This newsletter series will give you insights and techniques to help you build a better business no matter how large or small yours is. I always say that success comes from working on your business as opposed to in your business. I want to share with you the systems and philosophies that have been successful for me over the years.

Your Policy and Procedure Manual can take many forms and will be shaped by the type of operation that you have. Just like your Employee Handbook covers guidelines for conditions of employment, this manual will cover guidelines for the company systems and processes, defined by the way you want your business to be run. Your Procedure Manual defines structure and systems so that there is a clear direction for tasks, and so that service can be delivered in a consistent way.

This document is different from an Employee Handbook in the sense that as a business grows or changes, the processes will grow and change with it, improving and streamlining the way in which things are done so that the company is always striving to deliver above expectations. Just like an Employee Handbook, the Procedure Manual sets clear expectations and guidelines.

The Purpose. The importance of customer satisfaction and building your image and reputation cannot be overstated. You can achieve this by having a consistent way of operating your business so that your customer knows what to expect every time and your employees know what to deliver. Having a standard process that is written and always followed for every aspect of your business goes a long way to ensuring this. Once the process is defined and written, every employee knows what the expectation is and how to complete a task. If someone is away from the office because of an illness or a valued employee leaves to pursue other interests, your business can continue to function if the step-by-step procedure of what they do is recorded. If you have a person that processes your payroll on a weekly basis, the last thing that you want is for your employees not to get paid if that person can't perform the task for whatever reason. If the systems and procedures for payroll are in place, your employees get paid, no matter who processes payroll. Having solid written procedures will also allow management to take time off without fear that the business will come to a grinding halt in their absence.

The Goal. Have all the tasks documented and available to all employees for training and reference purposes. The manual should be comprehensive and cover every aspect of your business. Also understand that this manual is a moving target! As you get smarter with your business, and as new technology gets introduced, so your way of operating will change, and so your procedure for doing business will change. Pages should get updated and replaced.

Creating a Manual if you don't already have one can be a daunting project. You will definitely need to work on it slowly and steadily so that it doesn't find its way to that stack of dreaded paperwork that you never look at. You might want to consider starting in the department that you feel is the most important to you and that you know the least about. Or you might want to take a segment of the business that you are most passionate about and wish that your employees could follow your lead and work the way you do. Or start with what keeps you up at night... Write it down on paper, and get it moving.

Work with your employees. Many of them have innovative and creative ideas and they just haven't been asked for input. The idea here is to have their buy-in for how the business should operate so that everyone's goals are being met. Employees need to know what is expected of them, and they want to be able to do a good job and be rewarded for it. They need to feel like they are part of the team and a part of building and growing the business. Having a Procedure Manual is like having a Play Book for success.

The Content. A step-by-step procedure for each task should be accompanied by all the forms and checklists that relate to getting that part of the job done. It can be organized in whichever way works best for you and your employees.

The following topics are some suggestions, but the list is far from all-inclusive.

ACCOUNTING

• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Cash Management
• Financial Reporting
• New Hire Checklist
• Payroll
• Reports
• Tax Reporting

SALES & CUSTOMER SERVICE

• Follow up on sales calls [sample letters & emails]
• Follow up on service calls [content and frequency]
• Sales Leads
• Schedule of Client Meetings
• Follow up on completion of a job [checklist]

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Bidding and bid checklist
• Changes and Change Orders
• Contract Checklist [ specify the critical things to look for and include/exclude from contracts]
• Equipment [ include Handling and Maintenance]
• Inventory; process and forms
• Job Selection & Scheduling [guidelines for your criteria]
• Labor Unit Manuals
• On-site job checklist [make sure all aspects of the job get completed and all tools and mate-rial finds it's way home]
• Proposals [forms and checklists]
• Purchasing Materials and Renting Equipment
• Supplies and Suppliers

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

• Checklist [all aspects that need to be in an ad or marketing piece]
• Logos and color schemes
• Publications
• Templates

REIMBURSEMENT

• Advances
• Disallowances and Overpayments
• Final Billing
• Reimbursement Requests
• Time Payment by Contractor

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

• Air-conditioning
• Cleaning Services
• Emergency Procedures
• Equipment
• Plumbing

Your Company's Organizational Chart should be a part of the Manual. This gives all employees a clear understanding of their role and how it interfaces with other employees in the company.

• Who does what?
• Who is responsible for what?
• Who reports to whom?

A copy should be printed and put in a binder that is kept in a place where everyone has access. The date should be a part of the formatting of the footer so that as policies or procedures change or get updated, the pages in the book that get replaced with have a reference point. An electronic copy should be available on a shared drive, so that everyone is working from the most current version.

For more information on this topic, get a copy of Mike Holt's Business Management Skills textbook or Ultimate Business and Success video library.

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