A procedure is like a recipe.  But someone has to write the recipe first.  So what is a good recipe for writing procedures?

Writing a good procedure is an iterative process.  The basic steps include developing a process map, drafting the procedure, drafting supporting documents (e.g. forms, job descriptions), testing the documented procedure with the real users, and then continuously updating your process map, procedure, and supporting documents in a PDCA cycle of continual improvement.

A lot of procedures don’t work.  Making a good procedure is about overcoming the top ten reasons why policies and procedures don’t work in the first place.  How do you make a good procedure good?  Good procedures have ten important characteristics.

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Have you heard of Management by Objectives?  It was first popularized by Peter Drucker in the 1950’s.  This is basic goal setting, where you pick (or agree on with your employees) your objectives and then drive everyone to the result.  Results are important, but so is keeping control of your organization.  The problem with Management by Objectives is that we don’t want to become overly focused on the goals to the point where we begin to ignore the environment around us.  What’s better than Management by Objectives?

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Productivity experts have devised some simple methods to increase your productivity.  They consist of either working harder or working smarter.  Personally I like working smarter but sometimes I end up working harder too.   Use just one idea and you could improve your productivity.  Use all of them and you could double or triple your productivity.

1. Work harder— find ways to increase your task focus.

Work when you are working.  Spend less time socializing and focus on what you need to get done today.  Focus on the tasks at hand and don’t wander into new tasks, multi-task, or get distracted.  The key is to focus and not waste your precious time at work.

2. Work Faster—find ways to pick up your work pace.

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PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) Cycles refers to the PDCA wheel (Figure 1) and the continuous motion that PDCA requires.  PDCA is not as easy as it sounds but, if you are interested in ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems (QMS), then you will find that PDCA cycles are the foundation for all ISO 9001 cycles.  Master PDCA and you will become the master of your ISO 9001 QMS.

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Sounds easy in principle, doesn’t it? Just plan your work and work your plan. So, why is “plan-do-check-act” so difficult in practice? Using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) method is like climbing a hill: it starts out easy but gets harder the higher up you go.

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The simplest and best definition of a procedure is “a documented process“. Think of any business process. Of what does that process consist? A number of ordered steps. Are those steps followed from start to finish and they’re done? Not exactly.

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Many people confuse “procedures” with “work instructions”.  In fact, most people write work instructions and call them procedures. Knowing the difference can help you understand the documentation process much better and, therefore, develop great procedure documentation.

Procedures describe a process, while a work instruction describes how to perform the conversion itself.  Process descriptions include details about the inputs, what conversion takes place (of inputs into outputs), the outputs, and the feedback necessary to ensure consistent results. The PDCA process approach (Plan, Do, Check, Act) is used to capture the relevant information.

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Most of us believe our companies have adequate “web presence”, considering the time and money we spend. We have a web site (Figure 1) — maybe it’s not on a level with the big consumer companies, but it tells visitors all they need to know about our company and our products/services, and it’s user-friendly.

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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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In part one of this article, you learned the first three steps in the Bizmanualz process of making a policies and procedures manual – research, design and development, and procedure writing.  Now, as Paul Harvey liked to say, “Here’s the rest…of the story.”

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