4 Quick Ways to Get Your Business Documentation Rolling

Good business documentation, including policy and procedure manuals, are a cornerstone of efficiency and innovation. There are various processes for systematic creation of policies and procedures. Regardless of the process used the most difficult step is the initial gathering of operational information. In this article, I suggest four time-friendly steps to begin building your business documentation.

Even a business starting with a detailed business plan does not often have detailed process documentation. Most businesses start small without any form of documentation (such as in the case of many businesses and organizations that begin with a few key individuals holding most of the knowledge). We have to realize that the businesses that do not currently have documentation for their policies, procedures and other operational knowledge probably have a pretty big job ahead of themselves in collecting and documenting it. That said, time is always a commodity in high demand and short supply so any approach should seek to minimize the time involved and maximize the efficiency of the time used. The following steps are offered with these considerations in mind.

1. Dedicate 10 minutes of every day to documentation

Having employees spend ten minutes every day in this process is a great idea for a couple of reasons. First, most people do not have fun doing documentation. By making it a short period of time, you reduce the likelihood of making the process tedious. Secondly, it is difficult for most individuals to sit and write down their knowledge, keeping the time short reduces the risks of "writer's block" and encourages writers to put down the easy stuff on the tip of their mind without bogging down with details.

2. Use "brain dumping"

When you're just getting started with documentation, it's very easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of information that needs to be transferred from your head to paper, especially if you try to be organized with it. Instead of requiring structured, complete information to start with, encourage employees to pick a topic and use their time to "dump" everything they can think of. The information can be structured and revised later - it is most important to first get the information out there and available to other members of the organization for review and comment.

3. Use reviews to generate questions and fill in holes

Assign periods of review for every document by individuals other than the original authors. Another individual will often find holes, identify assumptions, generate questions and make suggestions on a topic that the author may have overlooked due to their familiarity with a topic. This review also helps acquaint more members with more information about the organization, giving everyone better perspective on its functions and goals.

4. Include related resources

If there are articles, manuals, websites, pictures, other operational documents, etc. that help explain or clarify the subject matter, include references to them in any documentation. More relevant information may help authors or reviewers determine additional subject matter to be included or simply provide greater insight into a process without reinventing the wheel.