Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Always Write Policies and Procedures When Giving Instruction / Training

I have seen managers "teaching" their employees how to perform tasks and going through great lengths to explain the procedures. Later, another employee will need additional training and that manager will explain the procedures to this person too, but this time with slightly different instructions. This continues until the manager has spent an enormous amount of time explaining the same procedures over and over again to multiple employees, all of whom receive slightly different "takes" on the training. What a huge waste of time!

Instead, these procedures need to be written up with very clear and concise details that any person could easily understand and put into action. Each job within an organization should have a written routing system. Standardized policies should be written that applies to all individuals throughout the organization. Combined, these policies and procedures help managers to give consistent instruction, allow employees to have written procedures to refer back to, and serve as the framework for future modifications when greater efficiency can be achieved.

Additionally, use email to distribute policies and procedures to all associates. When explaining a new procedure to one employee, take the time to send those new procedures to the rest of the office. Save time and effort by being an efficient teacher. Training is power in organizations, but the pinnacle of training is for the manager to be efficient in his / her teachings.

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