Kathy Owens had a good idea to go ahead and comment on this chapter even though no blog was officially posted so here are my thoughts on this chapter:
I found the information helpful because, although I've participated with a team to created portions of a policy and procedure plan, I've never had to actually prepare one. I already used some of the steps, such as audience analysis and planning on the Policy and Procedure assignment. I did an impromptu survey of my work group to get their input on what's wrong with our online training manual since no one really takes advantage of it during the course of a day, with the exception of the newer employees. I liked the Tools and Resources at the end of the chapter as they help me formulate what needs to happen next, such as figuring out from the survey feedback what's not working on the site. Although this project is small compared to a large work group, I will use a lot of these tips.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Campbell – Chapter 2 – Where Do I Start? (Blog Entry)
Unless I missed it somewhere, the author didn’t seem to touch on something I consider key in creating a policy or procedure for a company – having a good grasp of the company’s philosophy about the subject being documented. Take for instance company-paid dinners while traveling. Does the company wish to keep those expenses at a minimum to which your policy implies going to a fast-food restaurant versus a sit-down dinner at a nice steakhouse? What if the company’s philosophy is that if you are away from home doing work for the company, then the expectation is that you are allowed to have a nice dinner in a relaxing setting? Maybe it is a given that you should go into writing a policy knowing in advance how the company feels about the subject, but I have seen too many times the interpretation of company philosophy can lead to disagreements about policy. I would not want to write a policy without knowing expressly how the company wants that policy conveyed, how it feels about it, and the philosophy behind the terms of the policy.
Mind-mapping – really cool concept about letting the creative side of your brain take over from the dominant structured side. I use mind-mapping all of the time regardless if it is an instruction or notes on a project. I find that more helpful than creating an outline in advance. My work files look more like pages of art rather than to-do’s and checklists. That theory and term will stick with me.
This chapter emphasized the importance of a timeline and organization above all else. This allows those writing the documents to keep focus on their purpose and deadline. There seemed to be information missing in this chapter about the user/reader of the policy or procedure. The author may be touching on that in a different chapter, but I felt it was necessary to include more “tips” on how to incorporate readers needs into a policy or procedure because that is something the author should be thinking about from the beginning of the project. The list of topics to analyze on page 45 was helpful for someone writing a policy because it identifies all the different aspects of a policy that the author should think about. It is a list more for quick reference, but more information about each box/topic would have been helpful for clarification.
I found this chapter very useful, I have not prepared to many procedures by myself but have been part of Lean Event teams that have created new procedures. This chapter gives good advice on developing a procedure or policy through the four steps, planning, analysis, research and prewriting. One important issue that I agreed with is to determine and understand the goal of the procedure or policy and I liked the fact that safety was mentioned in the paragraph. Safety to the employee and customer is a one of the biggests goals of a procedure. Knowing about your audience was mentioned as important also, I learned this first hand a few weeks ago when I was asked to help create a procedure for Line Clearance. The group was looking to me for expertise, all I kept thinking was "I don't even know what it is." I spent some time on the production floor with the "audience" production workers to learn about line clearance so that I could be of assistance in writing the procedure.
I think that this chapter fits in very nicely with what we've read so far. I really like the The Golden Rule Campbell talks about on page 32. Never writing a policy or procedure just to have one. I think many large companies are guilty of this. I think that they so badly want to have all of their bases covered that they write many useless policies and procedures. The problem with this in my opinion is that there are usually conflicting issues presented in different areas. I also feel that there would be a lot less confusion if things were more simplified at times. There are just my opinions but I do feel that there is some validity in the fact that Campbell addresses this "Golden Rule" early on in the textbook.
I agree with some of the other comments that being somewhat of an "expert" on what you are writing or at least having an expert from the company readily available is very important. In one of my past positions, I was a resident expert representing several work units on some new mainframe software that was being rolled out in Finance. One of my responsibilities was to write procedures so that everyone would know what to do Day One after the conversion to the new software. Because there were no existing procedures written down (yikes!), I had to start from scratch. It was an extremely tedious and lengthy process as you can imagine. Wish I would have had read some information like this beforehand!!
Organization is key in writing, no matter what the
subject matter. I have written bulletins and other
items for companies, but have not yet been directly
involved in writing new policies and procedures.
However, as an employee of several different
companies, my input has made a difference in what the
new policies and procedures will contain. I look
forward to writing policies and procedures in the
future, and this chapter is a great starting point for
me to gain insight on what it takes to write this kind
of subject. As Erik Sorensen points out, it is
important to write a policy and procedure because the
employees request it or it is a safety issue.
This chapter was pretty commonsense in my opinion, but did offer good tips when developing a project. The way the chapter is laid out is very useful for me as it is very step-orientated. I also liked the very last section "Tools and Resources", as it breaks everything down and even gives you samples of forms and such. I have learned about mind maps in another class I have taken at SCC, but the refresh was sure nice. Finally, the chapters importance of steps really makes sense in that if you skip a crucial step, you may find yourself taking more time in going back to fix it. The golden rule I think is also one of the more important points of the chapter.
I found this chapter very helpful. As I am beginning to plan out a procedure document, I really understand the importance of a time line, and how much it can help.
I noticed how much "be realistic" was stressed throughout the chapter. It might sound obvious, but stressing the point really helps. It is so important to stay realistic about the goals you set for the project. I am discovering this first hand at work.
Post a Comment