Article 2: 7 Key Reasons Why You Should Document Your Business Processes

If you have been racking your brain wondering whether or not to embark on documenting your business processes, here are some seven reasons that will hopefully make your decision easier:

1. Your organization has invested a lot of time and money in designing its business processes. Most of the important details regarding these processes are held in the minds of the experienced employees. Think of what it costs you when a key person leaves. (Experts estimate it costs 2 - 3 times an employee's salary to replace their knowledge!).

2. Any intelligent new employee should be able to read the organization’s procedures manual(s) and commence work immediately with minimal guidance only. A properly written Procedures Manual is the most powerful induction tool.

3. Without formal documented operating procedures, it is almost impossible for the organization to prove a breach of procedure on the part of an employee especially in a court of law.

4. Documented procedures and/or process maps form the basis for any process improvement, risk assessment, audit, automation or re-engineering work.

5. When things go terribly wrong in the organization as they occasionally do resulting in huge losses, the root cause in majority of the cases is a lack of documented and properly embedded operating procedures.

6. The main determinants of staff performance are behavior, environment, clarity, knowledge and skills (BECKS). Business Process Management addresses clarity, knowledge and skills (CKS) all at once.

7. It is a requirement by most Industry Regulatory Bodies.

If these few reasons are anything to go by, your headache should shift from ‘whether’ to when and how to start documenting your business processes.