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.

Questions that need to be answered in a procedure include:

• Where do the inputs come from (suppliers)?
• Where do the outputs go (customers)?
• Who performs what action when (responsibilities)?
• How do you know when you have done it right (effectiveness criteria)?
• What feedback should be captured (metrics)?
• How do we communicate results (charts, graphs and reports)?
• What laws (regulations) or standards apply (e.g., ISO 9001, 8th EU Directive, IFRS, Sarbanes-Oxley)?

We can look at documentation as a pyramid comprised of four levels (or types of documents):

Policies Procedures Pyramid

Level 1 – Policies and Objectives
Level 2 – Procedures
Level 3 – Work Instructions
Level 4 – Forms and other Documents

Level 1 and Level 2 represent your policies and procedures.  What is the difference between policies and procedures? Your policies are at the top of the pyramid, like a beacon from a lighthouse.  They direct the procedure in the proper direction and provide a foundation for the procedure’s description of the process being documented.

1. Policies

A policy is used as a course of action to guide and influence decisions.  In an ISO 9001 system this may be found in the “Quality Manual“. The purpose of this level of documentation is to state concisely the policies and objectives of the company, organization, or division.  Policies are similar in some ways to mission statements.

2. Procedures

Your procedures are the second level of documentation, which should be more detailed and describe who does what and when (in sequence or order).  Activities for a department or function might be listed along with the functional titles or positions responsible for the procedure. These procedures can be text based but many use a process map to communicate the information.

3. Work Instructions

A work instruction describes how to accomplish a specific job.  Visual aids, various forms of job aids, or specific assembly instructions are examples of work instructions.  Work instructions are specific.

4. Forms and other Documents

The last level of documentation includes forms used to create records, checklists, surveys, or other documents used in the creation of a product or service.  Records are a critical output of any procedure or work instruction.  They form the basis of your process communications, audit material, and process improvement initiatives.

So, What Is the Difference between a Procedure and a Work Instruction?

• Procedures describe the process: who does what, when they do it, and under what criteria.
• Work Instructions describe how to accomplish the process conversion of inputs into outputs.

Learning how to write policies and procedures is easy once you understand the four levels of documentation and the difference between policies, procedures, and work instructions. Sample policies and procedures from Bizmanualz make it even easier!

Last week, we identified three elements that drive up your cost of compliance: cost of improvement, cost of review, and cost of scale.  Your cost of improvement can be managed by the improvement projects you choose.  Your cost of review is a relatively fixed, ongoing yearly expense, based on your cost of scale.  Your cost of scale defines how expensive your entire compliance program will be, now and in the future.  Ergo, the more procedures you write, the more expensive compliance becomes.

How Do You Keep Your Compliance Costs Under Control?

Writing procedures for internal control can produce diminishing returns.  Every procedure written carries with it a lot of overhead.  Overhead in this case consists of more than the original documentation effort — the design and development.  It includes implementation and review — document control, training, usage, auditing, management review, and regular updates.

Writing more procedures costs more money; it also reduces risk, but only up to a point.  The point of diminishing returns is where the time and effort you spend on a task stops yielding rewards.  You reach a break-even point, and when you reach that point varies according to your situation.  The common perception is that as you write more procedures, you reduce risks (compliance risk, for instance) further. This would be true if you followed all implementation steps; the reality is that most companies do not follow all implementation steps.

Any implementation step you leave out increases your risk; you lose all the intended benefits of your procedures.  You might think you’re saving money by foregoing certain steps in the implementation process.  Think again.  The opportunity for quality defects, customer complaints, and material weaknesses rises when you take shortcuts.  The likely result is a corrective action loop due to user complaints that your policies and procedures don’t work.

Starting with a clear, compact scope is key to controlling your compliance costs.  The size or scale of your operation — the number of operating locations, number of employees, and the number, complexity, and interconnections of processes — means more risk management, internal controls, and processes to be understood, documented, and controlled.   Learn to pick your battles — focus on the most important processes first!

Map out your core processes with a “big systems perspective” process map.  ISO 9001 certification requires six procedures — document control, record control, internal auditing, control of nonconformities, corrective action, and preventive action — so if ISO 9001 certification is what you’re after, start with those processes.    Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is risk-based, so identify the greatest risks to your company, prioritize them, and write procedures that address those risks first.  This will give you the greatest return on your procedure investment.

Quality defects are to ISO 9001 as financial risks are to regulations like the 8th EU Directive and Sarbanes-Oxley.  You can reduce the scope of your compliance program by addressing the areas with the most defects or the greatest risks first.  As legislative bodies and enforcement agencies have often said, you shouldn’t try to address everything all at once.  Start by reviewing the materiality of the defects or risks to your company.  Decide on a threshold, or cutoff, for materiality.  Don’t worry if you miss the mark on your early attempts: Improvement is an ongoing process, not an event.

Be agile and think about the speed of your procedures implementation.  Most process procedures projects stall because they’re overtaken by current events.  Immediate business needs take precedence, of course, but you risk losing focus and that sense of purpose with your procedures project when you shelve it, so you’re less likely to achieve compliance or those other benefits you were looking for when you took on the project in the first place.

Only write procedures you know you can implement fully.  A written procedure nobody uses is worse than none at all, because of the wasted effort.

Starting with a manageable scope will help you realize your goals and keep your compliance costs down. Work through your procedures incrementally; next year, lower your risk threshold and address more risks, then a few more the year after, and so on, until you’re comfortable.

Management decides on the internal controls needed to cover the identified defects and risks.  If they decide wrong and pick a threshold that’s too high, you’ve identified a material weakness in your quality or risk control framework.  That can be a very good thing, as long as you work on improving your internal controls.  Do so, and you have a working management system that ensures compliance.  Isn’t that what you wanted in the first place?

Using prewritten procedures saves time researching, writing, and implementing accounting policies, procedures, and internal control.  Download free samples now and get started on your procedure development project today!

Required Policies Procedures

Only company policies and procedures required by standards, regulations or company strategy must be developed.  ISO 9001 requires only six procedures, so why do many companies feel they need to write 40 or more procedures to achieve control?  Occasional users need procedures as a reminder of procedure steps that they do not perform very often.  Frequent or regular users do not need, and often times do not use, the procedure.  So how are those other 34-plus procedures used?  Most procedures are used to train infrequent users.  For training purposes you may only need a process map.  Are you using your procedures to make up for a weak training program?

Your Policies Procedures Template Design

When you do write procedures you will need to standardize on a procedure template design.  Start your policies and procedures template design by thinking through your document and record control procedures.  Your procedure template design should make room for a header block to ensure your procedure communicates your purpose and scope.

Add a Title, Policy, Purpose, Scope, Responsibility, and Definitions section to help people understand your procedure. Clear department responsibilities identify who does what and helps to declare which positions are mentioned in your procedure with a synopsis of what is expected for each position. Key term definitions reduce confusion; industry jargon should be explained in the definitions section of your procedure to help new procedure users.

Writing Policies Procedures

Before you start writing procedures from scratch, look around for examples, or templates, that you can copy.  Pre-written procedures will speed up your development, reduce your research time, and turn writing procedures into editing procedures.  I’ve found it’s a lot easier to edit a procedure than to write one from scratch, depending on the procedure.  Many procedures are really common using business best practices, so why reinvent the wheel?

If you have to write a procedure from scratch, start writing procedures using active voice construction to reduce task confusion. Subject, verb, object provides clear active voice construction for your procedure.  For example, “Accounts Receivable invoices customers” is clearer and contains fewer words than “customers are invoiced by Accounts Receivable.”  The extra “are” and “by” make the sentence longer, put the subject last, and force the reader to stop and reread the action.  Be direct and to the point — use the active voice.

Add references to related documents to improve your procedures’ usability.  Clearly note when your procedure refers to other procedures or forms.  There’s nothing worse than following a procedure and coming to a passage that refers to a company form and…that’s it. You don’t know what the form looks like, where you might find it, or what version of the form you need.  Putting an example of the form, with an explanation, in the procedure will save you and your users time during procedure training and implementation.

List applicable laws or regulations: clearly communicate your company’s need for compliance.  If you’re implementing a records retention procedure, references to IRS or equal employment opportunity (EEO) passages, for example, provide a brief synopsis and help you implement your procedures.

How to Write Policies and Procedures

Policies Procedures Overhead

Large organizations have a large number of procedures.  They have a lot of staff, business operations, and economy of scale to make their procedures work.  Smaller businesses should remember — the more business procedures you write, the more business procedures you have to edit, implement, train, audit, and review.  More procedures may also produce more audit findings in addition to more updates, more documents to control, and more administration overhead.

Many companies fail to plan for this administration and procedure overhead, so it should come as no surprise that their procedures don’t work as well as expected.  Every procedure becomes outdated, eventually.  Also, due to infrequent maintenance and use, some procedures are overlooked when it’s time to update them.  This can result in repeated procedure audit findings or, worse, repeated waste, fraud, and abuse which the procedures were intended to reduce.

The lean thinking solution is (a) to write only procedures that you absolutely have to write to conform to requirements and (b) to improve your training program to build competent and skilled employees instead of writing procedures you don’t have the time or budget to maintain.

Next week, we’ll cover policies and procedures implementation and training.  It’s much easier to comply with standards and train employees when you’re working with written procedures.  If you’re interested in learning more about your procedures, call or e-mail us for a procedure review of your written procedures.  We’re happy to provide feedback on what you’re using and tell you how you can improve your processes.

Collecting Management System Data: Phase Two – Documentation Phase

It is time to determine which processes are core to your business and which ones are subordinate or support processes.  To move past the Reactive Phase you must start to document your processes, start to write procedures, and think about more effective training.  Some teamwork is required because you need to agree on what your processes are:

• Where do they start and end?
• Who is the process owner?
• Who is really the customer or supplier?
• What is important or critical in terms of process success?

To understand your processes, you can start with a process map, build value stream maps, or write policies, procedures and work instructions that help create understanding about the process.  Of course, one concern is that creating a system of documented process could become an overblown bureaucracy, but the goal should be to keep it basic, and build on it as you go along.  It is easier to add critical pieces when identified to a basic process map than it is to simplify an overwrought process document or procedure.

As a starting point, we only need enough documentation to get the job done.  The intent of the documentation phase is to create operational definitions for your processes.  Well-defined processes have clearly identified suppliers, inputs, outputs, and customers (SIPOC). 

Policies, Procedures and Forms

Procedures define who does what, when, and where.  Work instructions explain how a particular task within the process is performed.  Forms are created, controlled, and distributed and should be re-enforced with training so that workers know how and when to use them.  Completed forms create the records that capture key process data – important information needed for improvement.

This is the beginning of a quality management system.  The intent of the Documentation Phase is to collect data (records) from your processes that you will employ in the next phases and lead to real improvement.  To move out of the Documentation Phase you will need to chart, trend and analyze your data.  Typical tools used to get out of this phase include Pareto charts, histograms, run charts, and SPC (Statistical Process Control), all critical pieces for phase three.

Separating the Common from the Special: Phase Three – Stability Phase

Now is the time that we need to start to think about continuous improvement with control charts in order to move through the Stability Phase.  Stability is how we want our quality management system to be characterized. Stabile processes allow us to drive real improvement. 

That’s because there are only two real actions you can take in process improvement.  The first is to make unstable processes stable (our goal for phases two and three), and the other is to make a stable process better (our goal for phases four and five), which is also referred to as improving process capability and results in shrinking the control limits of our stable processes. 

Data Analysis

In both cases we need data recorded (these are our ISO records) describing such things as process defects, process metrics (we also call these effectiveness criteria or key performance indicators) and of course process targets (could also be called our quality objectives derived from customer requirements).  As you can see the Stability Phase is all about data analysis, which is used to derive knowledge and wisdom from information.  Using this information we should be able to identify common cause and special causes of process variation.

Common causes result from the process design.  If we see common causes of failure then we need to redesign the process in question.  Special cause results from something identifiably or special occurring.  We need to isolate the identifiable cause and eliminate it using root cause analysis.  Using control charts we can ascertain whether either common causes or special causes of process variation are present and then take the appropriate actions.

To get out of the Stability Phase and move into the Corrective Action Phase we need to start using cause-effect, scatter, and fishbone diagrams as part of our root-cause analysis.  In lean we may use takt time to balance production lines or Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE, which could also be called manufacturing effectiveness).  In Theory of Constraints we look for the one constraint to flow.  Many quality tools are at our disposal.  The trick is in learning which one to use and in deciding which business process you should improve first.

You may recognize your organization as stuck in phase one or two, the two most common process maturity levels in many organizations.  Some organizations are able to advance farther up in management system maturity to the stability phase.  Moving up the process maturity chain can mean big organizational improvements.  As you gain process maturity, processes become more effective, and eventually more efficient as you focus on what customer’s value, thereby eliminating waste. 

Next week we will look at phase four – Corrective Action Phase and Phase five – Preventive Action Phase, and see why they are more difficult to reach.  Have you seen which phase your company is in yet?

In learning about our own business processes, we have identified a five level process maturity model to describe the phases in which an effective management system comes to life.  If you are on a path of continual improvement, you may find it useful to consider the concept of process maturity. In this series of three articles we will explain our approach regarding process maturity and how it serves as an aid in gaining continual improvement.  This week, we cover level one, the Reactive Phase.

Realizing the Need for Process Improvement:  Phase One – The Reactive Phase

Is your quality management system in a constant state of repair?  Each day brings new surprises: situations arise, errors are discovered, customers complain.  Did that supplier deliver the wrong parts again?

The Reactive Phase is, well, reactive.  There is no system for using information for improvement.  The staff deals with problems as they are realized according to priority and resources. Issues are addressed one by one by individual staff members who are doing their best to get things done.  Each customer complaint, shipping error, or other problem starts a reaction.  Every day seems different even though the same type of problem might arise again and again.

In Phase One of the process maturity model, processes are not well-defined and have little meaningful documentation or effectiveness criteria.  Tribal knowledge rules, while training programs are weak.  Employee experience is gained primarily through OJT — On the Job Training.

Using the Maturity Model to Kick Start Your Process Improvement

To move past Phase One you must start to document your processes, start to write procedures, think about more effective training, and develop process maps.  We believe one effective way of building an effective management system is by employing the requirements set forth in the ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standard.

Building an ISO 9001-based quality management system provides the framework to move out of the reactive phase because all of these steps are part of building an ISO management system.  The ISO 9001 standard spells out the requirements of a Quality Management System but leaves it to organizations to use the methods they want to use to meet those requirements.

You may recognize your organization in Phase One, the process maturity level of many organizations.  Few organizations are able to advance much farther up in management system maturity.

Next week we will look at another common phase, the Documentation Phase, and the most desired state, Phase Three, the Stability Phase.  We’ll close the month with a look at Phase Four (Corrective Action) and Phase Five (Preventive Action), the most difficult phase to reach and, therefore, the rarest of them all.

Many of you have inquired about the possibility of downloading individual policy and procedure documents from our large collection of easily editable procedure manuals. We listened and, after several months of development and testing, are glad to announce the launch of PoliciesAndProcedures.com.

Each policy procedure document is an excellent starting point to write procedures for consistency, control and knowledge transfer. Considering the time it takes to write an effective policy and procedure, the documents available at www.policiesandprocedures.com really provide excellent value for you and your organization.

Currently, the new website includes policies and procedures from Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Computer & IT, and ISO 22000 Food Safety. Over the next several weeks, we will add more content from other manuals.

Most downloadable policy-and-procedure documents on the new website also include forms and references. Pricing is based on the length of each procedure. Discounts are available for multiple purchases. As a launch promotion, Bizmanualz is offering a $10 discount for all purchases (no minimum) for the month of August, 2008. As an added bonus, all buyers receive a free 16-page policies and procedures writing guide.

Please visit www.policiesandprocedures.com and explore the policy procedure documents available there. Once there, you’ll surely find many policy-procedure templates that address your needs. To get your $10 discount, simply use coupon code D-TEN when placing your order online.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or feedback about the new website. Thank you for your support.

Once a draft is completed, the revision stage begins. Obviously, the revising step means looking for errors. Recall while drafting we talked about not being obsessed about errors and perfect writing – such concerns can actually inhibit drafting. But revision is more than just looking for errors; it is about truly crafting the document.

An Iterative Approach to Procedure Revising

A frequently recommended way to tackle revision is to do several iterations, starting with the big picture and working down to the smaller details. By big picture we mean reviewing the document’s design, appearance, and organization. Are there any issues with margins, spacing, headings, or other accoutrements like pages numbers and proper information in headers and footers that need correcting or adding?

Paying attention to organization means paying attention to how topics are covered. Are all topics covered in the appropriate detail? Are they in the proper order? Is anything missing? Other things to look for at this level is appropriate and correct information in the title block, proper references, and ensure associated forms and work instructions are clearly indicated.

Editing Sentences to be Clear and Concise

After addressing big picture issues, next, reviewing details means closely reading and editing the document at the sentence level. The goal should be to write in the most direct way possible, and that means clear and concise sentences. Here are some things to consider in order to write direct sentences.

Get rid of extra, unnecessary words. Frequently writing, particularly technical writing, is verbose (not concise) and stilted. It should be a regular editing exercise to eliminate as many words as possible from a sentence while still conveying its intended meaning. For example, after eliminating unneeded words a sentence like, “It would seem to me that the indications are that the project has been essentially unsuccessful” becomes a much more direct sentence: “It seems that the project was unsuccessful.”

Be sure subject and verbs are not obscure. Subjects and verbs should usually (there are very few hard and fast rules to writing) be clearly stated early in the sentence. If you cannot easily spot the subject and verb, the sentence is likely not very clear. Having a clear subject and verb (along with some word elimination) transforms a confusing sentence like “Evaluation of the gumming tendency of the four tire types will be accomplished by comparing the amount of rubber that can be scrapped from the tires.” into a much more clear and readable “We will evaluate the gumming tendency of the four tire types by comparing the amount of rubber scrapped from the tires.”

Write in an active voice. While occasionally a passive voice sentence fits the context, if you actively look for and edit passive voice sentences you will find that editing a sentence to be active voice almost always improves its clarity and readability. My favorite example to illustrate a passive voice sentence is “The car was driven by Tom.” This easy sentence illustrates the definition of a passive voice sentence (verb action applies to an object, not the subject) and the passive voice red flag (a form of a “be” verb as an auxiliary or helping verb.) Rewriting it to be active voice as in “Tom drove the car” makes this already simple sentence even more direct.

Pay attention to punctuation. Punctuation are little sign posts to readers that tell them where to pause, what words should be grouped together or separated, and even what tone they should have. Be sure punctuation, including commas, is correct.

Finally, have someone else read the procedure to look for errors, typos, or grammar problems you may have missed. Another set of eyes will find problems you may overlook, even after repeated readings.

Revising Procedures Includes Testing

A final consideration for the procedure revision stage is testing them. This calls for a comparison between the documented procedure and the actual process in order to ensure the procedure accurately reflects the process. There are two steps in testing. The first is to have a most appropriate subject matter expert available (the process owner or the most knowledgeable staff member) review the document and suggest appropriate revisions.

Next, conduct a walk-through with the procedure. Here someone not as familiar with process may be the best person for a walk through. Those very familiar with the process may not be bothered by unclear language or inaccuracies, because they already know the process very well. Those who actually have to rely on the procedure to accomplish the process will tend to provide a more accurate reflection of how well and how clearly the procedure describes the process. Having more of a novice use the procedure will help identify where the procedure has clarity issues or leads to a dead-end.

Consider Developing a Checklist

Finally, as part of the revision stage, consider developing a checklist of important criteria for all procedures that can be used to ensure they meet certain standards prior to being released. One way to develop the checklist to consider general criteria, for example, the seven C’s for procedures – Context, Consistency, Completeness, Control, Compliance, Correctness, and Clarity, and then list specifically what the procedures need to have in order to meet the general criteria. For example, consider Consistency as having to meet the following:

• Consistent use of terms and labels
• Consistent appearance within procedure and with other procedures
• No contradictions with steps or sections found in other procedures (a common problem)
• Consistent style and language throughout the procedure

We hope this discussion on how to write procedures will help make the process a little easier. Of course, one way to make the process easier is to start with prewritten procedures like our Bizmanualz Policies, Procedures & Forms. They contain clearly stated policies, researched and incorporated best practices, suggested objectives, and ready to use forms. Plus, they are all delivered with an accompanying CD that contains all content in Microsoft Word files for your easy customization and modification. They can give you a big head start with your procedure writing project.

To learn more about developing policies, procedures and process, and creating more order out of the chaos you are feeling at work, attend the next How to Create Well-Defined Processes class. If you are eager to change your paradigm and start using process improvement programs for your organization then the How to Align a System of People and Processes for Results class is right for you.

ISO 9000 Internal Auditor classes are forming now. Call for information on having your own private in-house classes today.

The Three Step Procedure Writing Process

Basically, the advice I have about writing procedures is they same advice I would give anyone taking on any kind of writing project – from a college term paper to a novel, a business letter, or a procedure; craft the writing project by working through a process that includes three phases: Plan – Draft – Revise.

Extensive research has shown that writing projects of any kind tends to be successful when writers use the process approach and engage in some type of activity from all these three phases. The type of activity doesn’t always have to be the same – it should be appropriate to the type of writing project and the personal preferences of the writer. But it is clear that successful writers do some type of planning activity before they draft their work, and then they engage in revision activity.

In this article let’s cover the first step in the process – Planning. Speaking generally, planning consists of activities like research, brainstorming, diagramming/outlining, reflection, and free-writing (stream of consciousness writing as an idea generation or reflection activity). For writing procedures, there are some specific planning activities that will result in a better, more useful procedure.

Planning a Good Procedure Means Understand the Process

A key planning activity for writing a good procedure is to understand the process that the procedure will document. That starts with research, or in other words, collecting information. This would include doing things like interviewing process owners and process doers. In technical writing terms they are the Subject Matter Experts. They are the ones who know and understand the process, and a large portion of the information should come from them.

All the information, however, shouldn’t come from those directly involved with the process. Another key source of information should be exploring current and obsolete documents related to the process (old procedures, related procedures in other areas of the organization, product specifications, customer requirements, etc;). There you can find key information about the process that needs to be preserved or perhaps even restored.

Research should also be conducted outside of the organization. Is there information available from experts or from industry leaders about best practices regarding the process or related activities? Learning and incorporating best practices (modified as needed to best fit the unique organization) should be a key goal of documenting any process, but it takes effort to locate and incorporate this kind of information.

Learn Attributes to Process Success

A Process Map Worksheet

As you work to understand the process, make sure you identify and understand the key aspects of the process. This includes the following:

Inputs: Who are the suppliers (external or internal)? What are the inputs and what format (for example) should they be in? Are there critical paths and timing that are crucial in receiving inputs?

Activities: What are the key activities that must be performed in order to transform the inputs to the needed outputs? What are the timelines and chronological components? Who are the key players? Try to identify excessive waste or inventory and unnecessary delays; what might be potential solutions to these process issues?

Outputs: What is the ultimate point of the process? Who are the customers (external or internal)? What are the requirements for the outputs? What criteria related to the outputs can help determine if the process is successful and/or in control?

Goals and Objectives: Goals and objectives help determine if a process is effective and efficient. Ballistic processes run on and on without any reflection or attention to how well the process functions. No one knows if the process is achieving objectives. Is this how you want you business or department to run? Controlled processes have clearly defined objectives, measurements that relate to the objectives, and regular reviews on performance and improvement efforts. Research should help define objectives by learning process capabilities and by learning how well industry leaders perform in these areas (bench-marking).

Communication: Lack of useful, meaningful communication is a serious problem in many organizations, and perhaps it is one of the larger impediments to success. Those of us who work in organizations see it all the time: Sales doesn’t know what Marketing is doing, Production doesn’t know what Product Design is doing, and vice-versa. This lack of communication leads to expensive waste and rework, as well as to very unproductive last minute scrambling. Identifying the needed communication and building it into the process can lead to significant improvements in this area.

Once the information gathering is complete, using tools such as process maps, flow-charts, outlines, and value streams can present the information in a meaningful format that illuminates process, product, and/or information flow. It doesn’t really matter what method is employed, as long as it is useful and meaningful to those leading and executing the documentation (writing) process.

So if you are starting a writing project of any kind, including writing a procedure, and the first thing you do is sit down at the keyboard to start typing the document, then you are making a serious error. Creating a document should come naturally from what you have learned from the planning phase. Skipping directly to drafting almost ensures your writing project will not be a success.

Next week we will cover step two in the procedure development process – Drafting.

To learn more about changing your paradigm and using process improvement programs for your organization then attend the next How to Align a System of People and Processes for Results class. If you are eager to learn more about creating more order out of the chaos you are feeling at work then the How to Create Well-Defined Processes class is right for you.

ISO 9000 Internal Auditor classes are forming now. Call for information on having your own private in-house classes today.

Here’s a summary of what we covered in the year 2007.

Strategy, Vision and Action Steps

January’s articles covered strategy and vision. Successful leaders are adept at weaving strategy into their businesses. They do this by using their vision, end-to-end process design and the action steps required to make it all happen.

• Managing your Business Model
• How to Deploy your Strategy
• Action Planning Steps

Understanding your Sales and Marketing Process

In February and March, coinciding with the release of our Sales and Marketing Procedures Manual, the articles focused on how sales and marketing is a process, no different than any other business process. It is fundamental to the success of your company and should be well-defined, under control, and aligned with the overall business strategy.

• Your Sales and Marketing Process
• The Sales and Marketing Pipeline
• Managing your Sales and Marketing Process
• Marketing Tactics – the Medium or the Message?
• The Key[word] to Internet Marketing
• The Sales and Marketing Procedures Manual

Innovation and Change

Innovation fuels improvement: improved products and services, improved methods, and improved knowledge. April’s articles were about value of innovation and change. Innovation means the willingness to look at what you’re doing from a fresh perspective or to think outside the box.

• How do you Embrace Change?
• What does it Take to Fuel Innovation?
• Are you Ready for Change?

Opportunities to Change and Improve

After talking about change in April, we turned our attention in May to three companies that successfully embraced change and made it part of their continual process improvement. Many improvement opportunities mandate that you look at the situation a little differently and try to make it better with a different and innovative approach.

• Lean and Mean: a Competitive Advantage
• They’ve Got Power at CTMT
• Are you Realizing your Potential ?

Leadership, Innovation and Organizational Culture

In June, we discussed leadership and its impact on organizational culture. The term leadership is quite broad. Whether you are the CEO of a large company or the manager of a small department, you can make a big difference thorough your leadership skills.

• Is your Leadership Style Innovative?
• Leadership and Organizational Culture
• Inspirational Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller
• Leadership Focus at the ASQ St. Louis Spring Conference

Learning Organization and Effective Learning

July’s articles covered learning and how it benefits the organization. Learning is often perceived as expensive, time consuming, and even disruptive. While this assessment may be accurate for the immediate short term, the long-term benefits of learning cannot be ignored.

• Are you Building a Learning Organization?
• Make the Most of Organizational Learning
• Get the Most out of Training Transfer

The Improvement Journey at Bizmanualz

In August and September, we wrote about improvements at Bizmanualz. Improvement is always a journey, not a single event or action. It’s a continual process that should be a part of everyone’s daily job and responsibility.

• Implementing Lean Production
• Small Improvement with Kaizens
• Using the Business Performance Scoreboard
• Redesign of the Internal Auditor Class
• The New Learning Center
• ISO 22000 Procedures in Spanish

Strategic Management to Achieve Goals

As one year comes to a close, it’s time to start thinking and planning about the next year. October’s articles talked about strategy, mission, vision and tactics. The best way to put forward a plan is to start at the top – at the mission, vision and strategy level.

• Set your Strategic Management in Action
• A Sincere Statement of Vision
• Setting Goals to Realize SMART Objectives
• Alignment of Strategies and Tactics

Writing Policies and Procedures for Your Organization

Properly written policies and procedures can go a long way towards standardizing processes. In November, our topics revolved around writing policies and procedures, which facilitate employee training, enhance communication and greatly help replicate processes in a consistent manner.

• Policies and Procedures can Help your Organization
• Why do you Need to Write Procedures?
• What Procedures Should you Write?

As 2007 comes to a close, we would like to thank all of you, the readers, for your feedback in the form of comments, suggestions, and questions. Our editorial calendar for 2008 will take all your feedback in to account and we’ll try to make the articles more relevant to your organization and your operations. In the first quarter, we will cover topics like lead generation, financial policies & procedures, and business improvement. Keep your feedback coming.

And, finally, all of us at Bizmanualz would like to wish you a very happy new year.

Regards,
Chris
Bizmanualz

Our topics in November revolved around writing policies and procedures. Properly written policies and procedures can go a long way towards standardizing processes. In addition, procedures can help replicate processes in a consistent manner by facilitating employee training and enhancing communication.

Policies And Procedures Can Help Your Organization

There are page-long lists of why policies and procedures are necessary, but, of course, such long lists lose meaning and value. By the time you read to the bottom, you don’t remember what was at the top of the list. Plus, such long lists have too much overlap and repetition. The purpose for creating an internal control system through defining and documenting processes with well-written procedures boils down to a few very basic reasons.

Read more about how policies and procedures can help your organization;

Why Do You Need To Write Procedures

Another way to address the question of “why procedures?” is to use the analogy between procedures and other controlled documentation such as a manufacturing Bill of Materials. Manufacturing companies need a very controlled Bill of Materials because they want to ensure that every product has all the right parts assembled into it. They don’t leave it to chance, and they don’t want just anyone to be able to make changes, allow substitutions, etc; Such unregulated activities could have a severe impact on product quality and customer satisfaction.

Read more about the need to write procedures;

What Procedures Should You Write

Creating dozens and dozens of procedures is usually not necessary. In fact, such an approach can create more problems than it resolves. They can’t be found, they aren’t used, they aren’t updated, and a glut of uncontrolled copies are scattered throughout the organization (a non-compliance in many audits). If you are just starting a project to create or update procedures, selecting what procedures to write is an important early step.

Read more about the procedures you should write;

Understanding why you are writing procedures helps you understand what procedures to write. In the first pass of the building a control system of policies and procedures, the highest priorities of compliance, organizational needs, risk management, and improvement should be addressed throughout the organization. Then, in a second phase of development, the next tier of priorities can be addressed.

On That Note

Answer to this month’s question:

When writing procedures, it is best to begin with one department that has mature processes. It is also important decide which processes are more important and begin with those. Tackling one department with mature processes makes is easier to address issues with design, writing, and implementation, instead of trying to deal with such issues broadly across the whole organization. You can take these lessons learned and avoid such pitfalls when you move to the next department. In the long run, starting slowly in a focused way can produce dividends, and make for a smoother, more efficient documentation project.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments. Our policies, procedures and processes articles site has tons of useful information. Also, please let us know if you’d like any specific topic addressed in our future articles.

Regards,
Chris
Bizmanualz