How to Write Business Operating Procedures Manuals

The best business policies will not translate into best practices unless you provide your staff with ample guidance. This is why it's vital to have operating procedures that lay out the specific steps required to do the work of your business. In writing about your procedures, you may even spot deficiencies to correct to make the company run more efficiently. A good business operating procedures manual helps your staff make good decisions within a clearly identified chain of command.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with word processing software
• Printer
• Folder/Binder

Instructions

1. List your company's business operations. Use software to create a computer file to record your data. Visualize the entire chain of your operating procedures. Start at the beginning, and note the various processes that serve as links in that chain as you follow it to its logical end. Group similar types of procedures together. Put a heading on each procedure so that you can fully explain each procedure under its heading. If yours is a company in which different procedures are done by different departments or different teams, get suggestions from each department or team head before starting.

2. Write the operating procedure for the first item on your list. Start by breaking the process into its constituent parts. Outline the order in which to take each step required for each procedure. For each step, explain exactly how it should be done and what the decision-making process should be.

3. Repeat this process for each of the items on your list of procedures. Read through each operating procedure after you finish writing it to verify that the sequence of activities is in the proper order. Try to understand each activity from the point of view of the person who will be performing the procedure. Keep the wording simple and clear.

4. Edit the text of the business operating procedures manual. Eliminate errors and ambiguities. Have the department or team head, and a staff member who is going to perform each particular procedure, read what you have written. Ask for feedback and take notes. Use them to improve the manual. Also make sure each operating procedure is in tune with overall company policies.

5. Write an introduction that explains the purpose of the business operating procedures manual. Describe what the manual contains and how it can help staff members to carry out operating procedures correctly. Provide suggestions for the best ways to use the manual.

6. Compile the manual. Give it a name label, followed by a table of contents listing the procedures covered in the manual. Then print out individual operating procedures, and have those documents signed by the people who have prepared, checked and approved the procedures. Compile all of the documents, in the correct order, in a folder or binder. Keep it in a specific place where your staff has access to it. If you have a company "intranet," also post the manual online within the company.

Tips & Warnings

• Use simple words and short sentences in active voice.

• Perform a procedure you have never done before, following the manual's instructions, to gauge how clear the instructions are.

References

• Small Business Chron: How Do I Write a Standard Operations Procedures Manual?
• Small Business Chron: Guidelines on Writing Procedure Manuals

Resources

• Klariti: Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Template