WHY YOU NEED TO DOCUMENT YOUR BUSINESS PROCESSES

It may not necessarily occur to the entrepreneur of a one-person start-up company

to document the processes and procedures that are followed in the day-to-day
running of the business, but as the business grows, there comes a time when it will
be vital to have records of how things are done. “Documenting business processes”,
or “business systemisation” as it’s also known, will make the difference between a
business that plods along with a business owner constantly on the verge of burnout,
and one that is successful and grows and prospers, and where the business owner
is secure in the knowledge that things will go smoothly whether he or she is on sit e
or not. Here are some of the main reasons why you as an entrepreneur need to
document your business processes.

Consistency

Anything that is done repeatedly, or by more than one person in your company,
should be documented. You may have started out by “having everything in your
head”, but when you begin delegating to employees, you need to ensure that they
will be able to replicate your processes in order to provide the same level of service
to your customers.

Similarly, your employees may have their own excellent processes for getting things
done, but what happens if they should leave the company? Or even just go on
vacation? As Michael E. Gerber, author of The E-Myth – Why most businesses don’t
work and what to do about it, states: “If you don’t write it down, you don’t own it.”
Analyse your processes

While documenting your business processes, you will define the norms and
standards of your services and products, and be able to analyse the performance of
existing processes. If individual employees follow different processes, you will be
able to make comparisons and opt for best practice.

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 principle, also comes into play when
analysing your business processes: the idea that 80% of your returns are the result
of 20% of your efforts. Analysing where you are spending unproductive time or ef fort
will help you to eliminate inefficiencies in your business.

Take a look at this talk by Tim Ferriss on the 80/20 principle:

Monitor service levels

Again, once you have documented the norms and standards that your clients can
expect, you can monitor whether your business is in fact, meeting those
expectations. For example, if you have an IT company, and your response time is 24
hours, you can monitor precisely whether there are individual employees or branches
that are not meeting this criterion, and take swift remedial action.

Managing your business

Documenting your business processes will help you as an entrepreneur to

understand your business in terms of its underlying individual processes. You will be
able to evaluate the transformation of inputs into outputs, assess financial
performance in terms of the value chain, and streamline your business strategy.
Make improvements

One aspect of scrutinizing and documenting business processes is deconstructing

them into sub-processes and mapping them down to activity level while another
aspect of business process design is looking at the large-scale core processes from
a strategic point of view. Both perspectives allow for redesign and re-engineering of
processes that will lead to improvements and greater efficiency in your business.

Business process mapping will enable you to identify gaps, for example where there
is a need for appropriate checks and controls, or where there is a lack of co -
ordination between different departments, e.g. between shipping and invoicing. You
may be able to reduce wasteful activities or eliminate unnecessary steps in the
production process, or simplify complicated procedures without loss of value to the
customer.

Once documented, you will be able to revisit your business processes over time, as
technology develops and as the business grows, and continuously improve both the
efficiency and quality of your service.

Would you like a business that is systemized and runs without you? The f irst thing
to do is make the commitment to build your business into something amazing.
Systemising a business the right way does take time, the end results are, however,
“Life changing” for you and your business.