Although different companies use different terminology, common names for procedural documents include:
- Guidelines
- Standard operating procedures (SOP)
- Guidance
- Workflows
- Processes
- Best practices
- Work instructions
- Standards
- Manuals
- Handbooks
- Programs
- Methods
- Procedures
Regardless of how you refer to them, to be effective, procedural documentation must be clear, concise, precise, and instructive. Poorly written or vague documents can create confusion— or worse. When employees are unsure of how to do their jobs correctly, it can affect everything from customer satisfaction to personnel safety to your bottom line.
The best procedural documentation clearly and without question communicates everything team members need to know about correctly completing a task or series of tasks.
And that’s exactly what we produce.
- Accurate.
- Consistent.
- Timely.
- Well organized.
- Succinct and relevant, not stuffed with unnecessary words or redundant details.
- Free of jargon, except for terms that everyone in your business knows.
- Reading-level appropriate.
- Aligned with your goals and best practices.
“I Have Thousands of Existing Documents. Do I Need to Organize Them Before I Call You?”
No, you don’t. If you’re thinking about getting started but not sure where to start, we can help! Check out our 16 Steps from Clutter to Calm, to learn step-by-step what you need to do to organize (and fix) your procedures.
Everything in Order, and in Place
We’ll work with you and your SMEs to write, test, and publish each document, but we don’t stop there.
We can help organize existing systems while creating the new content you need.
Each document will be organized into a system that allows employees to easily locate and access the current version in the language they read. No one should have to search through multiple platforms to find an up-to-date safety standard while the store is on fire. It shouldn’t be difficult to get someone else up to speed if a key employee calls in sick.
If your system has gaps or your documents aren’t organized and labeled consistently, you’re not alone. It’s not easy to keep up with revisions and new documents, especially as time goes by, policies change, and you have to respond to new regulatory requirements or market alterations. But it can be done.
Accurate Information At Your Fingertips
We can help you develop the rules to get and keep your documents in order. We’ll write any content you’re missing, bring everything else up to date, label all documents correctly, get the right approvals, and store each document where it belongs. You’ll have a structure for updating documents (and letting know people the updates are available) — gone are the days of sending out a random email about a procedure change and hoping someone pays attention to it.
You’ll have better version control, and you’ll know that when you need a new document or revisions, the most recent iteration is the reference point — not some old, outdated material that’s missing key elements added later.
You’ll know who is supposed to review and approve your documents — and so will your employees. And you won’t find different teams duplicating efforts, wasting time and money creating or updating the same documents.
In short, we’ll make it easy for you to have appropriate procedural documentation located where everyone can find it, with rules about who can make updates, why and when.
We Put Our Capabilities to Work for You
At The Writers For Hire, we collaborate closely with your SMEs to map, analyze, and fill process gaps within your organization. We help organize all those random notes – even handwritten calculations on scraps of paper – that key stakeholders have individually accumulated over the years of working on a specific project, process, or position.
Your team at The Writers For Hire will boil down your complex processes into manageable instructions to create procedural documentation that all your employees can follow. And we will work with you to boost your reputation with clients by establishing consistency in all your operations.
