Archived Newsletter Content, Planning Ahead- Tips & Advice

Planning Ahead – Small Business Tips & Advice: Documentation

A.K.A. Manuals

This is one of those things everyone claims not to have the time for, but the alternative should motivate you to find the time.

PROBLEM: As valuable as a good hire is, and as much as a business owner needs to trust and rely on his team, sometimes we can end up creating an operational vulnerability by allowing a part of the business to exist in someone’s head. Should that employee need to leave suddenly, or fail to perform adequately, you may find yourself faced with unnecessary difficulty in transitioning those responsibilities to a new candidate.

SOLUTION: Without creating any ill will or paranoia, get your team to document the general steps and process of their responsibilities. Your business needs to run like a machine. If you keep copies of all checks and file them with a copy of the deposit slips, filed by account and deposit date, that information may not be automatically understood by someone new. Having manuals and documentation on hand to guide that person through the general processes included in their duties will give them a strong start.
You can’t document a proficient and high quality work ethic, but you can make sure that things don’t come to a screeching halt with some forward thinking and investment of time.

Working for you should not be as difficult as programming the clock on a VCR!

Archived Newsletter Content, Planning Ahead- Tips & Advice

For people with more tasks than time