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How to Create an Operations Manual Painlessly
Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends | September 1st, 2008 - 12:27 PM
(23) found this useful. Do you? 
If you were in an accident or got sick, what would happen to your business? Could your business continue operating for several weeks or months without your day to day attention? Could your spouse or a family member or a trusted employee step up and keep it going, until you returned?
For many business owners, I’m afraid the answer would be “no.” The business would quickly wither and die down or collapse altogether if without our attention for extended periods. With a small business, so much depends on the individual business owner who runs things day to day.
That’s where systematized activities and an operations manual come into play.
Recently franchise expert Joel Libava wrote about the need to write down processes and procedures if you intend to franchise your business. That’s the only way your franchisees can replicate your processes and success.
That got me to thinking about the need for an operations manual even if you have no intentions of franchising. I suddenly realized that most of what it takes to run my business is in my head. Even when I’ve had to train staff and explain processes, it’s been 90% verbal.
And that’s not good.
So, I’ve started writing down my processes. It’s been 2 weeks. Already I have 15 processes documented. And I did it without carving out huge blocks of time. The Operations Manual is materializing almost effortlessly, integrated into my daily activities.
Here’s how I am creating my Operations Manual with no fuss, no muss:
(1) Explain Instructions in Email — When one of my staff or a service provider is tackling a new activity, instead of providing direction verbally, I now send emails or send instructions via instant messenger. In other words, I write it down. I explain the process or a problem-solving solution succinctly in bullets or numbered steps. We often have verbal conversations in addition, but written instructions are good because they give staffers something to refer back to. And staffers can ask questions verbally if they need clarification later on.
(2) Copy and Paste into a Word Document — After I send out the instructions, I quickly copy and paste the email or instant message contents into a Word document. I give the Word document a descriptive name. Most such processes are short — from half a page to 2 pages in length.
(3) Save it in an Operations Manual Folder – I’ve set up a separate folder on my computer called “Operations Manual.” Each Word document is then saved in that folder.
As I said, I now have 15 different processes documented. They range from simple tasks such as “How to clean up dead links” in my Web properties and “Backing up template files before making changes” to “Format for writing a product review.”
Each took 10 - 30 minutes to document this way. In all, I have spent maybe 2 - 3 hours. It is time I would have spent anyway to train and direct people working for me. So it feels as if the Operations Manual is almost effortless.
To some people, the above procedure may seem random. But I consider it a realistic approach for small business owners, especially sole proprietors and microbusiness owners.
You see, to me, the big challenge is just getting started on an Operations Manual. When tackling a huge writing project, there’s nothing more intimidating than staring at a blank computer screen. I know I will need to fill in other processes at some point, if I want a comprehensive Operations Manual. But at least I will be part way there. I already have 21 pages written.
What about you? Do you have an Operations Manual or something you could use to keep your business operating, even if you are temporarily not able to run it? If so, how did you create yours?
PS, For a more traditional approach to developing an Operations Manual for your business, please see:
How to Write an Operations Manual
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Discussion Boards
Luz Spielberg | September 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 am
I strongly agree with the need to document your business procedure. It is very important in order to keep your business going. Well, IMO, it’s better to interchange your procedure 1 and 2. I write it down first in a document and then send the instructions to my staff. In that way, I can ensure that I have at least proof read my instructions before it was sent to them.
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Amanda | September 2nd, 2008 at 9:02 am
I think this is a good point that you are making. So many entrepreneurs have the mindset that they can do everything themselves but they never think of what will happen in an emergency. I also recommend manuals for employees who are responsible for very important tasks. I was an office manager for several years and I performed tasks that noone else knew how to do. When I left the company abruptly, I know their heads where spinning because I didn’t leave any instructions behind.
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Chris | September 2nd, 2008 at 10:27 am
Excellent idea! Especially for entrepreneurs. A list of contact names and numbers, directions, actions, etc. is all incredibly necessary and extremely helpful in making the unexpected doable. None of us like to think it could happen, but it can - and does, unfortunately.
No matter what, it’s always best to be prepared.
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Mark | September 8th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Excellent reminder. I just ordered a book called “Work the System” which is all about the mechanics of your business - isolating all the systems, removing the ones that need attention, then maintaining. Written operational procedures are discussed at length. I like it so far. In our business (online retailer of snowboards) we’ve tried to keep things “small and nimble and non-corporate), but not writing things down is just stupid. For more info on the book check out http://www.workthesystem.com if anyone’s interested (I’m not affiliated with the author/publisher in any way).
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Jay | September 9th, 2008 at 9:50 am
It’s so very important to do this no matter what environment you are working in. I once worked for a man who didn’t see any value in taking the time to do this. Most of us employees had been with him from anywhere from 8 years to 17 years and he became complacent.
Needless to say, the office manager left and when she did so, the entire office fell apart. No one there knew how to use the computer programs she utilized, knew her schedule and deadlines - nothing. Within weeks clients were noticing and complaining and several weeks after that - we were all required to write our own little manuals
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Anita Campbell | September 10th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
“Little steps toward a big goal” — that’s what will get you far.
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Tim | September 18th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
The thing about 90% verbally explaining is completely me. I’ve been thinking about starting to do this, great inspiration to do so!
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RAJ | September 29th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I send dozens of instructional emails to employees and staff daily. What never occurred to me is that I was inadvertently creating a manual. I am now wading throught tons
of internal mail to get all the stuff I have written and putting them all together. Thanks for that tip Anita.
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