We all know that manuals are critically important to having an effective, engaged team and a safe, respectful workplace.

Creating them and issuing them is just the start; you need to make sure they are read and understood. And you need to make sure they are up to date.

So how do you achieve this daunting task?  One step at a time and with a process.

• Designate someone who is responsible for co-ordinating the manual updates.
• Designate a subject matter expert (SME) for the sections of your various manuals.
• At the beginning of the month, add manual updates to agendas that these SME’s attend and spend a few minutes discussing any changes to legislation, processes or the employer landscape.
• Decide if any manuals need to be updated to reflect changes.
• Task the SME with providing the Manual Update co-Ordinator with the changes, within a defined timeframe.
• Co-ordinator makes the changes.
• SME’s approve the changes.
• At the beginning of the next month, the manuals are re-issued and all team members are alerted to the changes and asked to familiarise themselves with them, confirming their understanding.

Updating your manuals monthly is best practice.

For those areas where you don’t have a SME within your organisation, you may need to seek outside experts.  At FC, we have expertise to help you create your manuals, keep them current or just provide you with the expertise you need in the areas which SME’s lack.