There are many benefits to business process documentation. Perhaps the most important is that it can help improve efficiency by providing a clear and concise roadmap for how work should be completed. This can reduce errors, save time, and result in cost savings. In addition, process documentation can help to improve communication and collaboration within an organization by ensuring that everyone is working from the same playbook. Finally, business process documentation can also be a valuable training and reference tool for new employees or those who are taking on new roles.
As a solopreneur, you wear many hats and are responsible for a lot of different tasks. Business process documentation can help you keep track of all the different steps involved in running your business and can help you streamline your processes to save time and money.
As concrete slabs are to your house, processes are to your business. You can, of course, build a house without a foundation, but not one that will last for the long haul. The same is true for business. Business processes don't have to be documented for a business to run smoothly and efficiently. However, if you want a business that remains stable and healthy as it grows, you will need to document your most critical processes. This is especially true when you want to automate your business so you can concentrate on working ON your business instead of IN it. Furthermore, if you intend to outsource or hire team members and form an effective, cohesive group, processes are critical.
There are many reasons why people don't think about or prioritize business process documentation. Following are the four most common reasons and suggestions on how you might reframe them to increase your operational consistency and effectiveness:
1. Overwhelmed with thoughts of business process documentation
Objection: I am overwhelmed and I don't even know where to start or how to do it.
Reframe: When you understand what outcomes your actions are moving you towards, you will actually decrease the overwhelm in all areas of your business. Start with the end in mind. Make a wall of post-its (or the digital equivalent) of all the tasks you do in a day. Pick the ones that give you the most issues and start thinking about what it takes to accomplish that task. You will also need to write down what you would need to hand this work over to a virtual assistant or a new employee.
2. Business Processs Documentation stifles my creativity
Objection: It is processes that create rigidity and inhibit creativity and flexibility.
Reframe: The level of detail you use in a process should be based on what's necessary to achieve your goal. For example, when putting on pants, you don't need to be detailed about which leg goes in first or whether to fasten the button or zipper first. The objective is only to get out of the house with pants up and fastened - everything else is preference and does not affect the objective or outcome.
3. Business Process Documentation takes up too much time
Objection: It is more efficient for me to just get the work done because documenting and mapping it out takes a lot of my time.
Reframe: Documenting can seem like a time-consuming task if you think about all the processes that need to be documented. However, if you take it one process at a time - either one process per week or one process per month - it won't seem so daunting. This way, by the end of the year, you would have documented between 12 and 52 processes - which is a big improvement from having zero documented processes.
4. I don't have the know-how to use processes
Objection: I don't know how to use processes to help me overcome my business challenges and pain points.
Reframe: Processes are essential to your business and can be used to improve current methods, pinpoint gaps in current systems, and determine which processes would benefit from automation. In addition, they can be used to identify areas where additional skills are needed, onboard new employees or clients, and establish requirements for technology and systems.
What are your thoughts on business process documentation? Are you comfortable with mapping out and using processes in your business? How have you been using them so far, or how do you plan to use them in the future? I am very interested in hearing more about what you have accomplished by managing processes in your business or what bottlenecks you encountered. If you wouldn't mind, please leave a comment telling me more about your thoughts and experiences.
