Most small businesses do not have an operations manual. Part of the reason is that they are small enough and people and departments communicate often enough to have a basic understanding of what everyone is doing.
About a year ago we worked with a three person consulting firm. That firm’s owner recently asked me why they weren’t using their operations manual more often and was it something they were doing wrong? Interesting and excellent question!
The short answer is…that’s ok! The reason is that much of the work went into the preparation of the manual: interviews, whiteboarding, planning, contingency planning, program development, etc. Once the building systems phase was complete they began implementing what they built.
The reason they don’t refer to it often is simply because each member knows their role in the new initiatives. Plus, helpful tools built from that phase, such as checklists, have become part of the day-to-day operations. The operations manual will definitely come back into play when things change or one of the employees leaves (permanently or temporarily) and someone needs to take their place. Since all employees main functions are documented, it will be simple for the new person to walk right into that role. This is where an operations manual really pays off for a small business.
As an example, I have a company of only two people: myself and a fabulous Project Manager. For our small company we have a 70 page operations manual. This may seem excessive however, if my Project Manager won the lottery and decided that she didn’t want to work anymore, I would need someone to quickly step into her role to serve our clients. If VisionBridge can’t adequately serve our clients we risk losing our valued relationships with them, and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take. What about you?
