The “Hit By A Bus” Analogy: The Challenge of Standardizing Procedures
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A close family member left a job of 10 years to pursue one closer to home for the same salary.
And then they quit.
Why?
Short Answer: The new company had no SOPs (standard operating procedures) to provide during training.
Long Answer: The company made a hire to “replace a person” who was leaving. However, no training procedures were in place to help set my family member up for success. So, instead of working 40 hours a week, they only work about 25 hours a week.
This could have been prevented if SOPs had been created and continued to be updated throughout the company.
When businesses don’t take time to invest in their procedures, systems are broken, mistakes happen, and it’s hard to hire.
What If Someone Was “Hit By A Bus”
While this sounds tragic, it’s only meant as metaphors for your team and tasks.
What would you do if you or one of your team members were suddenly gone?
Start with the basics;
How do you open their computer?
Do you have access to their files?
What job responsibilities do they have?
All these are real things to consider and essential points on why you need SOPs.Let’s take company training for example.
It’s important to remember when creating SOPs that you should make it known that the process can always be adjusted and improved as time goes on.
3 Things To Keep In Mind When Training:
Share the goal — It’s important to share what needs to be completed.
Present the most efficient way — But mention that they may find a more efficient way as time passes, and that’s ok!
Everyone trains differently — So be ready to shift gears when things aren’t clicking during your training.
Multiple Ways People Train Best:
Screenshot Your Process — I use this handy tool called Scribe (*aff) to take snapshots on my screen when I click and type something. This is helpful with links and further instructions that can be added later.