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A staff manual, or at least written down procedures, can provide much-needed clarity. Step by step your staff can learn what to do when and how. When you employ a new staff member, they have the same instructions as everyone else, therefore quality standards and expectations are the same. If your employees are unsure about the next step; the why of a step; the overall picture of a task or process, they can look up the staff manual and find the answers there - most of the time without the need to bother you! Even if you only have five staff members, it pays to have certain processes written down. Think of it as the 'bus syndrome' - If you or your staff member gets run over by a bus, someone else needs to do the job, and if they don't know what to do, then what? When I create a staff manual I am in the person’s shoes. I do the task, then write it down, next step, write down, and so on. It makes me question some of the steps, it makes me think about the step, does it make sense, can it be made simpler, streamlined? Once the process is written down completely I let it sit and then look at it with fresh eyes. When I am satisfied I read and do the task according to the manual. That provides the chance to find little inconsistencies or hick-ups. Once I’m satisfied the manual is clear, I ask someone else to follow the steps and do the tasks, to see if it is understandable and makes sense. Here are three things I could help you with:
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One thing I love about all my clients is that you are all small business owners or authors. You're excited about your work and you’re passionate about your ideas. You love your businesses (sometimes) as if it were one of your children. And you spend a lot of time working. That’s the good news. The bad news is that many of you don’t always feel like you’re getting anything done … despite the long hours and hard work. You are pretty sure you're being inefficient and feel like there’s never enough time. And that’s exhausting, so here are some tips for you! I see clients every day who are heading in 15 directions all at once. They jump from one thing to the next and back without any clear destination, always chasing the next shiny object. The best way to become clear is to take the time to set measurable goals that are easy to articulate. For example: “In April I want to write 50,000 words", “I want 10 more monthly clients”, or “I want to delegate 10 hours of work per week to an assistant.” If your goal is to get more clients, identify five or six activities to support that objective. This might include additional public engagements, attending more networking events, writing a newsletter or blog, publishing on LinkedIn, etc. In order to know whether you’re carrying out your plan, it’s important to track what you’re doing. Use a spreadsheet or a calendar, or just your notebook. If you get a request that’s not aligned with your goal, it’s important to say no. If you have a bright idea that’s also not aligned with your goal (no matter how bright) it’s equally important to say no. For example, I loathe one particular social media channel, and even though I know there are millions of people that would be able to see me, I say no to this. It doesn’t align with my values. Here are three things I could help you with:
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AuthorHi, I am Marion of Marion Metz Solutions Archives
December 2024
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Marion Metz Solutions
Professional, Human Proofreading and Editing, Virtual Assistance Southland, NZ |
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