Have you ever gone shopping at the supermarket and saw an ex? What is the first thing you try to do? Avoid them. Same thing when it comes to documentation. Nobody wants to do it and you’d rather move onto something else.

We’ve heard all the excuses…

• “Don’t have the time.”
• “Too many procedures.”
• “Waste of time because it’ll change soon anyway.”
• “Too formal.”
• “Not a priority.”

Well let’s check out this scenario:

One of your coworkers or employees is on vacation and has given you the pieces to pick up while they’re away. However, that person is the only one that knows what to do. And on top of that, there is nothing to help guide you on how to proceed. What are you going to do? In other words, you’re SOL.

Don’t panic. This is where documentation plays a critical role for your business.

The purpose of your overall marketing operation is vital for building a foundation for communication. Documentation is the roadmap of your company. Documenting processes promotes knowledge sharing which enhances understanding on how things work. Moreover, it’ll simplify what a project looks like after it is finished. It is nearly impossible to plan a course of action and scale your progress without documentation.

Many companies, both large and small, will pride themselves on each member knowing how to do their tasks without having to jot anything down. Who wants to spend time documenting what they do when you can be actually “doing it?” You may be right, that every member of your team knows what they are doing. And documenting everything can be a tedious task that is boring. But it doesn’t have to be.

Here are ways you can elevate your business practices:

Create a template. 📋

Here is a simple template you can use right away from our website:

CS2 Documentation Template

Make it a video. 📹

Find a tool, like Loom or even Zoom, where you can record a quick video after completing a new process. Then put it in a repository where it’s easily accessible for everyone. Written content works too, but that’s a pipedream. A video is a friendlier format because a few minutes of recording can equal 8-10 pages of written material.

Simplified training time. ⏳

Process documentation will help new hires comprehend the workflow in a timely manner. Documentation can also eliminate spending time and effort from your existing staff with helping train new employees.

Improved quality and efficiency. 🧰

Your business can uphold the standard with consistency from everyone following the same process. Clear directions removes confusion, reduces the amount of decisions, and less time for employees to complete their tasks.

A collaborative effort. 🤝

Successful documentation can make interactions with your team easier. If processes are documented on tools such as Google Docs, then this will reduce meeting times. As processes are being recorded on a shareable document, this allows your team to analyze what works and brainstorm what can be improved.

Conclusion

Without documentation, it feels an awful lot like playing quarterback with a blindfold on. In other words, documentation is your playbook and having one centralized location that stores all of your operations will save your employees time in the long run. Documentation is where you can insure your company’s processes are running smoothly and efficiently. Then when you make updates, you’ll possess a running history of processes that were created and why they were originally created.