Resources Highlighted in Become a Procedures Pro

After more than 50 years of research and development, the current Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become the most widely used instrument for understanding personality differences. Because it explains basic patterns in human functioning, the MBTI serves a wide variety of purposes, including improving performance of the individual and the team, developing leaders, reducing conflict, facilitating self-awareness and development, team-building, problem-solving, and much more!

This widely respected tool reveals an individual’s preferences for communication, data-gathering, decision-making, and energy flow, which permits you and your team to achieve greater effectiveness and harmony in the office.

Learn more here.

As you organize and evaluate your print documentation, it’s a good time to think about which digital storage tools makes the most sense for you and the users who will need access to this information. There are a lot of digital options including:

Shared Network File Directory

• SharePoint Site
  https://youtu.be/s12Jb5Z2xaE
  https://support.office.com/en-us/article/SharePoint-training-cb8ef501-84db-4427-ac77-ec2009fb8e23?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
• OneNote Notebook
  Explore OneNote from Microsoft Office at OneNote.com for the digital version of your administrative procedures binder. View a OneNote Administrative Procedures Toolkit Video Demo here.
• Cloud-Based File Server
  Dropbox.com
  Box.com
  OneDrive.com
  Google Drive

If you would like to learn more about your organization style, click here to purchase your Time & Space Style Inventory (TSSI) assessment.

Disclosure: Julie Perrine International, LLC is a compensated affiliate through SaneSpaces.com. We only recommend professionals and resources we have personally worked with or used in building and growing our own business, or that we’ve used with clients we support. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive compensation for promoting the product here. Thanks for your continued support, and we hope these tools benefit your career development.

You can download some ready-made templates and disaster planning resources from any of these sites:

·         https://flash.org/readybusiness/

·         www.PrepareMyBusiness.org

·         www.Ready.gov

·         http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/make-a-plan

Search for “disaster planning templates” or “disaster recovery templates” in your respective country to find more resources specific to your region of the world.

Avery 3″ White Extended Cover 3-Ring Binder

Avery 3″ Navy Blue Extended Cover 3-Ring Binder

Avery Protect ‘N Tab Tabbed Sheet Protectors – 8 Tab Set

Avery Clear Top Load Sheet Protectors Heavy Duty

DOWNLOAD HERE (PDF File)

What it’s for: This checklist and procedure is used to help our fulfillment team prepare, print, and assemble our Administrative Procedures Toolkit binders.

A few insights that may help you with your procedures development:

• This procedure was created in Excel due to the large amount of data that’s associated with each file, and the specific instructions required to get each file printed on the correct type and color of paper. Excel allows us to keep the procedure limited to one page.
• Depending on how the user processes information, he/she can review the information from a lot of different angles in this format and still get the final product assembled correctly.
• We have two separate binders that require specific assembly like this. So we include a photo of the binder product at the bottom to make it clear which procedure this is for.

Do you coordinate the assembly of board meeting packages or offsite meeting materials? Do you have a print or fulfillment center that prints materials for your conferences or events? This sample may inspire some ideas on how to share your requests for the final product or printed materials.

• DOWNLOAD HERE (PDF File)

  What it’s for: This is the procedure we use to assemble and proof our weekly e-newsletter.

  A few insights that may help you with your procedures development:

  • This procedure is formatted as a checklist so it can be printed, and items can be checked off as each component of the newsletter assembly process is completed.
  • The team member who assembles the content each week uses this Word file to insert the various sections directly into this Word checklist. The checklist format helps her know if she has everything she needs, and makes it easier for all of us to edit it before it’s converted into HTML code and sent out by email.
  • If someone is out of the office, another team member can easily step in and finish the process because this format helps everyone know what’s completed and what still needs to be done.

  Do you handle any newsletters or publications? Do you have a documented procedure someone could follow to accomplish the task if you weren’t available? If so, awesome! If not, use this as a model to follow and make your newsletter or publication production process even smoother!

DOWNLOAD HERE (PDF File)

What is it for? This report is run once a month from our online shopping cart to show us the sales from our training and products.

A few insights that may help you with your procedures development:

• It includes a few simple screenshots from the website with key locations circled in red, so it’s obvious what the person using it needs to look for to accomplish the task.
• We include exactly how to format the document for layout, fonts, and final printing.
• It includes a screenshot of the finished product, so the person using it has a visual of how it should look in final format.

All procedures should include some combination of the following:

• Title of the procedure
• Who created it
• Header with procedure title so all additional pages are clearly identified
• Footer with your company name and page number
• Who to contact if the person using it has a question

Do you have any daily, weekly, or monthly reports that you handle? Do you have a documented procedure someone could follow to accomplish the task if you weren’t available?  If so, awesome! If not, use this as a model to follow as you get your monthly sales report procedure created today!

DOWNLOAD HERE (PDF File)

What it’s for: This is the checklist we use to make sure we’re ready — with plenty of time for technical issues — when we deliver a webinar.

A few insights that may help you with your procedures development:

• This simple checklist doesn’t need a lot of detail. It’s designed to be more of a reminder for those busy, stressful days when you may not be thinking clearly. We’ve all had days like that!
• In addition to keeping a copy in our procedures binder, we keep this in a sheet protector next to the phones and computers we use to deliver the webinars, so it’s available for quick reference.

Do you have any regular recurring conference calls, tele-presence meetings, or webinars that you coordinate or setup for your teams? Do you have a documented procedure someone could follow to accomplish the task if you weren’t available? If so, awesome! If not, use this as a model to get your procedure created today! And be sure to leave a copy in the conference room so others can quickly access it, too.

DOWNLOAD HERE (PDF File)

What it’s for: This is the procedure our team uses to setup all of the details in three online systems for the monthly AdminPro Training Series training webinars we offer.

A few insights that may help you with your procedures development:

• This procedure is formatted in a Word table, laid out in landscape format.
• We have three separate online tools we use to setup these monthly training programs, so there are a lot of details to capture. We use bullets and indenting to make it easier to navigate.
• Since this is a much longer procedure with a lot of important details, we highlight in yellow key information that is important to not overlook.
• We insert screenshots for the sections that may be more difficult to understand with words alone.
• Please note: This procedure is only related to setting up the monthly training programs. We have another procedure for what happens in the process of coordinating with our speakers, and a separate procedure for what occurs the day after a webinar. They all go together, but keeping them in one procedure would be more than 15 pages. So we have split them into logical breaks – speaker coordination, setup, and follow-up. These three separate procedures are kept together in their own AdminPro Training Series section of our administrative procedure binder.

Do you have any complex, multi-part procedures that you need to capture? Do they have logical section breaks – before/during/after or setup/follow-up or week 1/week 2/week 3/week 4, etc.? Use this as a model to follow as you get your procedure created today!

“In my previous position, I was employed as a finance and customer service coordinator. My job responsibilities included front desk reception and triaging inquiries from visitors and callers.

Because I was only one of two administrative positions in the office, if I happened to be out at the same time as of our office manager, no other start knew how to utilize our new phone system. And, although we had a strong core phone team, when someone left or was promoted, it required training a new staff member. The position also included several financial processes, which were time-sensitive and required step-by-step detail in order to ensure accuracy and prompt distribution of related paperwork.

After attending an online webinar regarding office procedures manuals, I knew this was exactly what had to be created. Once in place, the training and information would be consistent as well as easy to follow.

I prepared my first sample and took it to my boss. With some insight and input from her, the new hard copy desk manual was created, along with a phone-system specific PDF version to be distributed to the core backup phone team.

It turned out to be one of the best things I did for that position! When I included the project in my self-evaluation for my annual review, it really impressed our management team. I used it to train my replacement, and she has continued to update and refresh the manual as the processes and systems change. Each position in every office should have a procedures manual. It really does serve as a GPS for guiding people through what needs to be done when you are not around to direct them.”

~ Kemetia M.K. Foley, CAP-OM

“I took the procedures course and loved it. I find that having my binder on hand has helped my work group tremendously. I went on an extended vacation to Italy, and I was gone for about three weeks. Upon my return, I found my binder on my desk (not my bookshelf), so I know it was used.

Later that week, we had our regular staff meeting, and at the beginning of the meeting we give kudos to other staff who have helped out. I received a resounding shout-out for my binder. Several people opened up about how useful they found it when looking for account codes, important phone numbers, and how to place toner orders. I told them I was very glad they found it so useful, and they all said, ‘But don’t go on another vacation.’ It’s nice to be missed!”

~ Sharon K. Trnka, Executive Assistant

“I was preparing to go on medical leave and would be gone for at least eight weeks. At the time, I was supporting two busy senior officers and knew that anyone coming in to cover for me would be totally overwhelmed. So, to prevent that from happening, I started developing my administrative procedures binder. The person covering in my absence would have to hit the ground running, and this guide would serve as the tool to help them do it. Before leaving, I was able to spend a few days going over the binder with my temp. She was very appreciative to have such a detailed point of reference to help her quickly get up to speed. As a result, she felt more confident about covering for me. While out of leave, I would check on her periodically, and she would always comment on how helpful the binder had been to her. From a professional development perspective, my managers were blown away by my administrative procedures binder.

A few initiatives were developed out of the creation of this guide.

• I was asked to share my binder with the legal secretaries in my division in our Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices, and train them in how to create their own desk reference guide.
• At the completion of the first initiative, I will present the guide to other administrative staff in my association to get them on board.
• After I complete that initiative, I will revise my current guide to fit a general association standard for presentation to my HR division to possibly implement into a company standard for administrative personnel.

These initiatives are essentially goals for my Professional Development Plan, and each goal will be weighed and rated. Needless to say, this entire process has become very near and dear to me. A few of my direct manager’s comments on my administrative procedures binder were:

‘A very impressive piece of work!’

‘I do not know of any document like it in the association. I’m going to suggest that each legal secretary in the legal and governance division prepare a similar desk reference manual for their positions.’

‘The binder, which could potentially be used by all employees with secretarial functions throughout the association, demonstrated not only that she has a thorough understanding of her job duties, responsibilities, and performance expectations, but also that she is willing to share her knowledge with others for the benefit of the association.’

I am very pleased with the results and the many compliments I have received. It’s a very rewarding feeling. I am excited to share with my colleagues this product and how it can make a difference for them in their professional development as it has done for me.”

~ LaShawn J. Sandifer, CAP

“I wanted to have the peace of mind to know that I was doing everything I could to help train others in a clear and concise manner. I realized by documenting it myself, I’d be better able not only to train others to back me up when I’m on vacation but also to onboard someone quickly if I needed to. Documenting procedures in the binder helped save me time by just having everything in one place. Finding things on my hard drive gets cumbersome.

This way I don’t have to go and find the files again for a quick reference or to share with someone, and if I do, I know where to find them electronically by cross-referencing documents or checking the links at the bottom of a printed page. Before, I wasn’t sure how or where to begin documenting. Now, I have a clear vision of what needs to be documented and can do it at my leisure in manageable chunks of time.”

~ S. L., Executive Assistant, San Diego, California

“Faster responses, consistent communications, and efficient workflow are the primary outcomes of creating procedures to operate my business as a sole proprietor. As a solopreneur providing virtual assistant (VA) services for multiple small business owners daily, utilizing standard operating procedures to facilitate work in my own business is paramount. I routinely refer to my operations manual where my procedures are stored. Thanks to the proficiency that creating procedures has afforded me, I can develop an operations manual for my clients, incorporating instructions for tasks I perform for them, as a guide and resource to build as their business grows.”

~ Melissa St. Clair, owner of Paper Chaser

“This started out at ‘I need to brush up on my skills and organize myself for training,’ but quickly turned into ‘OMG, this process will positively alter my business.’ I keep too much in my head and it blocks others from stepping into their gifts. This is a process that I will use over and over again to help others utilize their gifts and succeed!”

~ J. Conner, Administrative Professional

“Before implementing the administrative procedures binder, I relied on my memory and the memory of my co-workers to complete duties when someone (including me) was absent. Now, I feel confident that the needs of my boss and my ‘customers’ will be met in my absence.”

~ Terri Plank, Spoughton, Wisconsin

“I live in Ft. Lauderdale and my office was evacuated due to Hurricane Matthew. I just wanted to share that as I awaited the hurriance, working from my home, I had my admin procedures binder and my admin emergency kit close by! Thanks to you!”

~ Janice Chizmar, Administrative Professional

“I had never fully appreciated the importance of having a procedure handbook until I received a sad call from my mother about the passing of my grandmother. It was shocking and confusing. I handed over (my procedures) to the relief admin very efficiently before heading to the burial to pay my last respects. My handbook included a brief introduction to the team, ongoing projects, upcoming meetings, file lists, working committees, and emergency contacts, among others. The admin who stood in for me was able to manage the office smoothly without interruptions.”

~ Florence Katono, Principal Administrative Assistant, Bank of Uganda