Expanding on the points from our previous post,
5 Ways to Finally Get Your Procedure Manuals Done, if you have been wanting to develop standard operating procedures and improved operations manuals for your organization, but keep getting bogged down, maybe you are trying to take on too much at once.
Many organizations want to review all their corporate processes and update all their employee and operations manuals in one giant comprehensive project. However, trying to do everything all at once is overwhelming and quickly leads to analysis paralysis—aka lots of talk and no visible results.
In working with hundreds of companies over many years, one big difference we see between organizations that succeed at streamlining and organizations that get off track is the size of the first step! The most successful organizations focus on taking quick ACTION by starting with one area as a pilot project.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but one of the best strategies to achieve your big goals of standardizing operations and improving organizational performance is Start small!
Break the comprehensive project into manageable chunks. Pick one key task or operating process to start. Capture the specific policies, procedures, work instructions and job descriptions that apply to that one area, focusing on writing policies and procedures that employees will actually use. Then publish that subset of content so people can start using it and giving you feedback.
When one area is done, tackle the next process on the list until you have covered all areas in the organization. By starting in one contained area you not only get a “quick benefit,” but you also learn as you go, and maintain momentum.
The COMPROSE
Operations Mapping approach is designed specifically to help organizations break their operating procedures down into clear, modular systems. To learn more, check out our
educational webinars.