If you have office procedures you need to document, then you could probably use an office procedures manual template. Templates make your life easier, giving you a solid starting point and helping ensure that you don’t leave out any crucial information.
Why would you need to document office procedures in the first place? In other words, why do you need to create an office procedures manual?
Excellent question. Common sense suggests procedure manuals are a good idea in general, but there are also several specific benefits of creating an office procedures manual:
The templates and tips below help Office Managers and Executive Assistants document and share their tried and true work processes.
(PS – Join one of our private FB Groups exclusively for Executive Assistants or Office managers. It’s a community to connect, collaborate, and share advice on how to overcome the wide spectrum of challenges you face in your role.)
Here’s everything you need to create an effective office procedures manual template.
1) Start your manual with an outline. According to Patricia Robb , author of Laughing All the Way to Work: A Survival Blog for Today’s Administrative Assistant , “You should arrange your duties in a logical format in a table of contents to map out how you want to place each item. Once you have the table of contents completed, you can go back and fill in the details.”
2) Set clear guidelines for the visitor management procedure. Implement a visitor management software like SwipedOn to keep this procedure streamlined with contactless sign in, an automated sign in flow, instant notifications and more .
3) Use your job description and any documentation from recent reviews to pull out your core responsibilities. Your manual should cover, in step-by-step fashion, how to do each of these core responsibilities.
4) Separate any policies you need to document from any procedures you need to document. According to Compliance Bridge , “a policy defines a set of rules like workplace conduct, whereas a procedure defines the steps you should take to onboard a new employee.” When you want someone to know why you do something, create and record a policy. When you want someone to know how to do something, create and record a procedure.
5) Write the manual in clear and concise language. A cryptic procedure manual is virtually useless. Here’s a new office proverb for you: A procedure manual no one can understand will do no one any good.
6) Include headings and bullet points. In addition to writing the procedures in clear language, call out important topics and takeaways using bold headings, bullet points, tables, and other visual elements that break up blocks of text. This helps anyone skim the manual and skip to the relevant sections.
7) Include contact information for the person who owns the process , likely yourself. This helps anyone using the manual know who to contact if they have questions.
8) Validate the manual. Let someone who has no idea what you do read the manual. After your associate has read the manual, ask him to run you through a play-by-play of what he would do in any given day. If he fumbles, then it’s likely a fault in the manual writing or structure.
9) Make the manual a searchable PDF. This allows people to search with far more sophistication than they can achieve using just their eyeballs to skim your bullets and headings, regardless of how well-organized they are.
10) Include the date the manual was created as well as the date it was last updated. This will help users verify they’re getting current information.
11) Provide flexibility and options for each procedure. According to one policy writing guide , “When feasible, procedures should offer the user options. Procedures which are unnecessarily restrictive may limit their usefulness.” In some cases, the people using the manual will simply be “filling in” and may not be staunchly dedicated to following the rules to a T. If they come across something they really don’t feel like doing, then they might just not do it.
12) Avoid including information that might become outdated soon. For example, if a procedure involves collaborating with someone at the company, then you could simply use the title of the position instead of the name of the person. When people leave the company, the manual will remain useful.
13) Include context when necessary. Define any terms that might seem like jargon specific to your position, or clarify any procedures that might require some context to understand. For example, you might refer to the company annual report as “The Annual.” Be sure to refer to it as the “company annual report” if you mention it in any procedures. If someone is reviewing a procedure, they may underestimate the importance of the “annual” and take shortcuts if they don’t know exactly what it is.
14) Create an update plan and calendar. An office procedures manual is not a static document and it will need some revitalizing every so often. You’ll need to care for it to keep it in working order.
15) Include organizational charts of departments and positions within your company to make sure manual readers can connect the dots.
16) Organize procedures and tasks according to frequency. Make it clear if a procedure is a one-off or a recurring daily, weekly, monthly, or annual task.
17) Include how much time each procedure will likely take. This will manage users’ expectations and help them effectively allocate their time.
18) Patricia Robb also recommends including checklists to help manual users be sure they’re covering all the critical procedures.
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Use this template as many times as you need to cover all your essential duties.
Include the information below to outline procedures for one task in your procedure manual.
Your office procedures manual will likely be made of a series of tasks, some related and others completely separate. Obviously, group related tasks together. Include lines or flow charts to indicate connection between the tasks.
Have you ever created an office procedures manual? What tips, tricks, and best practices kept you on track? Share your experiences in the comments below.
(PS – Join one of our private FB Groups exclusively for Executive Assistants or Office managers. It’s a community to connect, collaborate, and share advice on how to overcome the wide spectrum of challenges you face in your role.)
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