Why do I need Operating Procedures? This is a question often asked by Operations Managers working at a manufacturing or process plant.
Our answer is another question: Why is there any doubt?
It’s easy to assume that everyone in your team knows what their job is and understands exactly what they need to do. Potentially, these factors remove the need to document procedures. However, human beings need reference points and reminders. People need professionally produced Operating Procedures.
A carefully written Operating Procedure distils a work process into clear step-by-step instructions. Plus, there are other important advantages to be gained.
Seven Benefits of Implementing Operating Procedures
1. Regulatory Compliance
For most process-related businesses, Operating Procedures are a requirement of the regulatory authorities. Documenting procedures or processes helps the business meet certification requirements and/or demonstrate regulatory compliance. An Operating Procedure is the first essential step in implementing the principle of ‘Say what you do, do what you say, and provide that you do it’.
2. Greater Product Quality and Consistency Control
Your business generates products you’re proud of. You want to produce these products consistently, maintaining a high standard of quality. Precise Operating Procedures define your production process. They give your employees definite guidelines to follow, reducing the possibility of missed steps or other errors that may adversely impact the quality of the completed product. Strictly followed Operating Procedures ensure that your product is produced in the same way every time, from start to finish. The resulting consistency and quality protect the integrity of your product and business.
3. Supporting Business Growth and Spread
Do your business goals include expanding your business to new locations? Carefully crafted Operating Procedures facilitate the transfer of production and process values to different locations. They enable employees at the new locations to produce your products or services to the same standards as those at your original place of business. This allows an increase in production while upholding your standards and reputation.
4. Preventing Knowledge Loss
Knowledge retained by individual employees makes your business vulnerable to staff turnover. Keeping details of your business processes in a written document protects your business as you recruit new people. It can be hard to replace experienced, skilled workers. However, comprehensive well-written Operating Procedures can make a major contribution to retaining lost employee knowledge, keeping your processes with your business.
5. Simplifying Performance Management
Business managers can use the Operating Procedure framework to develop production target ranges and make assessments of individual employee performance. Employees who have received training in Operating Procedures know exactly what is expected of them. Managers and employees can plan work schedules to meet business targets in the most efficient manner.
Operating Procedures provide consistent workplace processes. This enables performance measuring against identical standards. This provides a fair appraisal process leading to a system where high-performing employees are rewarded, and low-performing employees are retrained or placed on probation.
6. Contributing to Employee Training
Operating Procedures are not a replacement for comprehensive initial training for new employees or ongoing support for existing employees. However, detailed Operating Procedures can form the backbone of such training. Acting as reference guides, they assist new or re-allocated employees to perform work independently without excessive reliance on supervisors.
Your Operating Procedures can be tested when used for the initial training of new employees. With no prior knowledge of your business processes, do trainees find the instructions clear, helpful and easy to follow? If not, your Operating procedures need to be updated.
7. Demonstrating Commitment to Employee Health and Safety
Operating Procedures together with employee training convey your business’ good intentions to insurance companies. You also demonstrate due diligence regarding the assessment of employee hazards and risk assessment. This is vital should an accident occur.
Why do I need Operating Procedures? We hope we’ve offered great reasons for using clear, easy-to-follow processes within your business. We’ve seen how much Operating Procedures help businesses by offering consistency, safety and growth.
Explore how well-written Operating Procedures can help your team and business. Contact us for an initial discussion without obligation or cost. Let’s explore a better way.
