Well, what if I told you that companies lose up to 30% in revenue<\/a> every year due to inefficiencies? Yep, you heard that right\u2014almost \u2153 of annual revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that I\u2019ve got your attention, let\u2019s dive into the first installment of this expert conversation. I sat down with Vinay Patankar, CEO of Process Street, to talk about why process documentation is important, best practices, and how to document processes rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today\u2019s post, we cover: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just this super simple idea that you should write down the best way to do a task and then follow those instructions in the future, so that you do the task the best way every time. It\u2019s not complicated.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To take Vinay\u2019s explanation further and help me prove the simplicity of process documentation, here\u2019s another super simple explanation (if you want a detailed one, read this article<\/a> or watch this video<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Process documentation<\/a> is a detailed description of how to execute a given business process. It outlines all the tasks that are needed to complete the process, from start to finish.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n That\u2019s simple enough. But what sort of processes are we talking about? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA process is a series of steps that need to be taken to achieve a result, right? So you need to have processes in place to achieve stuff. To achieve your goals. Whether you\u2019re a big office-based organization or a 100% distributed start-up, like we were, without processes, you will lose track of your core business.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n To make sure that an organization is moving in the right direction, processes need to be at the center of all business operations. That\u2019s especially true for remote teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout processes, things get missed, mistakes happen, you lose track of work, and your team is inefficient.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of which processes to document, you could create and document a process for anything that moves you and your remote business toward its key objectives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, if you\u2019re a remote company, you might need to keep track of the hours your staff is working and what they\u2019re working on. So, why not create a process for them to follow and include a time management tool like Beebole<\/a>, so they can easily record their time, holidays, and absences<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a sales team, you could create a process for when they\u2019re making a sale, or for the HR department, create one for when they\u2019re onboarding<\/a> a new employee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about accumulating efficiencies. Processes increase consistency, they ensure tasks are being completed to a certain standard, and they keep everyone moving towards the same end result.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although having processes in place is incredibly useful, they\u2019re about as good as a chocolate teapot if they only exist in someone\u2019s head. That\u2019s why you need to document them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Documenting processes gets everyone on the same page by providing a common view of the steps required. In lieu of in-person meetings to workshop these things, remote teams especially need to have their process documentation in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you have a structured, documented process to follow, your work might be, say, 20% better than if you didn’t have a process to follow.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lot of companies document their processes. I mean, public companies <\/em>have<\/em><\/strong> to document their processes if they want to be on the stock exchange. But MBAs run these bigger companies. You know, they have teams of people that spend their days creating and improving processes. They understand how businesses are run.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s the smaller companies that tend to run into problems.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean a lot of SMBs are run by people that have never gone to business school. They\u2019re run by specialists, not business experts. They don\u2019t have the skillset, experience, or education to prioritize documenting processes. They don\u2019t understand the importance,<\/em> or they don\u2019t think they have time, or they don\u2019t have the resources that the bigger companies do to document processes<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I hear this a lot; \u2018I\u2019m too busy closing deals, I\u2019m too busy servicing customers, I\u2019m too busy putting out fires, I\u2019m too busy with this project that I believe will make me more money than documenting processes will…,\u2019 but this is where they\u2019re wrong.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why are they wrong? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s find out by looking at three key benefits of process documentation within a remote business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has an employee ever called in sick? Gone on holiday without briefing the team on where they are with their tasks? Left the company without leaving handover notes? Or simply gone AWOL?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be a time of desperation and growing panic. It\u2019s a mad scramble trying to piece together what this person was working on, how they were doing it, where their work is, who they were speaking to, and what needs to happen next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a stressful way to work, not to mention incredibly inefficient, time-consuming, and frustrating. And it\u2019s only amplified on a distributed team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDocumenting processes gives you visibility of where everything\u2019s at. You don\u2019t need to physically ask that person where they are with something, it\u2019s there in black and white.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember what I said about companies losing up to 30% in revenue<\/a> every year due to inefficiencies? Inefficient processes<\/em> play a major part in this statistic. In fact, poor processes cause 44% of all business inefficiencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Processes that have unnecessary steps or are overly complicated, hard to find, or out of date are typically misunderstood or ignored. This creates chaos and a huge amount of inefficiency within an organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you document all of your processes, you\u2019ll get valuable insight into each part of your business while spotting what works and doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you document your most commonly recurring process, you\u2019ll probably execute that process once a day. As that process is getting executed every day, people start to notice things. \u2018Oh, this is wrong, this could be fixed, I could put a shortcut here, this step isn\u2019t needed,\u2019 so you make changes to speed things up. The process keeps getting more and more efficient. You\u2019ll keep getting efficiency gains every time you run that process.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n New hires can be a pain in the ass. Of course, you\u2019d never say that to anyone, but they can be, can\u2019t they? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Onboarding an employee is costly as they\u2019re not trained enough to be providing value yet, and they\u2019re also taking up your experienced employees’ time. Training remote employees amplifies this if not done in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not their <\/em>fault they\u2019re a pain in the royal behind. No, it\u2019s your<\/em> fault. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re trying to tell someone what their new job is, you\u2019re effectively saying <\/em>\u2018these are the processes we want you to follow.\u2019 So having this set of processes for them to just pick up and run with is a really quick and easy way to get them up to speed with the company, their job, what\u2019s expected of them, and they can start doing their actual job pretty much straight away.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Process documentation can be used as a form of training. You can share key information, outline your expectations, highlight the correct procedures, and outline company policies and standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If done properly, documenting processes can save you time, money, and patience when onboarding or training staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you\u2019d like to save your staff and company time, money, and patience, don’t miss the second half of this conversation, where we jump right into the two easiest ways to document processes<\/a>, with a step-by-step guide to both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Processes are worth nothing without documentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Process documentation definition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What is process documentation?<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
Which process to start with?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Documenting](\"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/importance-documenting-processes-700x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy every man and his dog needs process documentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Increased visibility: Know where everything\u2019s at<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
By documenting your current processes and saving them in a centralized, accessible location, you\u2019ll save your blood, sweat, and tears trying to solve an unanswerable puzzle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beebole.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/visibility-is-key-when-documenting-processes-1-700x525.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. Improved efficiency: Save money by cutting unnecessary steps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Better training: Save time & effort with training processes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n