I have always had basic “how to do things” for the business but today I wrote my first procedure. Procedures are an essential business tool that many businesses do not implement. These are simple but clear instructions on how to do something. It allows for clear communication between employer and employee. Employees feel more secure and confident when procedures are implemented. Well written procedures let then know what is exactly required of them. When you have written your procedure, sit down with each staff member one by one and discuss the procedure. Make sure they have a clear understanding of what is required of them. Now is the time to make any necessary changes to the procedure. For example, the procedure may not be written clearly enough, you may have forgotten a step, something you requested may not be practical. Now is also the time to look at any workplace, health and safety issues and ensure that none are being breached. It could be as simple as making sure you have posters on the wall on the correct way to lift items to making sure your chemical storage area meets standards. Procedures are then signed by both employer and employee and dated. Procedures are then printed out and kept in the work area they were implemented for. Employees must have access to them at all times. Procedures are documents that are consistently changing. Employees need to feel comfortable in letting their employer know when a procedure has become outdated. Employers must update procedures when they implement any changes to them. Any changes a employer makes to an existing procedure must require a meeting with all employees to update them on the changes making sure they understand them. Once again, employees have to sign the updated procedure. Employers must ensure that all workplace procedure documents are at all times current and accessible to employees. In larger business, there are records kept on each procedure. For example the name of the procedure, date of implementation, current version and date, employees name and date signed, location of each procedure. When updating a procedure that is located in several places in the business, each one is collected at the same time, the old procedure is removed, and the new procedure is placed in the folder. This is also recorded to ensure that there are no out of date procedures in the workplace. For me regardless of the size of my business and the amount of employees, if employees are required to work equipment of a hazardous nature like machinery and chemicals, I would be doing this. As an employer we have a responsibility to our staff to ensure their work environment is safe and this what procedures help us achieve.
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