and Procedures | 2 Comments »
November 20th, 2009
You’ve just been given the task of writing a new procedure that documents an existing business process. Â You make sure you understand, and you close with, “I’ll get on this process right away.”
That’s when your boss says, “Process? Did I say ‘process’? I meant processezzz! Plural!”  And before you can blurt out, “What do you mean?”, the boss says you need to develop procedures for all accounting processes, not just the one.  Oh, and he wants them by the end of the month!
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Posted in Accounting Procedures Manuals, Case Studies, Writing Policies and Procedures | Leave Comment »
November 16th, 2009
Writing procedures is an exercise in controlling the cost of compliance. You’re trying to comply with customer expectations, management objectives, government regulations, and/or industry standards, making compliance expensive.  Regardless of the reason for compliance, wouldn’t you want to write as few procedures as possible if you could still conform to the compliance mandate and keep your compliance costs to a minimum?
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Posted in Accounting & Internal Control, ISO Quality Standards, Internal Control, Sarbanes Oxley Compliance, Writing Policies and Procedures | Leave Comment »