Streamline Your Company by Learning How to Document your Work Processes Regardless of the business you are in, learning how to document your work processes saves you and your employees’ time, making everyone much more efficient in their day-to-day tasks. We’ve already highlighted the importance of work place culture; here we will discuss how you can improve your work place culture by taking steps to document your work processes.
With these measures, you can ensure a successful workflow and smooth management process.
1. Identify the boundaries of the process
To document your work processes identify the boundaries, meaning what initiates the process and at what point the process is complete. Having clearly defined boundaries makes it easier for you and your employees to know when it is necessary to execute a process.
Equally importantly, boundaries clarify when one can move on to the next task at hand.
2. Determine the inputs and the outputs
This next step in your endeavors to document your work processes entails pinpointing what is needed in order to successfully run the process, as well as what is ultimately produced or achieved at the end of the process.
In this way, your employees will know what information or products they need in order to start the process and sets guidelines for what the end product should look like.
3. Define what is needed to get there
Once you’ve identified the start and end points, you need to see the activities that get you from point A to point B. This could range from obtaining signatures from you or other members of management to distributing information to the relevant parties.
Having these steps within a process clearly defined allows your employees to work more efficiently and independently. This in turn allows you to focus on the things you need to be focused on as the manager.
4. Set the roles involved in each part of the process.
Often you will have different employees who are responsible for various parts of the process.
Clearly defining who is responsible for what will cut back on misunderstandings and on assumptions that someone else is getting something done when in fact everyone else is making the same assumption.
5. Create maps and flow charts of each process.
Having visual aids as well as written explanations ensures that your employees know what their tasks are, regardless of whether they are a visual person or someone who prefers to read.
Having these tools available also makes it easier for new employees to learn the ropes (you can learn more about how to increase efficiency amongst new employees and new senior managers here).
6. Review the process to make sure it achieves its intended goals
Once you have taken the time to document your work processes, give yourself long enough to review. Brainstorm ways to further increase efficiency and integrate your findings into the process.
Keep in mind that this should be done on a regular basis, as technology and experience allow for even more enhancements to be made. Even if your review reveals that the process is operating at maximum efficiency, you at least know without a doubt that your efficiency is as good as it can be.
Taking the time to document your work processes saves you time and money, which is always good for the company.
As a manager, ensuring your employees know precisely what their job entails and when certain things are expected of them leaves you room to focus on increasing your bottom line in other ways and to provide support rather than constantly showing your employees the ropes.
In other words, by making your employees’ jobs easier to understand, you ultimately make your own job easier and more rewarding.
