Operations Manuals

Many years ago when I was a rookie salesman for the Burroughs Corporation, one of my first assignments was to spend time getting acquainted with the “Field Marketing Manual” (FMM). The FMM was housed in several thick binders which were updated monthly. Covered in the FMM was everything from how to process sales orders to the furnishing of branch sales offices, to the size desks that managers could have, to how to fill out and file expense reports.

Over the several years that I worked for Burroughs I constantly referred to the FMM to ensure I worked efficiently, effectively, and within company guidelines.

While Burroughs was a large multi-national corporation, I have found over the years that a well defined operations manual is as relevant to a small business as it was to Burroughs. By clearly defining policies and procedures, the operations manual assures that everyone has the same “rules” and that repetitive tasks will be done consistently.

One of the things that makes McDonalds, Radio Shack, and other franchises so very successful is that they all have detailed operations manuals that drive the operation of the local stores – and employees are trained to follow the manuals.

Any size business should develop a manual. As a new process is developed, a situation encountered, the information should be captured and written up. But, the information is worthless if it is just kept on a shelf in the owners office. The manual should be available to all employees. Each employee should be taught to use the manual, and held accountable for doing things according to the manual.

Will Limkemann
Limkemann Business Advisors
440-871-0976
www.neobizadvisor.com
will@limkemann.net