How to make a procedures manual correctly?

All organizations are structured by positions, departments. To specify what each of them deals with, procedures manuals are prepared. If you need to know how to make a procedure manual? In this article we will teach you quickly and easily how to make it!

The procedures manual helps train staff to provide optimal service

How to make a procedures manual?

To make a procedures manual we must know each of its steps. Below each of them.

Identify the procedure to be worked on, that is, you must know all the procedures that will be part of the manual that we want to develop, according to the area of competence.
Define the parts of the procedure (Inputs, resources, controls and outputs) Inputs: We define what we need to start the procedure. Define the people responsible for the activities and tasks. Resources involve knowing the elements we need to process the inputs. Controls are used to measure what we want to achieve and what we have achieved. Output is the product obtained or what we are going to obtain.
Determine procedural policies. They are the perspectives that the company or organization has with the elaboration of the procedure manual.
You develop the activities of each process: step by step. This is considered the most important aspect that must be addressed, since the activities that will be required to execute and/or develop said procedure are defined here.

Elements that make up a procedures manual

Delimitation of the procedure, which consists of determining what the procedure to develop is, indicating where it begins and where it ends.
Collection and/or Information Gathering. It consists of collecting documents, data, and records, organized, analyzed, and systematized, allowing us to understand the processes as they are being carried out. It is necessary to consult various sources, such as documentary archives, officials, and employees, who can provide information based on their experience for the analysis, design, and implementation of procedures.
Information Analysis and Procedure Design. It allows for the analysis of each piece of information or data collected to generate a diagnosis of the situation to be assessed. In this regard, it is necessary to answer questionnaires such as:
1. What work is done? The type of activities carried out and the results obtained from them are evaluated.
2. Who does it? Determines the personnel assigned to the units involved in the procedure, either as individuals or as groups.
3. What is done? Refers to the sequence of activities that are executed to accomplish a job.
4. When is made? It indicates the frequency with which the work is carried out (man-hours, time) employed in each activity.
5. Where is it made? Determine the physical space of the offices and the geographical location where the activity takes place.
6. Why is it done? It seeks to justify the need for the work or procedure to be carried out; in detail, without ignoring elements that could subsequently have repercussions on the analysis of the information and imply making new queries and/or greater distractions to the personnel in charge.
7. Procedure Analysis: allows to determine, after analyzing the information, how to create, improve, or redesign a procedure according to the needs and/or requirements of the case. For such purposes, it is necessary to consider the five-point technique, which is none other than eliminating (what is not really necessary); combining (if an activity cannot be eliminated, then some step or routine of the procedure is combined with another, in order to simplify the process); changing (involves reviewing whether any change in the work sequence is appropriate, which minimizes or simplifies the activity, changing the location or replacing the person who is performing it). Improving (sometimes it is impossible to eradicate, combine, or transform; the most practical thing is to improve the procedure, redesigning or improving the methodology or designated work team.

Now we need to define some important aspects: What is a Manual? What is a Procedure? And finally, the comprehensive concept of a procedure manual, which will help us understand why, what for, where, and when to use it.

Difference of manual and procedure

A manual is an administrative tool that serves as a guide to provide an explicit, organized, and systematic overview of the information needed to carry out a task.

On the other hand, we have that the procedure is a set of activities or sequential steps that must be fulfilled by those responsible for executing coordinated actions to achieve a work goal.

Now, when considering the aforementioned concepts, we can conclude that a procedure manual can be defined as a system, an operational tool that supports the operation of an organization, company, business whatever its corporate name.

We can also say that it is a measuring instrument in which the functions, activities of the Department, Coordination, Administrative Units, among others, are described in order to ensure the quality of the processes and activities carried out in each of the units or dependencies. of each organization, company or institution.

The organizations and/or groups of people in favor of the achievement of specific, efficient and effective objectives must necessarily prepare the procedures which will form a fundamental part in the adequate achievement of the activities that they have to develop in the scope of application to which it would give rise. ; establishing responsibilities, assigning tasks, channeling and/or generating useful, important and necessary information.

In short, an organizational structure requires the articulation of activities, tasks and routines that human capital must fulfill in the performance of its functions, without leaving aside the organizational structure, technological advances and in turn being contained in a Procedure Manual, in which users quickly become familiar with each of the processes that must be carried out and that is easy to understand to achieve organizational objectives.

The procedure manual in organizations

The procedure manual, in its context alone, is a control system as well as a management policy. It constitutes a support tool for leaders of any company to modernize, change, and produce better results with efficiency and quality.

This administrative instrument specifies the execution of activities, the organization, and the unification of criteria on how activities should be carried out, determining who, how, when, where, and why such and such activities should be performed.

A procedures manual is aimed at specifying activities in detail, establishing the correct way in which they should be executed, thereby achieving quality, streamlining the flow of information so that it arrives in a timely manner for decision-making or internal procedures specific to the process, and determining the timeframes and responsible parties involved.

In this same order of ideas, the Procedures Manual describes the routine work tasks through the description of the logically sequential activities of each of them, in order to unify and control the work routines and avoid alterations in the process, or reprocesses that affect the duplication of man-hours, affecting the planning and productivity of the process and therefore of each individual.

Procedure manuals facilitate communication, allowing for the recording and transmission of an organization's information as well as the functioning of the administrative unit for which it was designed.

At the same time, a methodology must be implemented that responds to the description of the procedures, taking into account the operational reality and the legal-administrative regulations established for this purpose.

Then we leave you the following video so that you understand how to create a manual of rules and procedures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXxtmyE-1S0

Advantages of a procedures manual

The evaluation of any system, through the rules and procedures, strengthens the structure of any organization against the management that is proposed.

Given the importance that the system acquires, it is necessary to carry out the lifting of current procedures, which are the starting point and the fundamental support to carry out the changes that are needed to achieve and ratify efficiency, effectiveness and effectiveness in all the processes.
They allow substantiating the procedures under an established Legal-Administrative Framework.
They promote the unification of criteria in the execution of activities and uniformity in work.
They structure the activities and tasks in an optimal way and allow to know the physical location of the documents in general.
The information it handles is formal; that is, authorized information.
They delimit the functions and responsibilities of the personnel.
They are documents for constant consultation in order to improve the development of the company's activities and tasks.
They establish administrative controls.
They contribute to decision-making.
They prevent the execution of incorrect procedures.
It avoids the generation of confusion, levels of uncertainty, as well as the duplication of functions.
They serve as the basis for the training and qualification of newly hired personnel.

To understand a little better about the advantages of the procedure manual we leave you the following video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch1Pih-rPYU

What should a Procedure Manual contain?

Title: It must briefly and precisely indicate the content of the procedure to be carried out. In some cases they include a coding that allows faster identification for users.
Introduction: It is a brief general explanation of the procedure.
Organisation: It is an explanation of the organizational structure of the company, institution or organisms, in which the Mission, Vision, Objective and Goals must be determined.
Procedure description:
- It specifically states the objective or purpose of the procedure.
- Legal Basis (Laws, Regulations, Decrees, among others)
- Description of all the routines or procedures developed by those responsible and actors to achieve the objective.
- Flowchart, which allows you to understand the sequence of information or documents. You can learn more about flowcharts at basic symbols of a flowchart.
Responsible: It involves determining the authority of each participant within the procedure, as well as the functions of each entity involved.
Security: Establishes the controls that must be considered to avoid deviations when developing the procedure.
Report: As the name suggests, they serve to inform, evaluate, recommend, and suggest possible actions that can improve or optimize productivity.

The procedures manuals must be used by all employees of the company, agencies or institutions, because they serve as a guide in the performance of their duties.

These documents, in general, must be reviewed frequently, in order to know the activities and responsibilities of each worker in particular, thus evaluating the result of each process, in order to exercise control or make suggestions to improve the procedures.

Through the manuals, the heads of the different departments, dependencies or units will be able to objectively evaluate the performance of the workers assigned to each unit and propose alternatives that allow a better work environment and therefore a greater commitment of the workers to the company or institution.

Another important aspect is that procedural manuals allow for better control, facilitating evaluation and measurement of process execution. This allows for making any necessary corrections, thereby increasing efficiency and effectiveness in operational areas and achieving institutional objectives.

This highlights the importance for organizations of having procedural manuals aimed at the workforce, enabling them to become increasingly skilled, adaptable, competitive, and efficient in order to survive in a changing and competitive market. Therefore, strategies must be implemented to address these challenges.

Now, taking into consideration the above, as well as the demands of society, business organizations responsible for activities generating goods and services, which daily demand the implementation of various organizational models, which in one way or another respond to the interests of shareholders (profitability or profit maximization) and society in general (benefits in goods and services), it is no less true that technological, computer, scientific, and telecommunications developments are requiring organizations to evolve, since they function as an open system, being influenced by these technological, computer, scientific, and other advances.

Presentation of a Manual of Procedures

The content or presentation methods of a procedures manual are detailed below, as this varies according to the objectives and purposes of each organization, department, dependency or administrative area,

Identification

It refers to the first cover or first page of the manual, where the following information must be placed:

1. Company or organization logo.
2. Name of the Management, Department or Unit.
3. Name or initials of the administrative unit responsible for its preparation or updating.
4. Title of the Manual of Procedures.
5. Date of preparation or update, as the case may be.
6. Table of Contents

Index or Table of Contents

It is used to organize the chapters and sections of each process to facilitate their location. To do this, the sections comprising the manual must be numbered, stating the title of each procedure in the order in which it should be applied, as well as the page number where it can be found.

Introduction

It allows the user to visualize the content and usefulness of the procedure manual, outlining the responsibilities, roles, and tasks of each person involved in the process. The writing should be clear, precise, concise, and understandable to the user.

Objective of the Manual of Procedures

It should describe in an organized manner the steps it intends to achieve and the purpose of performing those actions. The objective should be clear and concise.

Legal framework

The Procedures Manual must be in accordance with the provisions of the legal system contained in the Constitution, Laws, Decrees, Regulations, Conventions, Standards, Agreements, and Internal Circulars.

Development of procedures

Only the processes will be described, with their respective procedures in accordance with the functions of each Management, Department or unit, including the activities of each of the users assigned to each dependency.

Having clear how the presentation of the Manual of Procedure should be, the following considerations must be taken into account:

The identification or title of the procedure must express the scope of its content.
The development of the procedure must be established in a clear and simple way.
Avoid duplication of procedures.
Describe the Procedure in order to determine the purpose or reason for being and what is sought when implementing the strategies that allow for the optimal development of the activities.
Scope: The scope of application of a procedure is determined, taking into account the areas, positions and activities involved in the process.
References: It is the documentary relationship that serves as support when preparing the procedures.
Responsibilities: Indicates who is responsible for preparing and approving the manuals, as well as for reviewing, controlling, and monitoring procedures.
Glossary: These are the definitions or terms used within the manual.
Methodology: Aspects such as policies, guidelines, values, and guidelines must be considered, in addition to the description of activities, tasks, and routines specific to each process. These aspects should be captured in a flowchart system, with the intention of designing or improving current or required formats and instructions according to the needs of the structure.

In the same way, we leave you the following video so that you can complete the idea of how to present a manual of norms and procedures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a35psvO_SV0

Steps to Write a Procedure

Explain in a detailed and orderly manner, the activities in clear language and the “Start” and “End” of the procedure must be indicated in "bold font".
At the beginning of each activity, it must be done with a verb in the present tense, in the singular and in the third person.
The writing must have a sequential and logical order according to the activities, tasks and routines that are going to be executed.
The documentary communication media to be used in each process will be specified, i.e., memoranda, letters, official documents, circulars, forms, and instructions; these will be attached at the end of each process.
It must start with consecutive Arabic numerals.
When it comes to the verbatim transcription of a paragraph from a document, it will be highlighted for reference purposes, in quotation marks.
Any activity that leads to decision-making should be marked in bold, centered font.

Flowchart

It is the sequential graphic representation of tasks, activities and routines.
Breaks down the processes of any activity, task or routine of a management, department or unit.
They help to symbolically or pictorially represent the processes within the flow chart.
They allow us to define, formulate, analyze and establish possible solutions to a particular problem or situation.
It is a tool that strengthens decision-making at the managerial level.
The symbology used must maintain uniformity in size.

Now, after understanding the function of flowcharts, it's important to keep in mind the existence of symbols, geometric figures, and others that will help us interpret and graphically convey the tasks, activities, and routines specific to each process.

Below is the template you should use when designing your flowcharts:

Phases for preparing the flowchart

Determine the process and clearly and objectively define its scope.

Establish in a user-friendly manner the intermediate stages of each process as well as their interaction with the proposed process improvements.
Define each and every stage planned for each process, identifying those responsible, suppliers, and customers.
Diagnose and specify the process to be evaluated from the point of view of the need for a new design or improvements that optimize the performance and productivity of the company or institution.
Propose new alternatives for the benefit of interpersonal and organizational relationships.
Subsequently, make the flow chart that encompasses the activities involved in the process.

Benefits of a Manual of Policies and Procedures

Creating a management-level standards and procedures manual will bring many benefits to our organization. Among these benefits are:

They facilitate the understanding of the tasks, activities and routines of each procedure.
They facilitate the integration of personnel into the organization, allowing satisfactory contributions in the search for improvements in processes and their deficiencies.
It allows company or institution personnel to identify themselves within the process, recognize their responsibilities within each routine, as well as their relationship within the hierarchical structure.
They serve for the formation and training of new personnel.

Finally, it's important to remember that these manuals are created with the goal of being used by the organization to ensure the unification of criteria across the various departments. This will help make processes a little faster and more reliable, as responsibilities have been established within the organization thanks to the existing management division.

These types of manuals are seen in large companies worldwide, as we can see in the following link Online Franchises to Undertake.

Finally, tell us if there is a procedures manual in your business and the benefits they provide.

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