PROCEDURES MANUAL OF A COMPANY: WHAT IT IS FOR, PREPARATION - DUDAS - 2025

The manual of procedures of a company is a written document that lists step by step instructions on how to complete a work task or how to deal with a specific situation when it arises in the workplace. It contains the best practices of the company and the descriptions of the main business processes.

This manual also contains the methods and standards on how the work is expected to be done. The creation of the procedures manual helps guide the company towards growth, simplifying training and facilitating its ability to scale.

This manual can be a three-ring binder, a folder on a network shared drive, or an automated version published online, using procedural management software. Everyone should understand what the procedure manual is made of and where it can be found when someone needs it.

Writing a procedures manual requires a clear understanding of the steps involved in any particular process. As the business grows, new procedures will be needed. The procedures manual can also be thought of as a library of procedures.

The manual contains sample procedures that can be used as a template for new operating procedures. All employees of the organization must be educated on company policies and procedures; they should always have immediate access to a procedure manual.

What is it for?

With the use of a well-written procedures manual, a company can more effectively facilitate the training of new employees.

Beyond training, a procedures manual provides current team members with a resource to learn about less-used procedures, ensuring that they are carried out with the correct formality, while maintaining quality control.

Employees must understand what is expected of them. Supervisors need a procedures manual to manage business processes. By documenting the standards, you are communicating what is important for growth, quality, and customer satisfaction.

Through policies and procedures that affect a functional area, frontline workers are empowered to make effective, time-saving decisions.

An effective procedures manual provides the appropriate methods for interdepartmental communication, allowing staff to work together to solve day-to-day business problems without requiring unnecessary supervisory involvement.

The objective of the procedures manual should be to organize different contents to reflect both the forms and the means of communication of the company, to be able to perform the service or manufacture the product at the lowest cost and in the shortest possible time.

It has the added benefit of keeping employee job satisfaction and motivation high.

How to make it?

Before developing a procedures manual it is important to understand the difference between policy, core process, and procedure.

- Policy is the set of basic principles and associated guidelines, formulated and applied by the leadership of an organization, to direct and limit its actions in the pursuit of long-term objectives.

- Basic process is the sequence of interdependent and linked procedures, which at each stage consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs into products. These results serve as inputs to the next stage until a known goal or end result is reached.

- Procedure is a sequence of activities or a fixed course of action, defined by steps (containing clearly defined starting and ending points) that must be carried out in the same order to successfully complete a task.

Define core processes

All the central processes that the company has must be considered. It begins by defining which processes will be outlined and mapped in the procedures manual, creating a summary of all the procedures that you want to include.

Although not every process may be listed, it is important to establish the most fundamental and important ones. For example, a restaurant might define the core processes for how a particular dish is made, but just as important is the restaurant cleaning process.

A list of core processes that need to be covered should be created so that each can be integrated into the procedures manual after mapping. The outline will act as a guide to ensure that none of the tasks are left when the manual begins to be written.

Write an introduction

Include a brief description of what is included in the manual, which goes directly to the people who will be using the manual, what readers can expect when using the manual, and the best way to use the manual (i.e. 'read it cover to cover end "or" use as a reference to find procedures as needed ").

Establish a flow chart of each process

Each process is defined by the steps or tasks that are necessary to complete it. Missing a step could mean losing or delaying an order, or having a defective end product. Establishing a flow chart is defining the work flow.

To complete a manual you must start with one process at a time: start with the first process in the outline. The steps required to complete the process are outlined, then you go back and write down the details for each step.

Make sure each step is clear and concise. Each step should provide enough detail for anyone to follow the instructions.

For example, suppose you are creating a procedure for the sales process by a requirement on the Internet. First a flowchart is made of how the potential customer is initially contacted after they have requested the information: by phone call, email or text message.

If the prospect could not be contacted initially, it is calculated how many times the sales team follows up, with specific scripts for each contact.

When contacting the customer, a different script is assigned, as well as a set of follow-ups, depending on whether the customer bought the product or decided to wait.

Give the procedure to someone else to read

It is important to have a co-worker or someone you know read it and follow the instructions as they are written. This person can provide valuable feedback if there are steps you were unable to complete or did not understand.

The procedure is debugged based on the comments. You may need to rewrite, edit, or add something to the instructions.

Create checklists and forms

For any process it is easier for team members to follow a form or checklist. That is why a detailed template must be developed, based on the mapped process.

If you need to collect specific information when the customer enters, you must ensure that the template has all the required information, presented in a concise manner.

It should not be assumed that team members remember everything the procedure indicates, especially when a client is seated across from them. The checklists and forms should be integrated as an appendix to the flowchart and process steps.

Integrate it into a procedures manual

After a flowchart has been assigned to each process and all the supporting document templates have been created, they are integrated into a complete procedures manual. The manual is organized on a departmental basis.

For example, the procedures manual might have the sections "Sales", "Operations" and "Distribution". Each section is divided into the core processes of that department, generally in the order that each core process is carried out in the overall delivery of products.

In the "Distribution" section you could have several main processes, such as "Get the order", "Package for delivery", "Shipping" and "Tracking".

The procedure manual is organized with a table of contents and each procedure is clearly listed with a bold title heading.

A title page is included with the name of the manual, a table of contents, the introduction and the procedures in the order of the table of contents.

Tabs could even be placed for team members to easily review the manual to help them locate relevant procedures in their departments.

Lastly, copies are made and distributed. Encourage continuous feedback and update the manual when necessary. A manual should be available in a designated area of ​​each functional location, utilizing policies and procedures.

Examples

-Manual to cook hamburgers in a specific way.

-Manual on how to act in the event of a fire, earthquake or natural disaster.

-Manual on how to deal with customer complaints or an aggressive customer.

-Manual to carry out a personnel selection process.

-Manual to know how to work in a restaurant.

References

1. Kimberlee Leonard (2017). How Do I Write a Standard Operations Procedures Manual? Small Business - Chron. smallbusiness.chron.com.
2. Chris Anderson (2017). What Is a Policies and Procedures Manual? Bizmanualz. Taken from: bizmanualz.com.
3. Bizfluent (2017). The Definition of a Procedures Manual. Taken from: bizfluent.com.
4. Chris Anderson (2017). What Is the Purpose of a Procedure Manual? Bizmanualz. Taken from: bizmanualz.com.
5. Template Lab (2018). 37 Best Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Templates. Taken from: templatelab.com.
6. Greg Marsello (2017). THE 8-STEP GUIDE TO BUILDING A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE MANUAL. Lern. Taken from: blog.lern.org.