Not everyone that you employ will be a whiz kid when it comes to technology and you will also notice that getting used to the administration processes of a business is never as straight forward as it may seem. Creating an operations manual for your business is something that can greatly improve the induction process of staff into your company. This article considers what an operation manual should include and how to go about creating one.

The Business Network

The manual should begin by explaining the business network because this is the central aspect of most businesses. Whether you are using cloud computing or an internal network, the systems will be much the same. Explain how to log in, what programs are available to use and what can and can’t be done within the system. If you are using cloud services or remote desktoping too then the process of signing in from outside of the office should also be explained.

The Administration

One of the hardest things to get your head around when joining a new company is often the filing system. Inter-company administration is often very complicated and an explanation of how information should be archived and stored is important because the new staff member will need access to this information and their work will likewise need to be archived correctly.

The Phones

Surprisingly, getting to grips with a company phone is often not as simple as it seems. Whilst we all know how to use a phone, transferring calls and dialling with a particular digit first for outgoing calls can be very confusing. Setting this out in plain steps will be a great help to new staff members. Adding a list of contact numbers relevant to the internal and external operations of the business is also an important set of information to provide here.

The Daily Schedule

The daily schedule is an important thing to set out in your operation manual. This is an opportunity to make it clear that staff should be at their desks by 8.50am, rather than 9am, and it is also a chance to determine break allowances. Determine the lengths of lunch breaks and determine cigarette break allowances too. Setting this information out in your operation manual will mean that it cannot be disputed at a later date. Making sure that you meet Operational Health and Safety standards with regards to this is important too.

The Break Room

Break rooms will likely have a set of rules that need to be followed too and this is another good element of business to set out from the start. If staff are expected to bring their own mugs and wash their own mugs then it is important to make this clear. Likewise, cleaning up after preparing food and other hygiene issues should be made clear to ensure that there is no lax approach to cleanliness.

Prepare the Manual

Once the information is all set up and prepared it is time to produce your operation manual. Seek book printing services to create a handy guide that can be provided to each member of staff. This operation manual will help to prepare staff for the role ahead and it will also ensure that there are no excuses for not knowing the business’ rules and breaking them.