Manuals Making 101: What Did You Miss Out?
I am sure all the people understand why the company needs manuals. Here are the things you usually hear:
“Creating a manual can increase the efficiency of employees’ work by clarifying the procedures and content of work”
OR
“Creating a manual can help the company reduce the time spent on answering questions when training new employees”.
However, when you really start thinking about creating a manual and searching it on the Internet, the answers that are provided usually do not match your business needs, and the manual you spend tons of time on may end up being a waste of time.
In this article, I will explain how to create an effective manual. Also, I will introduce recommended tools for your reference.
Importance of Goal Setting
In the normal case, you fail because you lose the direction and forget the purpose during the manual-making process. Thus, when creating a manual, the key is to clarify the necessity and purpose of the manual, as well as the benefits of using the manual.
Having a clear goal with your manual is important for the following reasons:
Able to Visualize the Result
Visualizing results makes it easier to set future goals and identify areas for improvement. In addition, the time, cost, and skills required to reach the goals will become clear, making it easier to achieve results.
Even if a goal is not achieved, the degree of progress toward the goal can be visualized, which is important in terms of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of employees and the speed of their growth.
Engage Employee Motivation
Clear goals allow employees to perform their work without losing sight of their objectives. If there are no clear goals and employees are only doing what their supervisors tell them to do, they may become stuck in an attitude where they cannot move without direction.
In addition, when an irregularity occurs during work, it may have an impact on the work, such as making the work take longer than it should. A manual with clear goals could keep employees motivated during work.
Clarify What Needs to be Done
The manual describes the work, the procedures, and the purpose of each job description, so you can proceed with your work by reviewing the manual. Since you know exactly what to do at what stage, you can spend less time worrying and can make sure that you are progressing toward your goals.
In addition, if the manuals are distributed at training sessions for new employees or seminars for existing employees, it will be easier for them to understand “what to do” and “what procedures to follow” to achieve their goals.
Bring Positivity to the Team
Having coworkers and supervisors who work hard toward the same goals creates a sense of energy within the company. When clear goals are set, employees take action together, and positive words such as “Let’s do our best” and “Let’s try this next time” naturally fly around.
Another advantage is that employees can share a sense of accomplishment and joy with each other when they achieve their goals. Employees can share hardships and joys with colleagues who are working toward the same goals, and feel a great sense of accomplishment when they achieve their goals. Clear goal setting is also important in terms of creating an energetic company.
How to Make a Manual with Clear Goals
Clarify How the Manual Will be Used
In creating a manual, it is important to clarify how the manual will be used.
The content of the manual can vary from a manual for new employees to a manual for existing employees, to a manual on company regulations, and so on. If you distribute manuals for training new employees to existing employees, it is unlikely that many of them will make use of them.
It will be easier to clarify how the manual will be used if you are aware of the 5W1H: “Who,” “When,” “Where,” “What,” “Why,” and “How. The key to creating a high-quality manual is to clarify the purpose for which the manual will be used.
Clarify Criteria for Achieving Goals
In addition to the purpose of creating the manual and how it will be used, it is also important to clearly state the criteria for achieving the goals.
Visualizing the procedures to achieve goals and clarifying the criteria for achievement will reduce worries such as “I am not sure if the standards for my work are being met. Visualizing the procedures and clarifying the criteria for goal achievement will also benefit employees’ confidence in their work.
Clarify the Ultimate Goal of the Work at the Action Level
Clarifying the steps to the final goal and the next actions to be taken will reduce wasted time, such as “work stops because I don’t understand” or “I understand the goal, but I don’t know how to proceed.
In addition, if the same steps are repeated until the goal is reached, the work time will become shorter and the amount of time that can be spent on the work will increase as people become accustomed to the work. As a result, they tend to become passive, waiting for instructions.
When the end goal is clear at the behavioral level, time-wasting and passive attitudes are eliminated, and the environment becomes one in which employees can certainly improve their skills.
Steps of Manual Making
Keep all the points I discussed before, now you can try to make a manual with the following steps:
- Decide which tasks to manualize
- Know the circumstances under which the manual will be used
- Determine the structure and table of contents of the manual
- Decide on the format and use it as a template for further manual
- Distribute to the team after the temporary operation
- Update manual information regularly
Recommend Tool for Manual Making
One recommended internal wiki tool is GROWI.cloud, provided by us WESEEK, Inc, a tool with a template function that allows easy editing of manuals with simple operations.
GROWI.cloud
With GROWI.cloud, you can make manuals smoothly with DIY templates. In addition, since diagrams and tables can be created within the tool, you can easily incorporate charts and diagrams into the manual.
It also boasts high security and various authentication methods are available to simplify authentication management, including LDAP/OAuth/SAML. Even with telework, you can check manual information in the cloud service with GROWI.cloud, preventing information leakage.
Besides organizational use, GROWI.cloud is also available for individual use and you can always start with a free trial here. After the one-month free trial, you can change your plan into either the individual, duo, or trio plan, OR continue to use the personal plan for FREE with a maximum of 25 users! Go to price & features to learn about the details.
GROWI.cloud origins in Japan and now also offered in the Philippine and other countries which allows customers to use the service in English.
Go to GROWI.cloud to know more about us. You can also follow our Facebook to see updates about our service.
