In Part One of this article, I discussed the first 3 best practices for procedure documentation:
One: Consider WHO will be reading the documentation.
Two: Consider WHAT needs to be documented.
Three: Consider WHEN to document.
Here’s the final three items on the list of best practices.
Four: Consider WHERE to maintain your documentation.
How will your employees access and store the procedure documentation? There are so many choices available. You could create the documents and store them on your server or somewhere on the cloud.
You can use an online “app” so the information is available on a computer, tablet or smartphone.
The information needs to readily available for the end-user to access without having the ability to change the documents without proper permission and trace-ability.
Five: Consider WHY you are preparing the documentation.
The reasons why you are preparing the documentation can affect how they are developed and maintained. For example, are you creating the documents to meet some regulatory or quality standard? If so, there may be some specific requirements you need to meet.
If you are preparing the documents for training new employees, how you create and use the documentation will be important in determining what goes into the document itself.
Understanding why can also help in motivating your staff to actually document their activities. If it’s part of their performance review, chances are good that the employee will actually get the task done.
Six: Consider HOW to prepare the documentation.
What software are you going to be using? Is the software readily available to everyone in the organization or is it only available to a select few? Does everyone know how to use the software?
Do you have a template for everyone in the organization to use or does everyone create documents however they like? Having standardized templates helps employees to create documents that are effective and contain the information presented in a familiar format. Standardizing procedure documentation is important.
In Summary
Don’t let your resolution to improve your effectiveness in the coming year get side-tracked. Take action to develop your business procedure documentation keeping in mind these six best practices.
As always, if you need staff coaching or assistance in developing great documentation for your organization, let me know. We are here to help!
