Most of us have played Chinese Whispers, a statement is verbally passed along to several individuals. We all know what happens…By time it reaches the last person, it has been altered significantly. On some occasions, it is intentional. The results are the same when orally passing down procedures to employees, except there may be tears rather than laughter.
“Until a crisis occurs, documenting procedures is not a priority”
Scenario
A nonprofit organization received significant grant dollars annually from the same contributors. Changes in the economy caused significant decreases in grant and dues revenue. Moreover, the organization’s program to expense ratio, an indicator of fulfilling its mission, decreased below the acceptable level to obtain new funding. Management made reductions to staff without fully understanding tasks performed. One employee was responsible for maintaining a system for the Development Department and distribution of monthly management reports. He unexpectedly passed away. Needlessly to say, the system updates and monthly reports were no longer received and could not be explained by management.
Until a crisis occurs, documenting procedures is not a priority. Most notable to a nonprofit organization is passion for its mission. In this scenario, the organization formed a positive reputation with its contributors and members and received significant revenue dollars. Staff was hired to support the mission and administrative operations as needed.
Obtaining detailed written steps to perform tasks during a crisis mostly likely will present challenges. Why? Nowadays, reducing cost or reviewing operations for improvement, are buzz words for some employees of job insecurity, resulting in “push back”. In crisis mode, manual and inefficient procedures may also cause staff not to prioritize this added task.
Solution
- Discuss merits of documenting procedures with the senior team.
- Communicate at staff meetings to obtain feedback and begin the “buy in” process.
- Put procedures in order of importance, by individual or department.
- Develop a plan of action and timeline.
- Meet regularly with stakeholders to monitor its progress.
Once documented, you may begin documenting your most critical business processes.
We need assistance documenting our procedures!
Nadine A. Harris, CPA, President, Transitional Accounting Services, provides outsourced accounting and advisory services. Our mission is to assist C-Level and senior management transition their Nonprofit organizations to its ideal state.
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Will you be proactive or reactive in responding to unforeseen changes in your organization?